This was my first marathon and it was well worth it. My wife and I traveled up from Holland, MI and had a wonderful time. The course is amazing! I loved the free ice cream at the end of the race from Cold Stone. The medals are made with quality material.

This race lived up to the hype. Beautiful scenery, nice and flat, great medal, Cold Stone Creamery at the end, all in a nice little town on Memorial Day weekend.

My only complaint: the expo is extremely boring.

This was my first Bayshore Marathon. What a wonderful experience I had, and I was able to qualify for Boston! Course was GREAT! What views along the Traverse Bay. A few rollers mixed in, but overall pretty flat and fast. Organization was outstanding. Packet pick up was crowded, but moved right along; not much of a traditional expo to check out though. Plenty of parking at the start, which is great. Aid stations are positioned very well and the "aid station ahead" signs were helpful. Coming to the finish around the high school track was exciting. It seemed like everyone was cheering for your finish. The medals at the end were more than I expected, as was the post-race food. Wonderful job to everyone involved in this race. Keep things as they are - and the cap on the number of runners helps this stay an amazing race. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

This is by far the best course for a marathon! My mind was so busy looking at the beautiful scenery all along the water that I did not have time to think about anything else. Plenty of volunteers, and GU every 6 miles! Wonderful spectators. A beautiful medal and classy tech t-shirt! My husband and I are coming back next year - we loved it!

Wonderful out-and-back course (for the full); interesting that you pass the half marathoners who start simultaneously at our halfway point. That actually cuts down on start traffic nicely. Speaking of the start, I was really surprised that there were no corrals for some 1,300 runners, but it worked out nicely anyway.

The finisher's medal is one of the best I've earned. And I have to disagree with those who complain about the t-shirt. It's a Brooks technical that you can actually use - I'll take that any day over the typical cotton shirt.

Fan support was phenomenal, as were the volunteers. Every water stop was expertly managed. My favorite fan sign: at about mile 20 or so said, "Suck it Up, Buttercup!"

Finally, the Traverse City area is wonderful. This race makes for a great long weekend.

Thanks for a great run and a great memory. Although I missed my B.Q. time by just over a minute, this marathon in and of itself made up for it. The course, people, weather and overall set were unbeatable. See you in '09!

My favorite race yet. I had a PR by 35 minutes and felt great. Perfect weather; perfect course. Family/friends can easily see you in at least 4 locations. Traverse City also made for a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Lots to do.

This is a very scenic course where PR's and BQ's are possible. My son and I drove 13 hours to run - the course alone made the drive worth it. My PROS for this race: the course; Traverse City - great town to visit; finish around the track; massage tent; great medal; plenty of GU and water stops. My CONS: packet pick up -needs a new location and longer hours; better post party; better designed shirt. The volunteers were great. A must-do small race.

Nobody does it better. Great organization, wonderful course and crowd support (my wife saw me at 11, 15, 19, 21, 23 and finish) and a PR. Only regret: I missed BQ by 16 seconds!

Perfect weather, perfect atmosphere, great people. Being my first marathon, I was pretty nervous and didn't know what to expect. All of the runners were supportive as we all helped motivate one another to finish. Finally crossing that finish line and seeing my 7-month-old daughter waiting for me will definitely be one of those special moments in my life that I will look back on fondly. Thank you, Traverse City... you're a great host!