The course was scenic, along the river. The finish line is on the 50 yard-line of the Notre Dame football stadium (SPECTACULAR). They handed out wash cloths soaked in ice water at the finish line, which was refreshing. I think it is well organized and will run it again. The only negative is that they need more clocks at the mile markers.

It has been 8 years since I ran this marathon, but due to its proximity to my home and the time of year, I'm finally going to try it again. I'm most concerned about a couple things - making sure the course is marked clearly, running into the 5K walkers at the end of the race, and then having to battle walkers and runners from shorter races for refreshments afterwards. Marathoners should be treated better and not have to fight for position at miles 25 and 26 with a bunch of people who are out for a Saturday-morning stroll in their brand new T-shirt. I have a good feeling that organizers have corrected this, but I will report back after the race.

As I prepare for Sunburst '08, I thought I would read comments from '07 event (also ran). In my opinion, a few of the remarks posted are unwarranted.

Yeah, the water was warm, but it was a really, really hot and humid day. The water stops were well prepared for the heat (unlike Chicago '07) and well staffed. Friendly volunteers!

The course changes slightly every year. Now, '07 was not my favorite, but since I live right over the state border and get the South Bend paper, I knew in advance that there was a lot of street work near Notre Dame and at other points on or in the vicinity of the marathon course.

As for the t-shirts, really, I have more tees than I know what to do with! Who cares whether it says "Marathon Finisher" or not when I'm mowing the grass?

This upcoming edition, 2008, will be my 4th time running the full Sunburst Marathon (did the half and 10K many times) and I'm looking forward to it. It's a quiet course (not for everyone) but a great little race.

Sunburst has dropped its standards. We had to fight through crossing paths of walkers and cars throughout the race. A pathetic effort to call this a marathon! If they don't really want the real runners to come, they are going about it the right way!

I actually only ran the half marathon. Being a somewhat new runner, I find this race to be OK. I was a little disappointed about running around cones and sad that we didn't run through the beautiful campus of Notre Dame. However, the course is relatively flat (except for that lovely hill at mile 11). I do have to say that the finish made it all worthwhile. They pump in music from the band and you finish right there in the middle of the football field... on the 50.

The worst course I've ever run on... at any competitive level, including my high school and college days. Running around orange cones to burn up distance???? Honestly... that's ridiculous. This is a marathon, not a silly training exercise. In a few instances there were even cars ON the course. Nothing like sucking in fumes while trying to make moves. Poorly managed and poorly conceived in every way.

Visiting a new city (and exploring Notre Dame, in this case) is always fun... but I can't, in good faith, recommend this to anyone I care about, which is most everyone I've ever met.

Avoid at all costs.

Be prepared for a hot day. I have run a race at the event every year for the past 11 years and it has been hot every time. This past year was my first marathon; be ready for little fan support, a rat maze for a course, and a memorable finish in Notre Dame stadium. You have to expect hot weather in June... just come prepared for it. All in all, though, it's a great event and well run.

I am a pretty easy going person... not hard to please. However, the town seemed very inconvenienced by having a marathon going on. There were very few spectators. The course was not enjoyable. We ran to the end of on parking lot and ran around a construction cone, then to the end of another parking lot just to run around another cone. It was also very hot. I do not recommend this marathon to anyone. Even at the end, the marathon organizers ran out of almost everything. The 5K racers ate almost all the food.

We loved it but wish there could be a five o'clock early start, marathon at five thirty, etc. I liked having a race to run while my husband did the 26.2.

I liked most things about this marathon. The organizers plan for, or at least alert you to, most of what to expect. Things were well explained and marked. The start parking was a breeze, but I did have about a 25-minute wait for the post-race shuttle. A friend even got an age-group award (which run 5-deep) of a free Brightroom 5x7 photo. Post-race food and drink was fine, and on a hot day I was glad there weren't heavy foods and there were popsicles and cold towels. About the last mile-and-a-half got crowded, as we joined the midpack of the half-marathoners and some of the 5K Fun Walk participants (the only race in which strollers were allowed). That mass made it slightly tougher to keep my pace and focus. "RH from Northern Kentucky" shouldn't feel so victimized, as he seemed to come across in his review. There WERE walkers and slower runners from shorter races thickening the last part of the marathon course, and that aspect of the marathon experience should be noted.