To me, this is one of the best marathons you'll find. The course is beautiful, running through the redwoods on two separate out-and-backs. Getting to see the frontrunners in the marathon coming back, and the half marathoners (who started an hour later) coming out on the first out-and-back, and the 10K'ers coming back in on the second out-and-back was nice. The aid stations are spaced nicely, about every 2 miles. The later ones even offered orange slices, bananas and watermelon! I appreciated ERG as the sports drink. Other than the intersection at the half, there aren't many spectators, so if that is what you need, then you might be disappointed. The race offers same-day packet pick up, which is really nice, especially since you're probably going to have to stay several miles down the road. Parking is easy and plentiful. The t-shirts and medals were nice, and we got a re-useable "Redwood" bag. All in all, a top-notch marathon that I would highly recommend.

I wanted to run this for a dear friend (TSL) who unfortunately couldn't do it this time.

The course is breathtaking, and I'm not talking about the deceptive rolling hills that can trick you into running faster on the first half and leave you breathless at the end. It's breathtaking from the majestic beauty of the trees.

It definitely is one of the marathons you have to run at least once in a lifetime....

Hope one day we'll run it together, my dear.

This was my first Ave and my second marathon overall. My first marathon was Rock and Roll in San Diego. If you feed off spectators, you might have problems here. There were hardly any spectators, but because of the double out-and-back, there was plenty of support from other runners and volunteers at aid stations.

The scenery was amazing! The trees are just breathtaking, and I found myself looking up quite a bit while I ran. There's also a river that you can see most of the way along with several small waterfalls and creeks.

The road is a little rough on the first half of the course, but it's a little easier than trail running. You just have to watch where you're going. The second half has a smoother road.

The first half was rolling a bit, but I didn't feel it affected my time much at all. The second half was flatter, but the road was banked enough to feel it.

Overall, this was an amazing run and I had an awesome finishing time. I would definitely do it again.

This year I ran the half-marathon. I have run the full marathon here four times, I think, and the half twice.

This is a wonderful, magical place and is one of the most beautiful courses you will ever have the privilege to run.

The first half of the marathon (which is the half-marathon course) is a little hilly, and some people complain about the road being rough. I almost exclusively run on trails, so it was a smooth treat for me! The second half of the full marathon seems downhill both ways - really.

As far as lodging is concerned, get reservations early if you want to stay at one of the nicer places in Fortuna; but this year I stayed at a cheaper motel in Fortuna, which was just fine, and had vacancies the night before the race.

My one complaint is that this year the shirts were made from very thin cotton. I can roll my entire XXL shirt up and hold it in my fist. It was, they said, "organic" cotton. But I can't for the life of me figure out the advantage of that - I'm certainly not going to eat it.

Anyway, the shirts look like they aren't going to last too long, and the cotton is so thin that your, uh, anatomic features show readily through the shirt. It doesn't matter much to me because I have dozens of race shirts already, but two of my friends I ran the race with were running their first half-marathon. My first race was in 1983, and the shirt was a flimsy thing like this that didn't last more than a year.

They were selling technical shirts for, I think, $30. I actually bought a tech shirt this year from last year's race for $15 and I love it. And no, I didn't run the race last year - shame on me - but I have run this course seven times total, so big deal.

Anyway, my advice is that if you come back, buy the tech shirt for 15 bucks. Great deal.

The volunteers and staff were all wonderful, helpful, and friendly. This race is a happy event. I took photos before and during the race this year and posted them on Flickr. I can't post a link, but just search Flickr for Avenue of the Giants Marathon.

Hats off to the organizers and volunteers at this tremendous event!

Where I come from, the hills are of the "all up with no switchbacks" variety. I train on grades up to 13% and had read the profile. Nevertheless, my legs were surprised by the constant grade, though I never encountered what I thought would be a steep climb around mile 5. Describing the course as "relatively flat" is deceptive, even understanding that hills and perception of grade are relative. I've been running/racing for 37 years, so I have a bit of experience with hills. The grades will take your pace down a few notches. Be honest on the website; runners will still come for the opportunity to run "through the redwood forest," but will have a better understanding of what they're dealing with.

