I traveled from England especially to run the marathon. Fantastic course - and I ran my 2nd fastest marathon. The people of Traverse City made us feel very welcome. We thank them. One small complaint: my wife traveled on the supporters bus but it arrived too late for her to cheer me on. She was a bit disappointed. Apart from that, we had a great time in Traverse.

Finally made the leap. Course was beautiful; weather was great. Spectators really made you feel welcome and gave you that extra push just when you needed one. Great first experience; looking forward to next year. One down - now trying to improve on time.

This was my first marathon in my home town and could not have been better. The weather was fabulous high 60s and sunny and the course beautiful. For a small-town race the support from the community was great. Kids set up water stands and many people blasted great Michigan music - Kid Rock, Eminem and Motown. If you are looking for a great race without all the hype, this is perfect.

This was my second marathon (I ran the Disney World Marathon in January) and I must say this was a much more enjoyable experience. Running along the bay is just beautiful and the size of the marathon allows you to really enjoy your surroundings. Having perfect weather is an added bonus. Given the size of the marathon, there is limited, though enthusiastic, fan support. The race is very well organized and the finisher's medal is almost as ostentatious as Disney's. Bayshore makes marathon running almost pleasurable. I highly recommend this race.

This was a fantastic course for my first marathon. The scenery is amazing as you run right along the lakeshore. The aid stations were appropriately spaced, the volunteers were kind, and the spectators were fantastic. My only complaint was the bus service for spectators. The buses were late in the morning, and there were not enough of them. My wife was only able to see me at mile 15 due to this, and I even beat her back to the finish. In addition, there were no spectator bathrooms on the course that she could find. Needless to say, the race was great for me, but extremely frustrating for her. Overall, though, a great course for runners!

This is the second time I've run Bayshore - previously I ran it in 2006. And they really take the comments they get seriously. They added more aid stations and really just made a great marathon even better.

Love the course - great support considering it's so small, and I particularly love seeing the faster runners coming at me.

I've done Chicago and Cinninati, and while I loved them both, I'll be back for this one again in 2008. Plan on spending the weekend in Traverse City - it's a lovely place, with good shopping and great food!

This is the race for you if you're looking for a PR/BQ. Starting with the expo: it's nice and small and therefore very easy. The shirts are great, but a warning for the women - they run SMALL. The bibs have your name on it, which is a great touch. Race morning went unbelievably smoothly. There was plenty of parking in the college lots. Also the lots are super close to the start line so you could stay in your car to stay warm until it's time to go.

The course itself was perfect. Literally perfect. I loved the out-and-back because after the turn everything was familiar - no surprises at all. It was shaded about 95% of the course and there were some slight rolling inclines - not even enough to call hills, but enough of an incline so that it wasn't perfectly flat. Aid stations were wonderful. The designated crowd support areas were placed perfectly, also with lots of enthusiastic cheerers.

I loved finishing on the track - there were tons of people cheering as you entered the track which was fun.

Another thing I noticed was how NICE all the other runners were. Everyone said encouraging things to fellow runners, whether they were doing the passing or being passed. I really felt a part of something great. Hopefully this race will stay small - it's so much more fun to run a race with room to actually RUN.

Running Fit is a store downtown that takes pictures of all the runners and hangs them up all over their store for you to pick up after the race. That was a neat touch. Also I loved the medals - they were the best I've gotten.

The only problem is that they need about 20 more volunteers in the last mile to direct traffic. When I was leaving the directors had me and some other cars on the wrong side of the road, so the poor runners had to run around the cars. It was awful, especially at mile 25.

All in all, I give this race an A+. I had a PR of 17 minutes from a marathon I'd done a month before, which had also been a PR, and ended up qualifying for Boston with five minutes to spare! Take advantage of this amazing small race - I have a feeling this is one that will be filling up earlier and earlier every year.

This was my second marathon. The route was great - enjoyed running along the Bay. The weather couldn't have been better. The packet pick-up, parking, food, track finish, and the technical shirt in women's sizing were all great. My husband wants to come back next year so he can run and I can be the curb crew. I think I'll have to negotiate running too. The spectator buses had their problems but there were so many wonderful things about the location and the race that we'll be back.

Course - There were some minor short rises on the route. I'm sure there are some flatter courses out there but not too many.

Support/Aid Stations - You'd have to have a personal support crew for it to get any better. I have never run a marathon without my water pack and Gu - with the consistently good support on this race I didn't need my pack, and that's a lot of weight I can ditch next time.

Tech Shirt - Very nice. Twin Cities is the only one nicer that I have.

Medal - Really nice. Colorful ribbon instead of just a solid color.

Finisher Medal - Nicer looking then my age division award from another race.

Showers - RD provided them at the school campus - this was fine. It's a shame that the hotels in the area wouldn't provide late checkouts for a fee. I got this feedback from several runners that used the campus showers.

Food - Pre-race pasta party was a nice option if from out of town; but, I'd skip it next time just to try one of the local joints.

Finish Line - Food was nice. If you like ice cream you will be in heaven. Water was my first desire and it was handed to me with my medal - thanks.

Overall - I came off a PR in March and still PR'd by another 26 minutes. I know the support had to play in this. When I think I'm closing in on a BQ time I'll probably consider this course because of the support, weather, and the fact that the town has plenty of things for my family to do also.

Generally, if you don't like this race, then you should stop running. The course is great and generally the organization was terrific. My only complaint is that the clock was started when the half marathon started, which turned out to be two minutes early. This lead to an unpleasant surprise as I ran toward the finish line and saw that I was over 3 hours, but my Garmin said 2:58. The official times were correct, however. So, no harm, no foul.

The course is basically flat and very fast. It is also exceedingly pretty, especially from somebody who runs on the streets of the west side of Chicago. Not many spectators except for a few locations, but those that were out there were great. Enough water stops along the way, stocked with Gatorade and water. Also GU at the right mile markers. Also, plenty of port-a-potties at the start.

This is one of the best. All the important things were done correctly, and the little things done well too.

I consider this race to be the Midwest's version of the Clarence DeMar Marathon, which was one of the (if not the) best small marathons I've run.