If you are looking for a flat marathon....this isn't it. But I LOVED the course from my Garmin I had 1188 ft of Climbing (Big Sur only has 1660ft). Great Unique finishers medals. Post Race Refreshments were a little weak, with as many food sponsors as they had. I gave the Organization 3 stars because I emailed the Race Director twice before event for military discount code and never received an answer. Also the packet pickup and expo were only 6 hours on Saturday. The meal was free but I didn't stay went to a great place in old town. Overall great race for the money, organization could be a little better, but lightening fast results.

I spoke poorly of this race last year. Since it is my hometown race, I run it. Improved this year, support was much better, course somewhat better, and medals were nice again. Shirt was worse than last year though. I'll run again this year.

Course idea: Any chance we could run across a bridge/the river/into Iowa? Lots of potential routes with many bridges to choose from...

Several small changes to the course, nothing major, I still love he course - the hills are not nearly as bad as some would make you think. Everything was well organized and done very well. I plan to run it again in 2012 (if my left knee lets me)

Ran this to mark Nebraska off my 50 state list. As per previous comments, very convenient to fly in and out in 24 hours. Area hotels (all near race events as well) very conducive to marathon travelers. Course was crowded in first half due to this being full of 10K and Half Marathon runners but I enjoyed the second half in terms of runner spacing. Course was not the most scenic, but was fair and surprisingly full of spectators for a race of this size. I agree about expo times- 4 pm is early to close especially for those of us flying/traveling in. But expo was not bad when I was there and it had all the requisite offerings. Race shirt and medal were also nice- glass was a nice touch. Free pasta dinner was a nice touch and rarely seen anymore. Race was well managed and organized and volunteers were great. I had a great experience here and would recommend for people looking for a good Nebraska marathon.

Couldn't ask for more perfect running weather (40s-50s, low humidity, not much breeze), so any other drawbacks to course/organization/spectators would be canceled out by that. That said, I find it difficult to come up with many drawbacks. Not my all-time favorite marathon, but pretty darn good.

Having run in quite hilly spots of the Omaha area before while visiting friends, I was amazed how flat it was. As mentioned by others, mega-hills between 7 and 10, but the rest was no problem. I had PR pace thru 22 till calf cramps brought things to a (literal) standstill.

Cool medal; I just wish I had one with a darker background because it's hard to read 'Omaha Marathon.' And I agree with the poster suggesting the Gatorade/water stations be spaced, though the volunteers were great to sing out which hand had which liquid. In fact, the volunteers were great (and plentiful) about everything.

Thanks Omaha. I'd recommend this race.

I set a PR on this course, so I'm of course happy I chose it. Only a couple of tough hills and those are in the first half. Volunteers were plentiful and helpful, and plenty of aid stations.

While the race was generally well-organized, the start was a mess: just 4000 people in a clump with no instructions (at least none that could be heard 10 rows deep in the crowd) and no attempt to arrange runners according to pace or distance (about 700 marathoners jammed in with 3000 folks doing a half or a 10K).

I was also annoyed that the packet pickup closed at 4:00 pm the day before, which forced me to arrive in Omaha earlier than I would have liked to... but Omaha is a nice little town, with a wide selection of reasonably priced hotels within walking distance of the start/finish, so it wasn't so terrible.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend it.

Excellent:
Very unique medal and a nice long sleeve tech shirt. The pasta dinner was FREE and probably the best pre-race pasta dinner I've had. Major thumbs up! The finish line was also a huge plus: Music playing, plenty of restrooms, lots of food. The Marines handing out finishers medals was a nice touch.

Good:
Aid stations were well stocked, volunteers were plentiful, and the course was well marked. That also may have been the most police I've seen patrolling a marathon course. Very well organized! Gels were available at mile 17. My only complaint here is that water and Gatorade were intermixed at the stations. Maybe they could go with a water first, Gatorade second system in the future? I enjoyed the layout of the course. There was a long, steady uphill between miles 7 and 10, but a lengthy downhill followed and the course was relatively flat otherwise. The final 2 miles were at a slight downhill grade, which was nice. It wasn't the most scenic course I've been on, but I can't complain.

So-So:
Fan support was less than spectacular, but those who came out were loud and encouraging. The expo was disappointing as there were only 6 or 7 vendors, and it was quite crammed.

I drove 300 miles for this race and was not disappointed. This is a fairly small race for a big city (less than 4,000 participants for the combined 10k, half, and full, and only 600 marathon finishers). But, Omaha did a nice job of combining the larger race amenities with a small race charm. If you need a Nebraska race, I would recommend Omaha.

The course was altered from summer flooding so apparently this was a new route, but I enjoyed it. Course had a good deal of variety despite looping over itself for a few miles a few times. Major focus is on half marathon, had well over 2,300 half runners to only about 650 marathoners and about 800 10Kers. The full runs the 10K and half route before veering off on the final 13+. Good aid stations, about 1 every 1.5 miles or so. Had Gu around mile 16. Had decent support, not great. Expo was pretty small and crammed into a hotel lobby. Kind of a small-town feel for a big city, very friendly support and volunteers. Enjoyed the experience!

For a 50 stater, this is easy in, easy out. You can definitely be there less than 24 hours.

1) Hotel, packet pickup, start and finish are all close to eachother and airport.

2) Course is boring, plain and simple.

3) Not a lot of fans.

4) Great medal.

5) Terrible, crowded expo.

6) Pasta dinner was in the same place as expo.

Summary, easy way to knock Nebraska off your list.

Thank you Omaha Marathon for well planned run. Hydration stations are well spaced and the timing of the Gu was perfect. The music was fun and a great pick-me up. We had great community support. I loved the medals. One-of-a-kind and unique. Thank you for the great time.