I've only done a handful of marathons, but the 3 loops are a bit different. I enjoyed the race and meeting back up with the half marathoners later in the race. Industrial and park areas were a little boring, but aid stations, finish line and uniqueness of the race make it a thumbs up. Support people, aid station workers, and Omaha folks were all very friendly and supportive!!! Also, a smaller group makes it less crowded and intimidating. Another note: the events (western days) going on at the Qwest Center made it even more eventful and helped distract from the running towards the end. Weather was awesome!!!

Course: The first half is fairly hilly, which really zaps your second half. If I enjoyed hills or wanted a challenge, I'd have given the course a "5." As Omaha re-invents its downtown and North Omaha areas, this should be a better looking course as well.

Organization: The race director was great. She spoke to us before we went on the bus tour of the course and she seems like a very genuine person. She also shaved her head for Locks of Love, which is very admirable. It's a small marathon, so limited amount of volunteers (but they were great). The finish was confusing, but that may have been due to the fact that I finished slow.

Spectators: It's a smaller marathon. It was mostly half-marathon participants, so that is where the spectators were. After mile 13, you're mostly on your own... except for the volunteers and bands.

Some of the previous comments talk about how it would be nice to have the 2nd half in a better part of town, but since that part of town is the flattest within that area... it makes the most sense to have it there. It does make it less appealing for spectators, but since I'm from that area, I didn't have a problem running through North Omaha. I think the area will continue to revive itself.

It was my first marathon and I ran Omaha because it is my home town. I wanted family/friends to be able to support me. I'd recommend it for people from Omaha or for 50 Staters (there were quite a few there this year). It definitely isn't a destination marathon, nor a PR marathon.

This was my first Omaha Half. I enjoyed Omaha and will do it again. I just think the first 10K of the race could be more scenic. I enjoyed running the rest of the course from 10K on, but I would prefer running through a prettier part of town in the first 10K. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience!

This was my second marathon - my first being 1 week earlier. The weather was perfect. The course, in my opinion, is great. It does go through some areas of town than are somewhat barren or rundown but it also goes through the downtown area and out by the zoo. There are definitely hills around the zoo, but these are fully disclosed in the description of the marathon (unlike many others) and they really are manageable. Things were a little crowded for the first 10K as all runners (full, half, 10K) run together for the first 10K; but then it thins out a little. Crowd support was sparse in areas but much better than I had expected. Local bands and musicians were positioned throughout the course, which was very nice. Aid stations were nicely equipped and gel available around mile 18. The finish area was perfect (right on the Missouri River). Organization of the entire event was great. Finisher medals were unique and beautiful (individually made from recycled glass). The expo was small but had a lot of booths that were pertinent to runners.

Great marathon: to me not as hilly as made out to be.

The course has hills - I knew that going in - but I was surprised that there were only 3,600 runners for 3 races. I think the lack of aesthetics on the marathon course could be why. There have got to be more pleasant parts of Omaha than weedy industrial areas and abandoned/unkempt neighborhoods. There were maybe 4 - 5 miles total that were nice to look at (downtown and along the river). As a result of the undesirable neighborhoods, there were not a lot of spectators on the course, but when they were there, they were great. Aid stations were well stocked, and volunteers were great. Races were well organized. The glass medallions were an interesting change. Finish line food was wonderful.

I really enjoyed the challenge of the course with the hills. The aid stations were well-run and volunteers were great.

Omaha has many more scenic areas, and I'd love for the race to run through something other than weedy industrial areas. How about looping around through UNO? Or trails north of the airport?

The finish line was great! Thanks.

I ran the half last year and the full this year. This was better organized this year, in my opinion.

Good:
Challenging course
Plenty of runners
Music at several points along the route
Volunteers had "themed" aid stations
Aid stations were plentiful
Expo had enough stuff, and we moved quickly
Post-race party had music, water, chocolate milk!
Shirts were great this year
Medal was the same as last year, but fine

OK:
Fans were more numerous than at other races, and seemed to be along most of route in clusters

Needs improvement:
Scenery would be better if they could showcase prettier parts of downtown or Omaha.
I prefer more food at the finish and like aid stations to have snacks, too.
Start - split up the races! Please!
I also would prefer separate race medals for marathon and half.

Overall, this is a good marathon compared to the others I have experienced. I'm local, so will continue to run it, but likely would travel regionally to do it as well.

I ran the '09 half marathon. I really enjoyed the run! Going in, I knew it would be hilly, and the route might travel through less scenic places. With that in mind, my expectations weren't as high. However, I liked the challenge of the hills, and I rarely paid much attention to the scenery while running.
The expo was nice - there were several vendors, and packet pick-up was speedy!

My family stayed in a hotel close by, and were able to see me twice during the run (4.5 miles and 11.5 miles). It was cool to see the leaders at the back part of the course. The bands along the route were great to hear and the volunteers were friendly. The finish area was well organized and fun (food, music, festivities).

Overall, I had an enjoyable run and would consider running Omaha again!

Although this is the third time I've run the Omaha Marathon, I recently moved to Omaha, so now I consider this to be my "hometown" marathon. All in all, I really enjoy running this race each year. I'm not sure if more people ran this year, but I really had a problem finding parking. I left my house at 6 a.m. and made it to the starting line right as the gun went off. I found the first eight miles to be really packed, as many of the runners did the 10K or half. After the half-marathons turned to head back, I felt that the atmosphere became more relaxed. Miles 8-13 were quite hilly... but Omaha IS very hilly, so I don't think that there is any reason to complain about that.

I'm sure that I will run this race again and would recommend it to others. I'll just need to get there earlier next year!

Omaha is not necessarily what I would call a destination marathon, or a destination location for that matter, but the race director definitely cares about making sure she's providing the best for the runners.

The pros to me were many, despite some negative comments:

You get a preview of the course; they actually drove you on a school bus through the marathon course.

No need to rent a car if you come in and out as I did (just there to cover the state), given that most hotels provide complementary shuttle service to/from the airport.

The weather was PERFECT.

The volunteers were awesome and genuinely caring.

Fluid stations in abundance (every mile later in the later stages).

My complaints are few - 85% of the course was on good ol' concrete, which is not forgiving on the legs. I'm not sure that that can be changed since it's how their roads are paved. Other than that, it's a good choice if you are looking to knock out the state from you list.