I was excited to experience a marathon in my hometown. I was disappointed not on my performance but the organization of this race. The temps were in the 80s so you would think that the race directors would make sure they were prepared. There were NO gels passed out on the course, no vaseline at any of the medical tents or on the course, numerous intersections that were unmanned (I finished in the top 40% so it was not like I was past the cutoff), and the water at the waterstops was HOT due to the temps. A little ice would have been nice. If you did not come prepared you would have been out of luck. The course is very challenging. I knew that ahead of time but really wonder why the race directors would have us run out to our airport and back into downtown and then overlap the course (second half)? We have such better areas to run in Tyler. It would seem like the directors would want to encourage more people to run it again by having a runner friendly course. Much of the second half is run on our historic brick streets. On a positive note, I am happy we have a marathon in our town and the waterstops were plentiful. I do not recommend this for first time marathoners at all or anyone wishing for a PR. The finish festival was at our rose garden which was nice but the only after race food I experienced was two girls walking around passing out frozen yogurt and water bottles.

This was my 1st marathon and I feel very proud to have run it! A bit of info: look at the elevation profile of the route before you sign up. I should have viewed the elevation profile of this marathon before I ran it and would recommend comparing this elevation to other marathon elevations before making a decision on which one to run. This is not one to run for a fast time, but one to run for an extra challenge, if running 26.2 miles isn't enough of a challenge, lol. There where parts of the race that where really beautiful and parts we ran through that I felt were unsafe (some of the neighborhood was pretty ghetto and a lot of miles we ran where literally running with & through traffic). The people at the water stations did a great job and where well organized. The people placed as the crossing station guards mainly seemed disinterested (one was reading a book) and some did not know the route and sent runners in the wrong direction (I heard some runners ran an extra mile!), there was no Vaseline at any of the 1st aid stations which I needed due to chaffing. At the end of the race I received a beautiful rose medallion medal and a small rose bush. There where showers, towels, soap & shampoo provided by a local church which was awesome to have after the run. After asking around I found the food, there were no signs to let you know the food was in a back room. I haven't run any other marathons to know if any of this is typical, so I don't want to rate this run too low; however, I can say that I would not run this marathon again. My time was 5:11:27. I plan to run the Dallas White Rock next :) and feel confident that I will be well under 5 hrs.

I have never complained about a race before, but this one deserves a severe warning. The race organizers failed in several very serious matters, including safety. There were only two medic stations on the second half of the course. None on the first half of the course. I came across one guy at about 20 km who was in big trouble - wandering around the road, with traffic all around him. I took him aside and gave him some gels, but he was out of it. No medics around, and the volunteers were just letting him go on. I told him to go sit down and call it a day. The volunteers were not trained well regarding their responsibilities. For at least 10 intersections, they were sitting reading books intead of regulating traffic or shepherding runners. One fellow I came across was limping - he was hit by a car!! This is absolutely unacceptable. Volunteers also did not know the course - many were sent off in wrong directions - I got the 'ultramarathon' pack (we did about 1 mile too far because they sent us off in the direction away from the finish line), others got the 'ultrahalfmarathon' pack (they were directed on a road that was about 1 mile too short). One fellow's timing was really ridiculous - he had a 1 hour negative split ... huh? Unless he sandbagged/walked the first half, or took a cab on the second half, this is not even believable. The whole organization was completely unacceptable for a 'Boston Qualifier' course. STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE - IT WAS FAR BELOW ANY NOTION OF ACCEPTABLE STANDARDS.

As an inaugural marathon, this was a super-organized race. I've run marathons before, and while this one was very small (260-ish for the full, 1700-ish for the half), I really enjoyed it!

The course is referred to as a "rolling course," but to me it was pretty hilly. I trained on hills, knowing this, and I'm really glad I did. To me, the hills kept things interesting.

About the course itself: The first several miles are beautiful- rolling, curving roads that break off into wooded settings and go past cow pastures where you can watch farmers feeding bales of hay to their horses. The next 4-5 miles after that were boring, though: Super-straight along a highway with not much to look at except random buildings and cars passing by. I ended up not close at all to other runners and I could just make out everyone finally turning right off of the highway. By the time I made it to what I thought was the turn-off point, I couldn't see anyone ahead of me in any direction. There was an officer directing traffic, but he had cars turning in front of me so I assumed I was supposed to turn to - I mean, I certainly couldn't go straight! Well, I went the wrong way. I WAS supposed to go straight! Aagh! So I ran .10/mile out of my way and then realized I needed to backtrack. That's the only point where I felt really alone! BUT!!! The last 10 miles or so are very, very nice: You go all through these old, historic neighborhoods with huge trees, brick roads to run on, and lots of people outside in front of their houses and on the corners to cheer you on (and who will tell you where to turn or when to keep going straight)!

Support: Drink stations were plentiful, cheery, organized, and placed right where you would need them!

Afterwards: I couldn't really find any food!!! I was handed a small, potted rose (totally cool schwag), the coolest medal ever besides the one I earned in the Marine Corps Marathon, and a bottle of water. But where was the food? I wandered around and saw people eating hot dogs but I couldn't find where they got them.... Hmm... and I was way too tired and just DONE to walk very far anyway. I wish the food were easier to find. I just decided to walk back to the bed and breakfast I was staying at.

...Which, by the way, brings me to another good point: There really are NO hotels within walking distance. I searched online and found a bed and breakfast literally .20/mile from the start/finish, and it was right on the actual marathon course! Cool! My husband sat outside on the balcony and waved and cheered me on as I passed, so that was neat.

Overall, I really enjoyed this race. I'll be back next year to do it again. I've always wondered why no one in the North Texas area had a full marathon going on in the fall. Why not? It's a beautiful time to run in Texas: Not too hot, and not too cold or rainy. I'm glad Tyler has this race going on now. I'll be back next year to run it again!