I would never run this marathon again nor recommend it to other runners. Due to merging courses with the 10K race and inadequate course marking between miles 10 and 11, I (along with at least 6 other runners), ended up running one of the neighborhood block loops twice, which added another mile to my "marathon." Being back at the end of the pack, I found it inexcusable that during official race time limits, I had cars driving up from behind and passing me. That's just not safe. If you are going to call a 6 and a 1/2-hour time limit, then keep the traffic off the course or don't host a full marathon! At one point a volunteer asked my partner to finish with his cup so that he could put it in the trash and not have to pick it up. I could go on, but it's not worth my time.

I said I'd be back to report, and here I am. I thoroughly enjoyed the Sunburst Marathon this time. Maybe because I ran a solid race, maybe because it's nice to run a small marathon after running Chicago 9 years in a row. I'll agree with everything people have written the last couple days, except I do enjoy the 6 a.m. EST start (and I do live in the CST time zone). Organizers have to start it that early in case it's an excessively hot day. They couldn't call it the Sunburst if it was 6 weeks earlier. The intersecting of the races was a bit confusing, but there were course monitors in there to direct traffic and it wasn't that confusing. I actually didn't mind all the people at the end, because I was passing a bunch of them. I'd definitely recommend this to someone in the general South Bend area as a low-cost spring marathon to inspire training during the early part of the year.

The temperature was warm and humid, but with all the water and Gatorade stops, there was never any need to worry. All stations well-supported, and volunteers get 5 stars and reminded everyone to drink. GU was available throughout the entire race. Finishing through the Notre Dame tunnel with the Irish fight song playing was icing on the cake! Only negative was the Holiday Inn-downtown. If you are fast, you will make checkout, but any normal runner should stay somewhere else. Even though they are listed on the race site, they would only extend checkout if you paid for it (check out at 11 a.m.). They said it was due to the contract signed with Sunburst. If it is, they need to fix this or list it on the race site. It's convenient, but a shower after a marathon is always refreshing. Too bad that wasn't thought of for the runners. Just stay at the Marriott or one of the many other friendlier hotels.

There's no reason for any negativity surrounding this event. Scenic river course, neighborhoods, extremely well-marked course, plenty of water stations and volunteers, and a great stadium finish. Hats off to organizers.

Yes, I had the same thing between mile 6 and 7. Not sure if the course was mis-marked, but I was right on with the Garmin through 6. Then something happened at 7 and it stayed that way until the end.

Organization was great - that is what makes a race!!

Course was scenic - not too hilly, but rather, just right. Awesome finish into ND Stadium - even if you are not a ND fan, it's still cool to run onto the field.

But one thing for the RD: it was a pain for marathoners to weave/dodge other racers from the other races when the courses merged. Having a 90-degree merge of courses is not a good idea, and then have to weave through was pretty bad.

As a veteran of 17 marathons and hundreds of other races, I have lots of experience to rely on, and the 2008 Sunburst was the most poorly organized, and worst overall, race I have ever seen. The less significant, but still meaningful, issues include such things as (1) not having an organized pasta-thon the night before the race (or even having local restaurants offer a pasta buffet, etc.), (2) providing marathoners the same basic cotton t-shirt also given to those running much shorter races at this event, (3) giving out extremely small cups of warm water and Gatorade on a very hot day (no ice anywhere), (4) having a volunteer harass me for keeping a cup past the immediate vicinity of the water stop, and (5) having an expo that was really not much more than a packet pick-up stand.

These are just a few examples of the problems I encountered that rank below the huge problem that follows. The marathon race course itself on race day was not properly administered. There were dozens and dozens of places on the marathon course where it was not clear where we were to go. Sometimes they used cones and/or volunteers to mark the turns, but in a majority of cases, all we had to rely on were, at best, some painted marks on the pavement. It was so bad that around mile 10-11, at least a handful of us ended up running an extra mile before a volunteer spotted us and got us going the right way again. Particularly on a day that started at 70 degrees and ended the race well into the 80's, having to run an extra mile was inexcusable. In addition, many of the mile markers themselves were improperly measured. I wear a Garmin 305, which, while not 100% accurate, confirmed the problems I noted with the course.

I know the vast majority of race directors do a great job and don't get the true thanks they deserve. This is the one and only time in my 30+ years of running that I thought a race was badly mismanaged. As a result, I have to strongly recommend to other runners out there, particularly those in the two 50 State clubs who have to pick from what little is available in Indiana, to avoid this marathon even so. I have not run the Indy Marathon, but I have to hope it is much better organized than Sunburst.

I just ran my first Sunburst yesterday (May 31, 2008) and greatly enjoyed it. The course runs mostly through scenic residential areas and parks: unlike most marathons it does NOT go through the warehouse district or past the city's water treatment plant. Much of the course is out-and-back, which I like because you get to see all the other runners several times. There is the "run around the cones" (but, to correct other comments, it is not in a parking lot, but more like a private street). The worst part of the course is a short section where runners and cars are mixed together on a 4-lane street - one lane should be coned off for the race. My favorite part of the course is from mile 14 to mile 23, which follows the river and crosses the river (twice!) on a wooden foot bridge. Others like the finish at the 50-yard line, and that is nice, too.

Aid stations were EXCEPTIONAL - 6 stars. They had 24 aid stations in 26 miles, all had water and Gatorade, nearly half had GU, and a few had bananas. Food at the finish was great - I really liked the Popsicles and fresh fruit.

The biggest drawback to Sunburst is the likelihood of it being warm and humid - if you do not do well in those conditions, consider yourself warned.

It is a small marathon (under 500 in 2008), so the expo is tiny, and there are few spectators - but packet pickup is a breeze and there were no lines at the porta-potties!

Overall, a good race. Well done, South Bend!

Worth the money, but there's the good/not so good.

Good: Low cost, hassle-free, no worries about "getting in" before registration closes, fairly pretty course. Great volunteers, good expo, nice racing socks.

Not so good: 6 a.m. Eastern start (that meant rising at 3 a.m. in the Cenral zone where I live to run a marathon). Humidity (more than hot temps). This likely called for a 6 a.m. start, though. If possible, I would prefer the date to be 6 weeks earlier and an 8 am start.

Course: With numerous races going on at different times, marathoners at one point had to literally INTERSECT with runners from another race. Very dangerous, in my opinion.

The course was nice and varied, with much of it on scenic river trails. Just enough hills so as to make it challenging. Many well stocked water/Gatorade stops with plenty of GU packets. Great finish at ND stadium, with plenty of food and refreshments.

My split from mile 6 to mile 7 was under 5 minutes - and, no, I'm not that fast. No mile splits after that were excessively slow. Was the course short, mis-marked, or what? Anyone know?