Initially, I was negative about the entire event, but after running my first Santa Clarita Marathon, I was totally blown away. I thought it was highly organized. The staff and volunteers were fabulous. Unlike other marathons, Santa Clarita had more than enough water and Gatorade and power gels to go around for all the runners during the race. Next year I know not to run with a Fuel Belt next time. The sad part was that there wasn't anymore Gatorade left when I approached the finish line. There were many hills, but not like the steep hills in San Francisco. Everything was convenient.The parking, the location, and the nearby restaurants. The runners shirts and medals were great too. Thanks Santa Clarita for making it a great event.

My husband and I chose this as our first marathon because we didn't want to run with 30,000 other people. It was fun to have the half marathoners with us for a while (they broke off at mile 13). The map was very detailed and easy to read and the course was well staffed and marked. There were tons of energetic volunteers, plenty of water, gatorade at every aid station after mile 3 and clif shots at mile 14 and 18. We only carried one extra gel to have at mile 9. There was no need to carry extra fluid which was very convenient. The course was well marked and getting to run on the passes was great. I was surprised that more residents weren't watching, though. It's a rare sight to see this go by your backyard. I'm also surprised there were only 346 runners in the full marathon. We were able to park in the structure directly next to the finish line. You were able to get there minutes before and leave right after. No shuttles and craziness here!!! Highly recommended - thanks!

For those who wish to run a small marathon (<500 participants), Santa Clarita is a good one. The course is run mostly on bike trails along river beds but it is not monotonous. There also was a fun section on shaded paths through homes and over a few small bridges. I like the fact that the course has very few straight lines, meaning that you rarely have those moments where you look ahead and see and endless path you have to negotiate. The course went by fairly quickly as a result.

Also the weather was quite pleasant. It did not get as hot as I expected and was a little chilly at the start. I wouldn't want to start this race earlier. I ran the half-marathon in 2006 and it was even colder at the start.

For a small race, there were plenty of friendly volunteers providing water and gatorade. Given that there were some significant fires in the area recently, the volunteers should be commended.

I wish the race started at 6 a.m., which is more in accordance with the time of day many runners do their training. Part of the course goes through a hot, dry area, which made me think of the Gobi Desert. The area at the finish was confusing, especially for someone who has just run 3 hours, with two finish-line looking mats where I stopped running, only to be told to "keep running; you're not there yet" by spectators. I didn't see an actual "finish line" sign (although there may have been - I was too exhausted to be certain).

This was my 24th marathon but only my first Santa Clarita. I love the way the expo was at the Hyatt and the start and finish were less than 1/4 mile from the hotel. Staying at a Hyatt is always nice and they gave a great rate for marathoners with more than extended check out time. The people were helpful and courteous throughout the area, even though it is a small race. The 1/2 marathoners ran the first 12 miles with the full, which was nice to have the company. After the split it was sparse; at some points I didn't know if I had followed the right course and hoped I hadn't gotten lost, but there were signs up along the really confusing areas to look for and follow. I love trails so I really enjoyed the run. It got a little warm so the only recommendation I would make would be to start the race at 6 a.m. (being that it was the first day of daylight savings it was actually an 8 o'clock start). The water stops were more than ample with tons of friendly volunteers and cheering stations. I just wanted to get in one last marathon this year and Santa Clarita was a good fit for me since I live only an hour away.

The course for 2006 was much better than 2005, both because the San Francisquito Creek Trail was open and because the last few miles involved a return up the South Fork rather than the previous years' twist-and-turn around Valencia Glen Park. However, I'd still like to see less paseo. Could the final two miles continue up the South Fork under Valencia Blvd. and finish the same way the half marathon does, over Creekside and Magic Mountain Parkway rather than over the paseo bridges in Valencia and through the mall parking lot?

Clif Blocks on the course were a nice touch. I'd paid $2/packet for the same things at the expo.

Santa Ana winds really didn't help, particularly in the Mile 16-20 out and back along Soledad and the turnaround at Mile 23, but that's not the RD's fault.

Start was well organized for the most part, though I did see a 5K person running with the half/full marathon runners (his fault, I think). Basically nothing left for the back-of-the-packers. And why was the clock stopped at 5:29? I finished in 5:51, which was where I expected to since I'd had knee surgery less than 4 months previously, but the clock was stopped. I would have preferred the photos to be accurate.

