I did the half marathon course in 2013 and found it to be a well organized and spactular course through forested areas on the Red Deer river with many volunteers at well organized water stations. A must to run in Alberata

I actually enjoyed running this marathon more than I did the Vancouver Marathon. The course was nice, and the foliage of the trees kept you in the shade. Once the half-marathoners split off to their own course I found myself coming into water stations alone, which was great as I hate congestion at water stations. The hill at 41.3Km was a bit sadistic, but once I caught my breath and ran down it to the finish line it wasn't too bad.

This was a really great route. You really get to enjoy the beauty that the city has all around it. From lakes, rivers, and trails it is simply beautiful. There were wonderful volunteers who were helpful and friendly. As well what a friendly race director who came and asked me how I enjoyed the race. I will definitely come back and run this race again!

First time runner. Did the 10 km. Awesome course. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

The previous comments say it all - a small-town marathon with a great route along park and forested trails for most of the race. The difference this year is that the route was done in reverse of previous years, so I guess the half marathoners from previous years got to go where they haven't raced before. A little shoulder-to-shoulder on the narrow trails as the full marathoners started with the half marathoners, but it's no different from what you get with the mega-marathons for the first few mile. Once the half marathoners split away, it was a bit of a lonely jaunt at times, so those needing company for their races better bring a friend. The good part of it is that no one blocked you from running the tangents on the twisty paths. Good signage and great volunteers to make sure you didn't get lost. I did the last 5K basically alone and it felt like I was doing a long tempo training run and I did a mid-pack time just under 4 hours. It was a bit of a cold, windy day in the 2010 edition, with temps just below freezing at the start, but just about perfect temps later on in the race. Just enough hills and dips to keep it interesting, but pretty flat most of the way. A little kicker at the end of the race before a downhill finish. At one point on the river trails I thought/smelt that they should name it the Swamp Gas Marathon, but that quickly passed.

Master racers who think they might place well in a small race like this, think again. The top three spots and four of the top five finishers were in the 40-49 age group. Not a lot of spectators with the course away from most residential areas, but the aid station volunteers were great. Multiple gel stations, but I would of prefer that they had the gels handed out first before we got to the water and not vice-versa. Plenty to eat after, but just the basics; bagels, fruits, yogurt, cookies and donuts. Race medal was nice and not too gaudy. Long-sleeved tech shirt given at the race expo had "finisher" on it, so you better not DNF or you would feel guilty wearing it. Best bonus was getting free downloadable HD race photos, and I was captured ten times by the photographers.

I have to agree with all of the positive comments below (and that's not easy for someone from a rival city with its own marathon!). It's not just that the river valley landscape is pretty; it's the way the runners are insulated from all road traffic and congestion and given privileged river valley views. No concrete jungle. No rural wasteland. It's true. A small-town race with big-city-style support. To everyone who's never run this course: please stay away so that we can keep it to ourselves!

This is the 2nd time I have done the full, and I have done the half once.

As usual, it was a nice, scenic run, with tons of crowd support.

I have nothing but good things to say, and I recommend it.

A great course! At one point forgot I was in a marathon and thought I was just on a regular run. One thing very appreciated was differentiation between water/Gatorade by using clearly different cups at the stations. At a couple of marathons I have had to stop and go back to get water because the volunteers just looked blankly at me. The post-race spread was disappointing: oranges, bananas, yogurt, bagels, donuts and cookies. And they ran out of coffee - I got one, small cup. Coffee is vital after the race! Awards were very nice. Bill Nielsen, in his 100th marathon and now in his 8th year of Parkinson's, was staggeringly inspirational as he ran a still-eye popping 4:15-ish.

This is the first time that I have felt like I had to comment on a race before. I just had to because this was such a great run. I love the course. It was such a scenic route that I almost forgot the hills and the long distance. This was my 6th marathon, and the one where I got my PB! Thank you to the wonderful, enthusiastic volunteers - you guys did a great job!! It was Bill Nielssen's 100th marathon, and hearing the crowd cheer and scream it made me want to cry. What a great supportive city. The live band at the last hill was awesome. Thank you, Red Deer - I will be back and recommend this race to my friends as well.

This was a gorgeous run along the Red Deer River. There was a lot of variety in road surfaces - bike paths, gravel, asphalt. There were times I was running in the woods by myself, enjoying the ravens and robins.

Although public support en route is at a minimum due to the trail nature of this run, the volunteers at the water stations were incredible. Water, gel and PowerAde were plentiful; some stations had fruit and ice! There are even showers at the end of the route in a school. This is a well-organized, beautiful event.

It has two big hills, plus a number of small ones, so it is a bit more challenging than a flat route. I have done both the half and the full here, and will be back.