This was my first marathon, and my only goal was to finish.  I did a lot of research and preparation, and I went in with the understanding that I would walk when necessary.

The 'rolling hills' people refer to are no joke.  However, they didn't cause me any problems - remember my only goal!  We had an unseasonably cool morning, so that really helped.  

My sister and I ran together (hence my back and forth I/we), and she convinced me to drive the course with her the night before.  I'm glad because we were able to eliminate any confusion (we had read that people often get lost), but those hills almost scared me off.  They ended up being not so bad, but I really don't have any other marathon times to compare it with.  If you're running to make a particular time, you could have trouble.  We also planted GU packets along the route.

I really liked finishing on the same route we started with.  There was something comforting with knowing I had already conquered those miles; I just had to do it again.

True, there were no frills, but we weren't expecting any.  I could see where people would get confused on the route.  Some vertical signs would really help.

What made the experience for me were the few spectators and other runners.  Our pack consisted of people who were truly happy for us to be running our first marathon.  We also had a lot of fun banter with Okoboji residents who were just out and about.  Our families were unable to be there, but it would have been easy for them to follow along the route.  We saw several repeat spectators who encouraged and honked along the way.

Like I said, pleasantly uneventful.  We read what we needed to provide for ourselves, and did just that.  Some of the pre-race correspondence was a little gruff (like we were being scolded in advance), but that was humorous to us.  Everyone was very fun on race day, and we appreciated it.

Thanks to all fellow runners, spectators, volunteers, and officials!

A nice small town race with friendly fellow runners and a pleasant course. You don't get much bang for your buck in this one though. No food on the course and no food-that I saw anyway- after the race. Good shirt, and small, but nice, medal for the marathon finishers but no medal for the halfers. The threatened 90 degree heat with sunshine didn't meterialize, thanks to persistant clouds. I liked that the halfers joined us two hours after the full started, as it was energizing to run with some fresh faces through the second half. A good excuse to visit Iowa in the summer, but not a very memorable event.

This is typical of small marathons that I have ran however, this is the first marathon where there were no porta johns anywhere on the course and no water/sport drink at the start.

At one point we were mixed with cars and triathletes on bikes. I did not like this at all. Cars were not slowing down or moving to the left lane. I had to run in the gravel/rocks along the side so I did not get hit buy a triathlete.

As far as spectators, there were more than at most small marathons that I have ran.

Bananas and powerade at the end. Nothing more.

I would not pay $70 to run this marathon.

I could not agree more with KC's comments. This race was poorly organized, and the worst thing to me was the food at the finish. Bananas? That's it? Sort of a cruel joke after running 26.2 miles. Having a bunch of races at the same time sharing parts of the course is also not good, especially when you have to hear 'on your left,' about 100 times from triathletes on bikes passing you. Mentally that makes for a harder race. Having runners in the last mile or so running straight at you on a sidewalk was also not pleasant! I was fortunate enough to come in fourth overall, and to win my age group and the masters division, but I was dismayed to find that the award I received yesterday in the mail was the exact same finisher's medal I received at the finish! That is just very very lame. I would highly recommend any other marathon in Iowa for 50 staters, but at least for me, Iowa is done!!

Going into this race, I knew this was a small town, low budget race ran at the hottest time of the year. I didn't expect much and didn't get much.

First of all, there should be water/Gatorade available at the start. There was not. Asked two volunteers from AllSports where the bathrooms were and they had no clue. Found one at Arnolds park. Later discovered there were some porta johns over by the tri area. If you have to go, make sure you go at the start, because you won't find any on the course.

Course is challenging. I love how people like to boast about some races being flat, knowing that the course is not flat. Don't believe them. I wouldn't call it a 'hilly' race because all the hills were small and were not difficult. The challenging part was sheer number of little hills with so many turns. Some of the course is on roads, bike paths, sidewalks, through parking lots, side of a highway. One really needs to pay attention to the 'current' spray painted arrow signs. I did get lost, but thanks to some guy yelling from his balcony I was going the wrong way, I got back on course.

Very lonely the first half, then you pick up the half runners, then 10k and tri. Busy at the end. Most aid stations were staffed by one or two volunteers and were self service.