One aspect of the marathon that I was disappointed in is that the race director refuses day-of-race packet pick-up under all circumstances. I understand that it may create a small general inconvenience to the staff, but it can be immensely helpful to participants with extenuating circumstances. Considering the race packet pick up site wasn't formally announced until two weeks before the event, the full marathon field is about 300 runners, and the exposition/packet pick up is only one day long, my request didn't seem that unreasonable. In my view the fact that the packet pick-up was at the Hyatt hotel in Valencia the day before the event is more than a coincidence.

The exposition was relatively small, with general sports merchandise vendors that gave out samples ranging from cut-up energy bar and gel samples to bottled water. The packet pick-up was promptly at the announced 9 a.m. start time, though vendors inside the building were set-up sometime before that. Outside in the hall, various free medical diagnoses were available, and a very nice lime-green drawstring "City of Santa Clarita" nylon bag was provided for filling out a simple visitor's survey.

Former USC cross country coach and LA Police Chief Pat Connelly gave one of the best speeches on body bio-mechanics that I have ever gotten at a marathon seminar.

The marathon itself took place on city streets, bike and footpaths, and ran near some apartment complexes. The first mile had the only hill of significance but was made more difficult because of the existence of traffic cones blocking the second lane. The field was still congested at this early stage, and it created a bottleneck. The only way to avoid that (then) would have been running left of the cones, which would have been off the official course. There was one other tight section between six and eight, but otherwise fine. I didn't find the course particularly scenic, but I was probably just concentrating on the finish (the temperature during my final hour of the race was between 77 and 78 degrees). I discovered that several miles of hard paved-street running could be avoided by running on a grass "island" paralleling the sidewalk between miles seven and nine.

The school girl cheerleaders were out in full force, energetic and enthusiastic. Prominent markers existed each mile along with Gatorade and water (and signs delineating the beverages). Around mile 20 volunteers had went as far as lining up energy gels along the top of fence posts to avoid any bad hand-offs and runners were able to self serve. The bands seemed to be positioned very tactically along the course (such as at the top of underpass climbs), and played good, entertaining, motivational music. In general the entertainment was more frequent and better than what I expected; the townfolk do seem to know something is going on (though you won't experience big-city crowds here).

I don't know if it was because the race t-shirts were so bright cherry red that they were more noticeable, but I don't recall seeing a race where more participants actually wore them during the event. The beautiful technical shirt with three-color race-logo shoes was complimented by a nice race-logo finisher's medal that clearly distinguished the accompanying half marathon race from the full, both in words and the color of the suspension ribbon.

I wasn't particularly impressed with the post-race food, which included orange slices, flavored bottled water and pretzels.

I was in town from Wisconsin and couldn't pass up the opportunity to run. I am so grateful I did, because it was the best race I've run so far, and not because it was my fastest, but because of the beautiful, flat, fun course. The spectators were fabulous, as were the kids handing out the water at each and every mile - how could you not smile and enjoy this race?! This race was really well organized and really one I'd recommend to anyone thinking of participating. They did a fantastic job!! Thank you for an amazing time!!

Leah B. Wauwatosa, WI

This race was very well organized. The Hyatt hotel is literally around the corner from both start and finish. Parking was well-planned. Aid stations and post-race food were amply staffed and supplied, even for back-of-the-packers like me. The volunteers and spectators were great; it seemed like the whole town came out to help and cheer the runners. Even coach Pat Connelly was out on the course offering advice and encouragement.

The course is a little hilly in places, and has a lot of weird twists and turns. Fortunately, there were volunteers to point the way in all but one of them. The first half was pretty easy, but the last six miles were especially tough, with two miles of dirt trail being kicked up by strong Santa Ana winds, and the paseo bridges. The mid-80s temperatures this year compounded the challenge. The encouragement of the volunteers and spectators, along with copious quantities of water, Gatorade, and Clif Blocks, got me to the finish.

If you like well-organized, small races and can weather the heat and wind of Southern California's Santa Ana season, this race is a good choice for a fall marathon and a better choice for a half.

This race had the best organization of any marathon I've run. There was plenty of parking, and the garage was literally right next to the start/finish line. Aid station support was great!! The course was flat and fun... with lots of trail running. Running up, over, and down the freeway overpasses in the final mile was challenging, and made crossing the finish line even sweeter. Weather was ideal for running. This race is a "must run" for all Southern California runners.