Congrats to the race director on a final job well done. Hope the new directors do as well. I would not agree with the description of a 'flat course,' however. There were several rolling hills. One boring stretch of out-and-back on exposed road. But overall a good course. Pre-race booklet was great. Organization was superior for this size race. Wish you could control the weather. Cold and windy was tough! At least the rain was only a mist. Brrr! I would recommend this one.

The Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville was my first marathon. The race was very well organized. There were traffic directors at every turn and every red light. The spectators along the course were friendly and encouraging, as well. The course is flat and very well marked. The scenery is kind of boring, but the flat, fast course makes up for it. I loved this race!

These guys do a great job with the resources available... it's a small marathon, don't think that spectators will be lined along the whole course. However the course support was awesome, water and Gu were well placed, splits were called at each mile and the finish area worked well and food was readily and closely available - I had soup and a peanut butter sandwich within 15 minutes of finishing.

It's a good marathon, and for the price it's hard to beat. I ran Chicago and don't remember conversing with anyone... but Rocket City is more personal and people were talking and urging each other on and that was cool. And being from B-ham I liked the little hills on the course to break the monotony. I recommend this race!

To start with, I qualified for Boston here, so whatever else is said, this was a great marathon.

Road construction made getting to the headquarters hotel a little challenging. Price was low and we were all on the gun time (chips must cost more). T-shirts had the wrong date and didn't have the word 'marathon' on them, but were otherwise nicely done. Volunteers shouted the times at each mile and that was great. The Boy Scouts passed out Gu somewhere in the middle with their uniforms on. That was a nice touch. A cold wind at about 10 mph from out of the northwest made this a cool run with the start temp about 38 degrees F. There are a lot of nice people in this run, which made the social times before and after highly recommended. I will probably do it again.

I think that this is a great marathon, especially for the first-timer. The course has a lot of turns and spots that are boring that is why I think that it is important that you have a partner that is about the same ability as you to run with you. After-party is done very well. All in all, this is a good marathon for a novice or expert.

Great race. Too many turns, but truly worth running.

Weather can be tricky that time of year. I've had my two fastest times on the course. My PR was in a 12 degree wind-chill at that start and it was so miserable, I was in a hurry to finish! It was cold and windy the other two times too. The course is really boring - mostly suburban neighborhoods with lots of turns (but flat) although there is one very long downhill stretch in the middle which is nice. What I really like is the race hotel. They really do a good job in supporting the race and the food afterwards is warm and welcome. This is one marathon my family actually looks forward and enjoys going to.

This was my first marathon, and granted I did not do as well as expected, and hit the wall at mile 19, I still managed to finish. I selected this as my first marathon based upon the many things I had read about it on this site. I disagree with my fellow runners who think this is a great marathon.

As the old saying goes, everyone is entitled to their opinion and here is mine: small town marathon with little to no crowd support, it reminded me of a very lonely, boring training run. The term boring is a very apt description for this marathon. Though I have now caught the marathon bug and I am in training for yet another, I will not run this one again.

This was my second marathon and my friends who ran it previously seem to enjoy it more than I did. I'd recommend it for runners trying to run all 50 states. It was a fairy nice day, about 35-40 degrees but very windy conditions.

A very flat course but there were still hills of the long mile type. The course is somewhat boring as there is not a lot to look at unless you like looking at remarkably-well-cared-for neighborhoods, which, by the way, have no port-a-pots set up in them. I got constipated around 17 miles and by the time I found one it was to late. I finished the last 6 miles in pain. The really nice info packet sent claims 67 turns, all of which are in the first seven miles and final five, and in between is a 5-7 mile strait 4-lane highway, which seemed like it would never end.

I agree with another runner, this marathon cannot be in the top ten nationwide, as advertised.

Good competition, for some reason, only pretty serious runners seems to come to this one. There are not a lot of 5-hour+ marathoners.

Out of the 10 aid stations, none seem to have the same favored drink but two of which had Gu.

The finish line index card method is clearly outdated. Chips would be a big improvement.

The food and course support were good. The food and massages at the finish were a definite plus. The expo was small, but had good merchandise at bargain prices.

My name was not called off at the finish because the runner in front of me must have been kin to the announcer. He spent at least 1 minute telling everyone how excited he was to finish. Like I was not.

They truly did a great job with organization, aid, and the post-race party. I would definitely recommend this race to anyone looking for a fast race to PR.

The Rocket City Marathon (in 2003) was my 12th state marathon out of a 50-state goal. I was surprised by the organization of this small-town marathon! The recommended hotels had free breakfast buffets early enough for marathoners to eat before leaving for the start-line. They also provided shuttles to the start line, and back to the hotel afterward. The expo was nice, and was open on the morning of the marathon before the start! Race day registration/packet pick-up was available and food and drink were provided to runners as they waited for the start. The number of traffic cones used to mark the course was amazing. It would be impossible to get lost on this course!

The course itself was pleasant as it wound along gentle slopes through nice neighborhoods. Naturally, it couldn't compare with some of the destination marathons or the big city marathons in beauty or crowd support, but the overall feel was very nice. This marathon had the BEST post-race party I've seen! Real food was provided at an indoor seating area, and a $1,000 door prize was given out during the award ceremony. After the race, we enjoyed a tour of the rocket technology museum. The final touch that compelled me to write this review: I received 2 5X7 photos of myself crossing the finish line at no extra charge! All the little touches make this a great marathon!!