I'm a fairly local marathoner but have never ran the Sunburst marathon because of the history of horribly hot weather on race day. This year I gave it a shot & was greeted with perfect marathoning weather, which likely boosted my rating of the marathon itself.

The marathon has an early start which is great in minimizing the heat impact. This also allows marathoners to finish in the stadium while the crowd is still around as the other races start a bit later.

Positives - The course is basically pretty. It runs along the river in a couple of places & 4 miles or so through a Mishawaka park, also along the river. There are several out & backs, which I like because it tends to break things up & also allows you to see that there are still people behind you.

Water stations are plentiful & volunteers are great. Local spectators were sparse, but those that were out had sprinklers running & music playing. Fellow runners were very friendly & the race itself was generally enjoyable.

Negatives - Race communication was frequent enough but hard to read. I couldn't find info on bag drop & other info seemed a bit muddied.

Shirts & medals were really scrimped on. I'd much rather pay a bit extra & end up w/ a shirt I can wear & a medal that isn't just a piece of thin plastic. This is not a medal I'd want to display. The shirt is white & thin & not one that I'd want to sport around town or run in on a sweaty run.

The finish in the stadium is great. The downside is that you finish with the 5k walkers. Kudos to them for walking a 5k, don't get me wrong at all.

However, marathoners are forced to stand in a very long line of walkers just to exit the finish area. They then stand in another very long line of walkers in the post-race refreshment area.

The walkers seemed to take forever picking out their post-walk snacks & then loaded up on them. Post-marathon, I need to move a little, not stand in one line after another. I resorted to cutting in line to exit & then sneaking in-between them to grab just a bagel so I could get out of there.

A separate area for the walkers would have made this finish area so much better.

All-in-all, this race was good while running, just ok before & after.

I was one of those people who were signed up for Madison the week before, which was cancelled. Luckily, we were able to change our flights at the last minute and run the Coeur d'Alene Marathon. Two days after that race, I'm looking for my next one and was surprised to find both cheap airfare and a fantastic weather forecast for South Bend the following weekend. Running marathons 6 days apart is not something I had planned, but the Sunburst Marathon was a good choice. The race was well organized, the weather was perfect and the finish at Notre Dame made it worthwhile. Staying at the Hilton next to the start line made the morning very easy, even with the 6am start, which I loved! The half marathoners started over an hour after the full, so they were never a factor. The whole first half of the course, we were never in the sun. The 2nd half had a few stretches of concrete and 1 block of bricks, but I can't complain. There are no big hills on this course and running along the St Joe river was nice. Even though I can scratch Indiana off my 50 states list, I would do this one again.

Great organization and this year's weather was excellent. After 87 degrees at Boston and heat that cancelled Green Bay 2:40ish into their marathon, I was still trying to earn my BQ for next April. What a relief to drive up to South Bend and enjoy 48 degrees at the start.
Pros:
Super easy to walk up and register the day before.
Small field size with 446 finishers; you could easily hit the tangents at every opportunity.
Ample porta potties at the start; there were NO lines.
Ample free parking right at the registration and start.
Race starts right on time at 6 a.m.
Free bus ride back to the start from the stadium.
Finishing inside Notre Dame's stadium is one of the best anywhere.
Plenty of hydration, gels, bananas, etc. along the course.
Cons:
I laugh when some say the medal is substandard. Bling isn't important to me, nor the shirt, nor the Expo. Just give me a good course, good weather conditions and excellent race support and let the rest be up to me. Sure, the crowds are non-existent, but that's OK too.
The course is wonky especially the back half. It seemed that quite a few of the mile markers were off as my Garmin measured miles ranging from .94 to 1.07 so just concentrate on your pace and not so much on your lap splits.
And merging into the 5K walkers and half marathoners at about mile 24.5 can be annoying. Luckily I was able to maintain pace and finish strong.
Thanks Sunburst and yes, I did BQ by :31 !

I started my quest for marathon #13 in Madison WI and finished it six days later in South Bend IN. The folks in Madison canceled me down to a half so South Bend became my plan B. While it was much cooler, it was still sunny and warmed up by the end. An early 6 am start helped. There was ample free parking in the downtown area, so it was easy to drive in from a nearby hotel if you want to save the expense of a downtown one.

