Ran this in 2003 and again this year. I love the new course - easy area for start/finish. The course ran on busy streets; please place orange traffic cones to protect the runners. I was running in a large group and we had several cars whiz by us. Do NOT change pacers in the full; it changes the chemistry in the groups. if you are concerned about their ability get stronger/more experienced pacers or start 2 in a group. Nice medal and glass.

Also, buy blankets for the finish; you can't control the weather, but you OWE it to the runners to keep them warm at the finish. If the day is warm, save them for next year.

I was very impressed with the race in general. The volunteers were very helpful and the finish in Glass Stadium was great. The medal and the mug were nice touches too! My only complaint was that it seemed like there were large areas devoid of fans; but whenever there were any, they were supportive and excited! The fellow racers were extremely supportive too. In fact, when I was struggling with the 35+ mph winds on the home stretch, two complete strangers told me to follow them. For the rest of the race we paired up, and one would take the brunt of the wind for the other two for a mile and switch. This may have been my first marathon, but I plan on coming back for next year's!

This was my first Glass City Marathon and fourth overall. This race was organized incredibly well - I was impressed. The course was equally as good, with a great mix of in town and scenic running. The water stops were very well run, there were plenty of them, and all of the staff was great. The course itself had a lot of twists and turns, and for the most part they were very well marked. The only glitch was the very last 1/2 mile, which wasn't marked well at all. I believe this was because I was toward the end of the pack, but I had to spend a lot of time searching for which way to go. I think a couple of people left their spots early. The finish in the stadium was cool. The medal was the best I've seen, really awesome. The mug was a great touch and the beer was cold after the race. The pizza was all gone, but there were still bananas, pretzels, bagels and maybe some other food left, which was fine with me. The only real negative could not be controlled, and that was the 25 mph wind, with gusts much more than that. Most of the running into the wind was during the first half, and we had the wind to our back for the last 3 miles. Overall, a great marathon, very well put together, and I would recommend it to everyone.

PROS:
1. great medal
2. finishers glass mug was a great bonus
3. nice shirt
4. flat, fast course
5. finishing in the stadium
6. easy parking
7. split times announced multiple points

CONS:
i don't really have any big knocks against this race. the expo was average, but appropriate for the size of the event. not much crowd support, but again it's a smaller race. I would love to see this race later in the spring because the weather is so unpredictable this time of year and like any spring midwest marathon it's ridiculous to train for in the winter.

COURSE:
takes you through some of the most scenic parts of Toledo. utilizing the UT bike path was excellent. most of the course was protected so you didn't have to worry about cars, it was flat, and the long straightaways are great. finishing in the Glass Bowl was cool- as are all stadium finishes. I always thought a course through downtown, over the hi-level bridge would be cool, but i would hate to change anything about this course as it stands because it was very pretty.

for having only 1000 runners in the full marathon, I didn't feel out on the course alone because there were plenty of relay participants.

overall, excellent experience! I really look forward to doing this race again.

After reading mixed reviews about the race, I didn't know what to expect. I thought the course had great scenery, plenty of aid, and a very nice medal AND mug. There were nice areas of support, even in the wind, and the course was not an out-and-back. Out-and-backs in a marathon are not only boring (at times) but also show a lack of creativity and community support, in my opinion. For 50 staters and Michigan runners looking for a new marathon, I would suggest Glass City.

This is the second time I have run the Glass City Marathon, the first being back in 2007. The updated course is much much better than the old one; the addition of the UT campus and finish at the Glass Bowl are a lot nicer than the downtown start/finish of the old course. Very well organized packet pick up and smaller expo on the UT campus the day before and morning of the race. A nice tech short sleeved shirt and nice large finisher's medal were great. Plenty of portable toilets before the race and a few scattered along the course if needed. Water stops were spaced out nicely and well staffed. The course does have some long straightaways, and with under 800 marathoners this year, the race can and does get spread out a bit. Overall a good small/medium sized marathon to check out. The Toledo Roadrunner's group does a good job putting the race on and am glad they have made some changes and adjustments to the Glass City Marathon to improve it and make it a better race.

This is an affordable race that offers: a decent expo for a mid-sized race; easy and convenient race day logistics; a warm building to hang out before the race; a reasonably scenic course that is about as flat as they come; plentiful aid stations with more gel stops than advertised; free beer; and a nice medal. The drawbacks:

At least 40 turns on the course. It's pretty easy to run 26.4 or 26.5.

Mismarked miles. Mile 11 was noticeably short, and Mile 12 long by a similar amount. Mile 16 was WAAAAY short (~1/10th), and 17 was equally long. And how the hell do you end up with TWO 20- Mile marks? This is inexcusable.

The one race in a blue moon when you actually need one of those space blankets after the race (20 MPH winds and temps about 50 degrees) there are none to be found.

Fix the mile markers, have the blankets available in case the weather warrants them, and tell the aid station at MM25 that a request for water does not entitle them to hand you a beer, and I would run this race again.

I will begin on a positive note: it served its purpose, as I qualified for Boston. However, until the course changes, I will not run again. It is a flat, fast course, but it has dreadfully long straightaways. Furthermore, since it has limited space, you can be running solo for awhile. Lastly, the water stops are about every 2 miles, which makes it a little tough. The pre-marathon events (like the kids' run) was fantastic. If you're looking for a time, run it. If you're looking for an experience, skip it.

Much better than the old course through Rossford, Sidecut Park and south Toledo. We signed up for the full but ended up running the half after injuries eight weeks into training. Can't wait to run the full course next year, especially after all of the kinks have been worked out. Fan support was thin but will get better as the course matures. Need University of Toledo to bring out its marching band/pep band and Rockets mascot.

This was my first finish in a marathon.

Overall, I thought that this was a very good marathon. The organization was strong, with a few irritations here and there but not enough to overshadow an exceptional effort. My main issue was post-race, where the food was bland and the pizza all gone (I finished in a sub-4 time, so they should not have already been running out of food).

The course was fast and mostly flat, though also somewhat dull; much of the course was run on the bike lanes along 2- or 4-lane roads that were not closed to traffic, which was at times unnerving and overall not really scenic. There were some detours through very nice parks, and the first few miles through wooded residential areas were beautiful, as was the last bit through the U. of Toledo campus. I also enjoyed finishing in the Glass Bowl.

I found the crowd support, while sparse at times, to be very enthusiastic, and the volunteers were great.

Nice medal, excellent shirt, and cool mug.

I would definitely consider running this again next year.