Great marathon! The course was very nice and well staffed. There was plenty of water and gatorade on course as well as fuel such as GU and Bananas. The medal is very nice but the swag bag was terrible. There was nothing in it other than a 1 ounce jar of jelly and some advertisements. I run for the course though and will be back next year. Loved the Buffalo marathon.

This is a small marathon run concurrently with a relay and the half. They add nice touches like a 'Training for the Buffalo Marathon' shirt for early registrants. The director answers e-mails promptly for those with questions.
The course has many scenic portions along Lake Erie and through beautiful neighborhoods and parks. Of course, there are unattractive portions, but that is true of most urban courses.
There are some LONG gradual hills in the second half. Enthusiastic spectators, but not as many as a mega-marathon.
I really liked the ice baths at the finish line.
If you like a smallish race that is really well done, try Buffalo.

The race was organized well. The pools of ice water after the race were a very good source of relief! The downhill finish in the last mile was excellent! I did not like the out and back which went over a steel bridge with uneven footing. That was at mile 7? The last 8 miles were nice going through the parks. I will train better next time. THE NET TIMES REPORTED BY THE CHIP TIMING ARE 100% INCORRECT BY 40 MINUTES!

We picked this marathon because cheap flights were availible to Buffalo from the South. It was also a Holiday weekend , but we were able to fly in Saturday morning and leave Sunday evening, back home for Memorial Day. The host hotel had a discount rate and the expo was next door. The pasta dinner was a few blocks away and had plenty of food. I could see the start from my hotel window, and the finish was around the corner. The post race party never ran out of food or beer, in fact we had to check out by 1pm so we went to the party late. We met the race director at the party and had a very nice conversation about the marathon, he seemed very interested in what we had to say.
The day of the race was actually hotter than we expected and my goal time was not met but I can't blame the organizers for that. As in many marathons, I would like water every mile, but I understand that takes many more volunteers, as it was they had 1000 volunteers for 5000 runners.

Buffalo was my 5th full marathon in 41 days, and my slowest by far. The heat and humidity had everything to do with that. It was 80 degrees by 11 and the wind really picked up after that too, with an average of 15-19mph. The humidity did drop though from a high of 80% at the start to about 55% at the end. Having said all of that, no one can control the weather.

The orgainzation of the marathon was really good, I thought. Packet pick up was easy, although two lines for the marathon would have been better instead of one. The free pasta dinner was outstanding, as was the post-race meal. I was at the end and still had my choice of plenty of food and a cold beer. The shirt was cool and the medals are very cool.

The marathon advertises a cut off of water stops at 5 hours and a hard cut off for finishing at 6 hours. They make this very clear, and they stuck with it. Being near the end and knowing I would be right at the cut off points, I was prepared for that. I was very pleasantly surprised to find the water stops at miles 23 and 25 still open for the 20 or so of us still on the course at 5:30ish. Two ladies stayed at the mile 25 stop to hand out water and gatoraid, which was just enough to get me through. I suspect they stayed because it was so hot, and there were people still out. My gun time was as close as you cut it and be under 6 hours, I came in at 5:59:59 and was cheered very loudly. Looking at the results there were 13 people behind me, the last at 6:13.

The fan support was fantastic, with many people out on their front lawns spraying us down with hoses as we ran by. The Fire Dept was out with their hoses hooked up to hydrants as well.

All in all I think in was a good race and I would recommend it to anyone.

My third time running in my hometown...LOVE IT. Fan support was great, water stops were fun and plentiful, everyone seemed genuinely happy to be out helping the runners. Warm but that lake breeze was timely and perfect. Beautiful day to run. Missed some of the cool stuff, no race hat this year, heck, even the chip had nothing on it, but all in all rockin course and race...Thank you Buffalo for another great race...I'll be back in 2012 for sure!!! Well done!

This was supposed to be my third marathon. Alas, due to food poisoning two nights before and super hot and humid weather on the day of the race, I had to bail at the half. I will definitely be back next year though! From what I saw, the Buffalo Marathon organization did a GREAT job of handling things. The volunteers were wonderful, and so were the spectators - thanks to the folks at St. Clare Church for providing the sprinkler! I bailed before the course got to the prettiest parts of Buffalo - it was just too sticky. Lots of folks were walking early on.

The tech shirt was gorgeous; my boyfriend finished the half and got an awesome medal and age group award! The expo was kind of small, but I don't really run races for the expos!

Course was a little goofy, but interesting. For a flat course, more inclines than I expected. Seemed like the last 6-7 miles was a long slow upgrade. Well organized, lots of parking, easy to get to. Nice shirt, pick-up was easy, good water / GU stops. For me, the best part were the spectators, who were vocal, helpful and friendly. Although not a huge crowd, many of the residents in residential neighborhoods brought out hoses, water, and ice which was hugely helpful on such a hot day. Also a thumbs up to the Buffalo Fire Department for having some hoses out also. If I get the chance, I'll be back.

The Good: The course was relatively flat (there were 4-5 hills in there, but compared to other marathons, it was flat). I thought the police officers and volunteers were excellent. The Bad: The weather was quite hot, and there were some really well placed hills, which made the course not for the faint of heart. The Ugly: The only change I would make is to add water stops every 1.5 miles during the full marathon, instead of every 2 miles. This marathon is NOT for walkers; the first half closes after 3 hours, and by noon the streets are reopened.

Overall, I had high hopes for Buffalo, but was greatly disappointed.

Bag Drop Off: F. There is no bag drop off. How can you run a marathon this size without a bag drop off - and you don't tell anyone about it. Shame.

Course: B+. Flat in most places, but just enough hills to give your legs a stretch. Scenery is nice along the marina, but tails off into the warehouse district.

Timing: C-. 5 hour cut off is way too short for a "casual" marathon. This could be a signature event for the area, but it is not.

Water Stations: D. Every two miles and very disorganized. For 12 attempts, this should be worked out better. I appreciate the effort, but the execution is poor. Every two miles is too little for a race of this size. Not enough volunteers manning the stations. Again, I always appreciate those that come out and help, but, the execution was just not there.

Port-o-potties: D. Again, virtually non-existent.

Course direction: D. About a mile or two in there is a sign saying marathon turn right, half go straight. BUT, don't turn! You don't turn until 13 miles. Not a big deal? Yes it was. At least 3 marathoners turned as the sign said and had to retrace their steps. Still don't think it is a big deal - the lead half marathoner LOST the race because he was told to turn, even though he should not have - while they gave him money, he did not get the win.

Finisher shoot: B+. It would have been an A, but, several times I saw runners needing to dodge other runners who decided to finish with their young children. While it makes for a cute picture, it is not fair to those that worked to earn a finish. IT IS ALSO DANGEROUS. I fear this won't stop until someone gets hurt.

Parking: B. Plenty of parking around the start. Not clearly identified, but, it was all around.

Expo: D. Second smallest I have ever seen. Very disappointing considering the overall size of the marathon.

Packet Pickup: C-. The lines were a bit long and there seemed to be constant slight confusion.

Information: D. No notes on parking. No mention of no bag drop off. No specifics on timing groups.

Overall, just a disappointment. The race infrastructure needs a complete redesign and significant more community support. Please step up and fix this race. It could be really good & could be but it is not. Avoid Buffalo until this happens.