The expo was oddly outside at the College Football Hall of Fame. It seemed like they had lots of family friendly activities going on both Friday night and Saturday. The morning of the race, the Hall of Fame was open for shelter/restrooms.

The course wound around with lots of turns and double-backs but there was good scenery, ample water stops, plenty of signage/volunteers to show the way and adequate road control by the local police. It was relatively flat with one sustained (but not steep) incline toward the end.

Not much in the way of spectators except as you approached the finish in Notre Dame Stadium, which was a very cool experience. Post race food on the concourse inside the stadium out of the sun was also smart. The white race shirt was lame; the medal was even lamer but hey, on the other hand, I signed up five days before the race for $75. Throw in an inexpensive hotel and this was a cheap way to check off Indiana.

I'm not sure I'll be back because of the date and potential for really warm conditions (seems like signing up late is a possible strategy) but I would recommend it especially if you have any sort of ND or South Bend connection (which I did).

This was my 4th marathon (RnR St. Louis, '11/ING Miami '12/Garmin Oz '12). It was a little chilly during packet pickup but race day turned out to be perfect running weather! I know that this was out of everyone's control, but I enjoyed the perfect weather very much that we had for this year's marathon! It was a little windy but for me it was just the perfect day!

I did enjoy this marathon because there were a lot of good qualities however there is room for improvement and it can definitely become a much better event if some of these issues are corrected. I'll start with the pros.

Pros:

The expo and packet pick up the day before the race were pretty well organized. I arrived in South Bend on Friday and did not have any issues retrieving my packet and shirt.

The 6 a.m. early start with just the Marathoners was perfect. I wish more races would start the full and half separately.

I haven't experienced this in my running career yet but I very much appreciated the soaked sponges handed our towards the end of the race. Someone else handed our wet paper towels right before the last hill which was nice. This would have been very nice during the Miami Marathon, lol.

The marathon route is pretty flat and beautiful as it runs along the St. Joseph River. The course follows the river much of the race except for the downtown portion. The course was well marked for the most part. There were several twists and turns, and if you weren't paying attention, I can see how someone could get off course but I noticed that there was always at least one person at each turn with a sign pointing you in the right direction. There were lots of police and volunteers throughout and they all did a great job of blocking traffic and making sure everyone was safe.

There were plenty of fluid stations throughout the route. The water/Gatorade/GU stations were well spaced and stocked. There were also bananas given out at one point of the race.

Stadium Finish / Finishing in ND's stadium was really cool!! Initially this year's race wasn't supposed to finish in the stadium due to construction but it got completed early and so we were able to finish the stadium after all. As a result of the stadium initially being under construction, marathon registrations were down and actually about half of what they normally were.

At the post race finish area the treat stations were well stocked, which was good, and there really wasn't a line. I liked the cold, wet towels that they gave out. There were big cups of chopped water melon & cantaloupe and popsicles, chips and bagels. Definitely one of the best stocked post races I've been to.

Okay, here are the Cons:

First and foremost, the Sunburst Races NEED BETTER MEDALS. The marathon finisher medal is the most pathetic I have ever seen and very cheap. I have 5k fun run medals that blow this thing out of the water!

I would like to see MORE PHOTOGRAPHERS placed at more places along the course. I only noticed photographers at one spot on the course and then at the stadium. It would have been cool to have some photos with the St. Joseph river in the background.

There is NO MUSIC along the route. Please add some live music throughout the course in addition to the one man playing bag pipes.

There are NO SPECTATORS along the course to cheer you on. I can count on one hand the spectators who came and we went through a lot of neighborhoods too. The few that came out though were nice and some of them kindly offered their water hoses to the runners and/or had a small stereo playing. I have run 3 prior marathons and this was probably the fewest people along the course.

It would be cool to have a little MORE COURSE ON CAMPUS instead of running through residential areas that have such a lack of spectators.

Please change the format of the pre-race email! It was one extremely long paragraph and was hard to read and pull out specific details.