Good support at the aid stations - lively Boy Scouts! As far as spectators, we had the company of the beautiful trees - plus it was fun to watch the unfolding of the marathon from the half-marathon's point of view on the other side of the road.

I was baffled by the finish line, though, as both the 10K and marathoners fed in around the corner at the same time. While I'm sprinting to what I believed to be the timing mat, I cross, then slow, nearly stopping, not realizing until spectators yell at me and being passed by the other runners, to "keep going." That this wasn't the finish line. The first mat apparently was for the announcer to call names. This should be made clear on the website. Sometimes races with different distances have several finish line chutes. I didn't know. I kept on going the extra few feet, a few seconds slower for the stopping.

This was a wonderful race - the scenery was amazing and the people we encountered couldn't have been nicer. There were not too many spectators due to the race roads being closed to vehicular traffic, but the ones that were out there were fantastic. Also, I have never run a marathon where the other runners were so supportive! Those trees put everyone in a good mood! A lot of people have commented about the ERG - I actually liked it. I normally can't stomach the too-potent Gatorade/PowerAde at races, so this worked well for me. There were plenty of aid stations, which was nice. The port-a-johns were actually serviced during the race, which I have never seen before and really appreciated. The only complaint I would issue is that water and food were very scarce when I finished (3:58). I had read that about previous years so I packed some in the car for afterward and was fine. I would recommend doing the same. We made a vacation of the trip, and I would recommend the same to anyone. If you travel to that area, you certainly need a few days to do it justice. I highly recommend a drive to the coast, and the town of Ferndale was a great place to stay.

The trees are all they were advertised to be. Some of us even witnessed one of the giants fall around 50 yards to our left. Very majestic - I would have been frightened, but saw it clearly from the first crack, and it was definitely not headed toward the road. I also saw a deer leap across the road; it never touched down until it cleared the pavement. Now for the negatives: The pavement on the first half was very rough, and so much so that, for the first time in my nine marathons, my first half was significantly slower than my second. Also, take a hint from the other comments and bring your own snacks and drinks for the end. This part doesn't need to be a big deal. Most of us can plan ahead. Also, plan your lodging ahead. We did, and we were pleased, but it fills up fast. This race did a better job with the porta-potties than any of the other marathons I have done, even though the other races were better organized in other areas. The water stops were plentiful, but the last was out of cups when I came through. This was not a big deal, as it was only around three-tenths of a mile from the end. They still had some in pitchers for anyone willing to cup their hands.

This event must be the most scenic of all the events that I have run in my 26 years of running worldwide. I will never run a big-city marathon/half-marathon again. "Well done" to all who make the event possible, including the wonderful pasta party. I hope to see you all again next year,

-Peter Torre

The course was as scenic as promised: there were majestic trees, moss and ferns, and cheery streams. The people were great too; I loved the Boy Scouts and other volunteers, and there were even some cheering campers on the second out-and-back. The first out-and-back was sort of scary and bumpy; I am not a fast runner, but I think that would be a problem for them. My main complaint was that there was no water at the finish for my time group (4:33).

Getting into the river afterward was a big bonus - cooling therapeutic water. :)

Thank you!

There is no question that this marathon is the most secenic that I have ever run. The trees are incredible and I would recommend it for that alone. Of course, every marathon has room for improvement and here are my suggestions:

1) Don't advertise this course as flat. While the hills were not steep inclines, there were definitely some hills (it's all relative in this part of the country, I know).

2) Please find some fluid replacement other than ERG. This was so diluted that it was sometimes no different from water. This was especially problematic for me since the air was quite humid and I began cramping up by mile 20 and could have used the extra sodium of a sports drink. I guess I should have carried my own.

3) There should be an abundance of water at the finish line. I finished mid-pack and there was very little water left. The 1/8th of a bagel with peanut butter was not very appetizing....

So, not too many complaints. I signed up for this race knowing that there would not be spectators, and that's fine. I also think they did a good job spacing the marathoners, half-marathoners, and 10K runners. Also, a nice t-shirt with no gaudy advertising.