An absolutley beautiful course. The majority of the race is on a path through a national forest with lots of trees and along a river. Fall colors were amazing. Crowds weren't huge (due to being in the middle of a national park/forest) but were enthusiastic. Great first time marathon. Very flat course too. Will definitely do it again.

No spectator support.
Very few bathrooms.
Lousy awards!
Waited forever to get food behind people that didn't even run!

You don't see many spectators, but the tranquility of running through a national park, on a gravel path most of the way, more than compensates. A small race but well run.

I will start with the positive: The limestone trail and fall trees were wonderful to look at for 4+ hours. The hot tubs and massage were nice too.
However, the lack of 'facilities' was very shocking, disappointing, and painful (I kept hoping there would be something available). Also the line for food was slow and with all of the family members in line it took forever for us to get a couple perogies and brown lettuce. There were no cookies, granola or other fun post-race food. And everyone's family members were sitting in the chairs. My friend and I stood to eat our food.

First-time Towpath runner beware: no crowd support or entertainment!

What I like about this marathon is:

* The course: run on the crushed limestone surface (after an initial 2 miles on the road) of the Ohio & Erie canal towpath which parallels the Cuyahoga River within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The last two years the autumn colors have been spectacular. At several points the sunlight filtering through the yellowing leaves of maple trees makes you feel like you are running down a golden corridor as leaves float down to the towpath trail. The surface of the towpath is nearly as firm but much gentler on your joints than pavement.

* The organization: You can park near the starting line (no shuttles unless you're on a relay). You can register on race-day. The food and drink before and after the race were plentiful. The water stops were stocked with water and Ultima every one to two miles and had Hammer Gel, bananas, and oranges as several stops in the middle and later parts of the race.

* The size: With about 450 marathoners and another 150 relay runners at the starting line there isn't much opportunity to feel crowded. If you enjoy the crowd support of Chicago or Boston, this race isn't for you. Most of the way there are no spectators. Where roads cross the towpath you may see a half to a full dozen spectators. At relay exchange points and the turnaround point the crowd swells to maybe 50 spectators. It is a quiet and peaceful marathon.

* Bonus features I haven't personally used include hot tubs at the finish and post-race massages.

This year the Towpath Marathon was a day after the Akron Marathon. Next year they will be a week apart. The last two years had good weather. In 2003 we had a one minute rain spritz and the wind was a little too breezy at times, but overall conditions were excellent.

This race was a great experience. The course is absolutely beautiful, especially with all the leaves changing colors in the fall. It's completely flat, which was a little strange for a runner used to training on the roads of central PA. The tradeoff for the scenery is that there aren't many fans, but the ones that did show up were very enthusiastic and supportive. It's a smaller race, so sometimes I felt like I was running alone in the woods, which was kind of nice. There were other times though when the Towpath got a little crowded, especially near the turnaround, but it wasn't a big problem. All the runners were very friendly and polite.

The organizers did an excellent job. The volunteers at the aid stations were very helpful. No unpleasant surprises, except that it was the first time I ever drank Ultima, which does not taste as good or have quite the amount of calories as Gatorade - it's something I'll have to prepare for the next time I run a race with Ultima, I guess. The post-race celebration and food was very nice too. I would definitely recommend this race.

I loved the course, trails. Beautiful time of year for the race with the trees turning for the winter. Great spectators where they could be located. However, after running a relatively flat 26 miles, I didn't feel like running up a hill to the finish line. You may say 'adrenaline!' But no, it was quite discouraging. There was also a lack of 'facilities' along the course. :(

I ran the 2003 Towpath Marathon and found it to be a first-rate, first-class race. The course is a beautiful trail run through colorful autumn trees - a great experience! The organizers did a fantastic job - great food, hot tubs, well-staffed course and aid stations. This run is a definite repeat!

I love this race, mostly because I do my long runs on the Towpath, located in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. It's a great surface to run on, and the course is flat. The organizers do a fine job running it. Expect only 1,200 or so runners, and the fan base is thin.

This marathon is truly a memorable experience. I found the trail to be very easy on the legs as well as on the senses! The organization was good with ample water stops and post-race refreshments. It was wonderful to run in such a beautiful environment, especially in the fall. It was also nice running in a smaller marathon that did not involve all of the hassels and pressures of the bigger races.

I certainly plan on including this marathon in my yearly race rotation. It is a very unique and special event that I highly recommend to everyone!