I 'expected' most of this based on prior reviews. What I did not expect was the total absence of course marshals. The last 4 miles were dangerous as we had to dodge vehicles who seemed to be getting frustrated. I'm telling you, somebody is going to get hurt. No excuse for this. Race has been going on for 35 years, so don't expect any changes.

This is a pretty expensive marathon for a small marathon. I think it is because it is in a 'tourist' town (by Iowa standards) during peak season. Also think that it is geared towards getting people into town. For $65 plus fees, you get a pretty course that goes around the lake, water/PowerAde stops about every two miles, a nice tech shirt, and a decent metal.

You do not get water before the race or after, though they had PowerAde and Vitamin Water after. The only food they had after was bananas. You start and end at the (mini) amusement park by the lake, so I think the thought is that you can spend money at the local establishments down there. That is true, and I like that type of food, but I didn't bring money for the run and felt like I should have got more for $70 so I decided to skip and bought food outside of town.

The course is very tough due to the potentially high heat in Iowa this time of year and because of the numerous rolling hills. I heard several people saying it was the toughest marathon they had ever run. I definitely put it up there as a tough one!

The race was well organized, but I was a bit disappointed by the lack of communication by the race staff (even when I tried to contact them before the race) and the lame website for it.

The course gets 4 stars because it is pretty, but very difficult.

Organization gets 4 stars because it is organized, but I felt the communication could be better and there were some things, like the lack of water before and after the race, that I thought could be improved. Also, there are no course marshals on the course except at the water stops. There are people driving the course and the way they release races in waves helps.

Spectators gets 4 because it is very spectator friendly with numerous good places for spectators to watch, but just not enough of them.

I think it is neat how they start the marathon at 6 AM, then have the half marathon start at 8 AM at around the 13 mile mark and the 10K start at around 9 AM at about the 20 mile mark. This was fun because you get fresh people coming onto the course as you go.

I would recommend this marathon to anyone. Expect classic July Iowa heat, but also a beautiful scenic course and race participants from both the marathon and half that are happy to chat for miles. There is poweraide and water every two miles, and in the last six miles, there is water even more often, thanks to resident support. My advice is to take water or poweraide at every station. The last 6 miles were not well marked. I recall seeing two or three 24 mile markers on the pavement. The refreshments at the end of the race are a bit bare, but the finish at the lake makes up for it. This is a wonderful marathon.

I ended up running off course due to the lack of race marshals. It's not fun to run extra distance when the heat index reached 115 degrees.

There are many good things about this race. But I need to focus on the one negative not enough course marshals. There are plenty of turns on this course and the course has been changed over the years. There is spray paint on the road or paths to indicate where a turn is supposed to happen. However, it wasn't always clear if it was new paint or old paint.

The first issue was between Mile 4 & 5. I was in the 2nd pack of runners (there were 4 runners running together and then about a 2 minute gap). We were supposed to turn after this bridge and head back to the start/finish area, but the paint on the ground only had a directional arrow for the original way out. So I went straight and brought everyone else with me (i.e., the other 102 marathoners). We added on an additional 1/16th to 1/12th of a mile due to that lack of marshaling.

The second point was at the 1/2. Again I was running alone, about 2 minutes behind the lead four and 6 minutes ahead of the next runner. The 1/2 marathoners were congregating around their start area and I had to run through this group. Instead of taking a turn onto a path, which was being blocked by a truck, people and bikers, I took a turn onto Hwy 86. This also added distance to my race.

There were a couple of other points where vertical directional signs would have been helpful, rather than spray painted on the ground (between mile 14 & 15; right after Mile 16 at the waterstop on Hwy 86; between mile 18 & 19).

But like I said there are a number of great things about this race. The course by the lake is beautiful. The course itself is pretty flat. I'm not sure about the other comments saying the course is challenging, I didn't find it to be challenging, other than dealing with the heat. There was plenty of water & powerade at the aide stations and there were plenty of aide stations. The locals and volunteers were great and well trained (i.e., holding water/gatorade by the bottom of the cup).

If they get more volunteers to marshal the turns, this will be a great race.

Pros:
Small-town marathon
Great landowner support around the lake
Very nice people and inexpensive local economy
Start line at "some dude's mailbox"
Finish by the lake. I ran through the finish line, across the adjacent dock and jumped in the lake!

Cons:
Iowa is hot and humid in the summer. Expect heat in a July marathon.
No finisher's medal for our half marathon brothers/sisters.