It was a beautiful day, the course was interesting (I especially enjoyed the trip through the zoo and around downtown Omaha) and the organization was excellent. The hills can chew you up, but I trained on hills and ended up beating my PR by 2 minutes. Fans were enthusiastic, just not out in force. Overall, a really nice race.

COURSE: I echo the other comments. The course was quite hilly during the first half! I would have preferred to have the mile markers more prominently displayed (some were at eye level or ground level), so they can be seen at a distance. A clock on the course at the half, at mile 20, etc. would be nice. The water cups with lids and straws at the water stations? NICE!

ORGANIZATION: Friendly, helpful volunteers and staff. Great medal and shirt. Tastier-than-usual pasta dinner.

SPECTATORS: The spectators who were out deserve five stars, but the sparse attendance results in a one-star deduction.

From reading these comments, this marathon's administrative team will make corrections based on runner comments (e.g., porta-potties are now plentiful on the course). I am confident that this race will continue to improve.

Being from Omaha, I had run the 1/2 marathon before. The first half is, as others have mentioned, very hilly. The second half is very flat, but unfortunately goes through some pretty boring scenery. I'm surprised they don't run the marathon through Dundee or some other scenic areas. Still, what fans were out were very animated and the race is well organized.

"Hills are our friends, and this is a friendly course," said the course tour guide before the race. I liked the course - ran through the Omaha Zoo, around Rosenblatt Stadium, by the Civic and Qwest Arenas, parks and sleepy neighborhoods. Probably the best marked course I've ever run with orange cones that lined the entire 26.2. Police at every intersection. Cheerleaders at various spots to support the runners. Musical groups sprinkled throughout the course. The finish line is inside Civic Arena, which is a unique twist. Basically, big-race amenities for a mid-size local race.

In all fairness, I was warned about the hills in this race, but I had to experience it for myself. Throughout the race, I felt as though I'd put an extra five miles on my legs, by far my slowest finishing time! The first half is fun, if you like the challenge of hill running. But for us mortals, it was very tempting to veer off to the half marathon finish and call it a day instead of continuing up the steep hill enroute to the second half of the course. Although the second half was mostly flat, it was also far more sun-exposed, so for me this was where I wished I had carried my own water. The streets also went on and on as far as the eye could see, so it was not as interesting as the first half of the course. Spectator support was sparse, but those who came out were great. The volunteers were angels, gamely staying out there to ensure those at the back of the pack were taken care of. With more publicity (and more participants), this could be a great event.

I've run races in a lot of cities; and the communities usually want to show themselves off - why wouldn't Omaha? Very few specators, runners competing with vehicular traffic, second half of the marathon goes through vacant, boarded-up, trash-lined insdustrial streets, and the first half is one hill after another. I should have listened to Pascal's comments from 2005. The out-and-back, and back-and-forth is boring - running on the same streets. Nothing to take your mind off the hills and looking at a lesser side of Omaha. Plus, I can't believe they couldn't get the cars off the streets, instead of speeding down Florence and other roadways. Finishing in the auditorium was hot, humid and claustrophobic.

This was my first experience with Omaha in 2006 - did the half. I was impressed with the organization. Finish was interesting, as it was inside the auditorium... but it added nice warmth at the end of the race. There were not as many spectators as I have seen in other cities. I was not prepared for the hills.... It was a good, challenging run, but be sure you train for it.

This was my fourth marathon, and by far the hilliest. The first 13.1 miles were almost all hills, from slow and gradual to pretty intimidating. The last half was way out in the country or on wide sleepy streets and got a little boring, but finishing downtown made up for it. The organization was terrific, as was the pre-race dinner, the guest speaker (Dick Beardsley), the t-shirts, packets, and the fans (what there were of them). We flew from MI to run this race, and were not disappointed.

The friendly volunteers and race organizers take the prize! The first half of the course was hilly and spectators limited. Fun to run through the zoo. 2005 was hot and humid but still a good experience. Parking close by, sufficient bathrooms. Good food at pasta dinner. Race results avoided double dipping.

The course is a leg-killer (even if there are worse courses), and the scenery is not great (except the run through the zoo).

The first half is hilly and there is a short but steep hill around the 20M. Anyway, the organization is good, but the potential spectators never showed up. It's a very small crowd for a nice size city like Omaha. The weather was cool but unfortunately too humid this year.

That's my third and I never enjoyed it.