Finally, the last change that would suggest is giving out a different kind of tech shirt. How about making them green & gold tech shirts instead of see through white?

This race does have a lot going for it and I would recommend running it because it is such a scenic marathon and it is a beautiful area.

Unlike last yr, temps were cooler this year. Water stops were manned by enthusiastic volunteers who ran to give you water-very nice. I suggest having some competition, costumes, more music, among the grps at the water stations to add some excitement. We always drive out the entire course to know what to expect but this time we couldn't as parts were in a park. The turn-around at mile 18 was in a park so you couldn't determine how far to go before the turnard. :(

The 6am start count explain the lack of crowds along the course. Maybe a community outreach to neighborhoods along the course would get people out to support runners?

No goodies in race package, only race applications a bit disappointing. Course seemed hillier (short steep ones)than shown on topo map but that could be me.

The early start with only marathoners was refreshing. Start line wasn't crowded since it was a small race.

I would try to get more vendors for the expo as if you needed something, you probably couldn't find it at the expo.

Very solid medium-small sized marathon. The weather was great (I didn't sign up until the week of, just in case), the course was great - very scenic and mostly flat - and the volunteers were great.

I thought the post race could have been better, however. Meh food, meh medals, and an inexplicably long walk to the shuttles.

Still, overall a very good (and rather inexpensive) marathon.

Good: Small number of runners makes it easy to navigate. The scenery along the river and through the Mishawaka parks is very, very pretty and lends a very good energy to the race. There are enough hills to make it interesting but it's mostly flat and fast.
Bad: 1.The course is so convoluted in spots that it's enough to give you nightmares. There are times when you don't know whether you're coming or going and seriously wonder if you're off course. The finish in the stadium is nice but you have to watch yourself going through the tunnel (it's dark and the footing is a bit uneven). You should also be prepared to climb stairs to get out of the stadium after you finish.
2. This is the only marathon I've ever run where there are no timers on the course, not even at the halfway so you can compare your first and second half splits. If you are timing yourself be careful: the half way is not marked and there are always mile markers that are significantly off (this happens every year). If a runner has a mind to cheat, this is the race to do it as there are ample opportunities.
3. After almost 30 years you'd think the directors would incite civic pride by encouraging residents to form a group or two to cheer people on. Marathoners come from all over and get an impression of a city by those who come out to cheeror not. Very few spectators and few of them cheering for anyone except their one special person.
4. You pay the standard price for this marathon and get substandard returns. The directors are either cheapskates or the rental and permit costs are exorbitant. For example: In addition to no timers on the course the souvenirs are a joke. The poster is small and undistinctive, the t-shirt is white and see-through and the medal is nothing less than an insult. It's a cheap, plastic, toy-like affair that puts you in mind of a tinfoil-wrapped chocolate coin.
I've paid less for races and gotten a lot more.
I do this race because it's my hometown but I honestly can't recommend it except with reservations.

Sunburst was my ninth marathon and having just relocated to South Bend, I wanted to try it out. I was pleasantly surprised. The course is very flat and goes along the river. We got very lucky with the weather. I had read comments from previous years around the heat. 2012 was 50-65 degrees for the entire race.

Good
-Nice course which highlights the best areas of the city
-Loved the early (6am) start with marathoners only
-Volunteers were friendly and well trained
-Finish in the Notre Dame Football Stadium was unique and very cool
-Lots of water stations and Gu along the route

Bad
-Little/no crowd support
-The finisher medal was very bad. I would gladly pay an extra ten dollars for a real medal
-No bottled water at the finish. The whole food situation at the finish was a bit confusing

If you are looking for a small marathon in the midwest, I would recommend Sunburst. It's easy logistically and the finish is very unique.

I'm biased-I love this event, and have done it a handful of times. The weather was absolutely perfect this year; sometimes this is a really hot event so people considering this event should be aware that hot/humid conditions are a real possibility.

Organization was great. The expo is small, but packet pick up has a lot of energy with all kinds of activities. This year, Dick Beardsley was there which was fun.

The course is winding, so pay attention. Volunteers were outstanding, though, and very encouraging. Finishing in the stadium is always a fun experience.

Will definitely plan to run this race again.