The setting for the start at the Fort Benjamin Harrison parade grounds was quite impressive, and nicely complemented with the band music performances by the military band. The course was scenic through the park, not too challenging, and sometimes boring; but overall, it's a good course. It was a bit congested with a half-marathon. Did not like that at all.

Packet pickup and pasta feed were fine. A map of the area would have been helpful. All of the aid stations and volunteers were excellent and much appreciated. A nice-looking medal, but we shared with the half-marathoners. Go figure.

A real plus of this race is the full meal at the end. Great idea!

Overall, I enjoyed the race and would recommend it to other 50 Staters.

We had a perfect weather for running, and the organizers did a great job. Water and Gatorade were available at all the stops. Thanks for doing such a nice job for the race.

Kudos to the RD. A great job done with overall organization. I disagree with the previous poster about this not being a PR course. I say that because I did PR by 1 minute and 30 seconds (30+ marathons). Some elevation change is good to break up the course. Mile 26 hill was sneaky, however.

The expo was a bit small for the size of the events (which include the half and 5K). Pasta was as expected, as were the limited spectators. If you want spectators, go do Chicago or NYC. This race has a great supportive feel. Volunteers were awesome. Midwesterners are very friendly.

Post-race was top notch - great atmosphere with the food tent and music. Allowing non-runners (family) in was great.

I would highly recommend this race to others seeking a good course with a great organization. Worth the trip from VA.

I thought this was a nice course overall. The first three miles seemed a little crowded, but the runners started to thin out after that. The two legs into the state park starting just after mile 8 were wonderful, especially with the fall colors. The elevation drop into mile 10 wasn't bad, but I think it caused my foot to blister. I would run this marathon again and think the half marathon would be well worth it.

Some of the refreshment tables generally after mile 13 were sometimes a bit short. I missed water on one occasion, and I saw it happen to someone else several miles later. There was to be two gel stations, but somehow I missed those.

The crowd was decent but fairly quiet. I don't know if it's because each spectator was there for only their runner or whether the cool morning was affecting them. Some of the spectators did get fired up when some of the runners encouraged them to. The compact course helped to give spectators multiple opportunities to see the runners, which seems like a big plus.

The advice to arrive (at least) one hour before race time shouldn't be taken lightly. It took us a good 45-50 minutes to park, walk to the race area, use the restroom, and get lined up.

I loved the course and the weather was PERFECT! The after-race festivities were also very nice and allowed for some additional camaraderie. The size of 6,000 seems just about right for the course.

My only complaint was that it seemed to be a long course - my GPS registered 26.63 and I never ventured off the course. I was hoping to qualify for Boston and missed it by 1:15, so an extra .3 or .4 would have been the difference. Anyone else have a GPS reading that seemed high (could be my unit, but it has been real accurate at other races)?

Again, a fabulous race with great organization, friendly staff and good crowd support. I look forward to doing it again in 2009!

The Indianapolis Marathon is a great race! The weather was outstanding, with sunny skies, start temps in the mid 40s, and very little wind at the beginning. Running alongside the half marathoners for the first 12.5 miles gives it a big-race feel, but even after the split, you aren't all alone by any means.

Race support is fantastic, both by the volunteers and spectators. While the course is relatively flat, there are certainly some rollers and a pretty good climb out of the park at mile 24.5. All in all, a great course!

Now, where to stay: The Kendall Inn is less than a half-mile from the start finish. A very little known hotel that was fantastic. They gave me a 2:00 check-out! They had very spacious rooms, comfortable beds, and a shower that had water heads on the sides as well as above - a real treat!

Bottom line: Run the Indianapolis Marathon! You'll be glad you did!

This is a beautiful course and a great post-race meal is provided. Not necessarily a PR course, since there are some elevation changes throughout the course, but the fall colors make it worth it.

The first roughly 1/3 of the course is pretty dull, but the rest is quite lovely through parks and on paved trails. It's mostly flat. The organization is first-rate, with spectacular volunteers and my family all enjoyed the post-race cookout. The only thing that would improve this marathon would be better community support. A lot of the course can't accommodate fans, but the areas that can are still pretty quiet.

This was my 2nd marathon and I had my PR. The course is great. It is flat mostly, except for the loop that runs through the state park, which has some hills (although they're not bad). The weather was fantastic. Spectator access points and support was also fairly good. Finisher medal and t-shirt were also good.

The only complaint I have is about the race organization. I have seen better organized "riots." Reaching the starting point of the race from the exit (~ 2 miles) took me over an hour. I actually ran 3/4's of a mile over my marathon pace to get to the starting point. Recommendation to race director: if you cannot manage traffic, parking, etc. on race-day, plan for a smaller race. I live close by from this race, but I will never run this again, unless the race organization is improved.

This was my first marathon and it was a wonderful experience. The weather was IDEAL at 50 degrees and sunny. Packet pick up and aid stations were smooth. At times I felt I was running alone with a scarcity of fellow runners and spectators, but the course through the woods was so pretty it didn't matter.

The course was relatively flat with a couple of big hills, but no deal breakers! I will definitely run this race again.