I have now completed 65 marathons in many different cities/ towns and I can give you an honest opinion.

first of all, I was afraid to do this race because of the date in July since I figured that it would be hot. Not to worry since they start early at 6 am plus a large part of the course is shaded.

Massey is a very small town and there is not a lot to see and do in the town. The race is probably one of their big events for the year. Since it is very small town, they really appreciate runners coming to do their race.

The race is relatively cheap and you get a tech shirt. Pick up is very quick and there are a few vendors in the expo. There is a cheap pasta dinner the night before. The race starts at 6 am and most runners are finished by 11 am.

Not a lot of spectators on the course , remember it is a small town. I believe that there is no time limit on the course so they allow all runners to finish.

There is a pancake breakfast for all finishers and , best of all, all runners get a gift at the ceremony. This is something that no other race has at present.

This race has the feeling of a club race and the best part of doing the race is to help the small town and it is at a time when there are not many marathons available.

Do this race and you will definitely like the feel of this small town race.

Picked this race based on schedule and size. It runs a 21.1 km course twice and a lot of it runs along the Spanish River, a tranquil setting.

The post-race pancake breakfast was terrific with real maple syrup :-) And the pasta party was plentiful with everyone being extremely friendly and welcoming.

It is an interesting switch from large-city, multi-thousand races where you never feel a connection to the town.

The weather was great at the start, but it did warm up too quickly during my second loop.This course could be a fast race if I was too train properly. I am sure it would be ideal for a Boston qualifier. I am probably running it again this year (2012). I still have my maple syrup ? I think it should be on everyones bucket list. Oh yeah, the pasta supper was great. This year I am camping out for a couple of nights.

This was a fantastic first marathon. Everything was friendly, and everything was fun. The climate was perfect for running, helped by the geographic location of Massey and the early start. The people were the most easy-going I've met, and many of them encouraged me as we ran.

Running with the half-marathoners (for the first course loop) was good for me, because the course became sparse almost immediately at the point where I needed to focus on maintaining pace and form, etc.

Water stops were ubiquitous and refreshing. Though not as populous as other marathons, I ran into people frequently throughout the marathon that had encouraging words and a big smile (there was a negative correlation between distance run and the size of one's smile, but that's a given), and I'll take that over a screaming, faceless throng of people any day.

The food before and after the race was delicious, and served by gracious and understanding volunteers. These people knew how runners eat, think, and feel. Very accommodating.

Speaking of very accommodating, the course itself was nice and flat, with arguably one hill (if you have never seen any sort of apparent topographic elevation change, you could call it a hill). I would have liked a little bit more of a challenge (even though at mile 20, I tend to disagree); but aside from that, the course was beautiful.

Overall, a great race, a great community, a great day. Qualifying for Boston is a piece of cake here, as is meeting new people and making friends. I will for sure be running this marathon again.

The course was very flat and the weather conditions were excellent - cool and overcast. Tons of water/Gatorade/gel stations on the course too. Excellent pasta dinner for only $5 and a fairly decent race kit for $40. If you are looking for a July marathon, this is the one!

The town of Massey is on the lovely Spanish River, which had a really nice beach - a great place to vacation for an extra day.

the highlight was running alongside and ahead of Ashis Roy of India, the only person in world history to have run 8 marathons within an 8 month span of time (Jan. - Aug. 2007) while 75 years of age! (He is now 76 and plans to run his 100th marathon prior to turning 80!)

Not very many fans on the course, but that didn't bother me.

This is, as advertised, a "friendly" race. It is a very small, very fun, very personal race. The course is actually a half, and you run it twice. There are a lot more people running the half, and it feels like the wrong decision when most of the people head for the finishing chute and you veer right and head out on the second lonely lap. The route is mostly along a quiet secondary road with a river running along one side.

Organization is great - it's a very small town and you can easily park within 2-minute walk of the start, and do that while arriving 5 minutes before the start. No worries!

The meal and awards ceremony after the race were fun, and everyone seemed to walk away with some sort of prize or souvenir.

My only complaint was with the weather in 2005. They start the race early, and it is in northern Ontario - so should be pretty cool, but in 2005, I think it was over 30C by 9 a.m. with the Humidex. Other than that, I have nothing but good memories from the event.

The organization was top-notch! It was my first marathon and was thoroughly enjoyable for my whole family. My only complaint would be the traffic that sped by was a little scary. I would love to do it again though.

My second time running this marathon. It's a small town that puts on a modest but well-organized event. The course is very nice, flat with one or two gentle inclines that I wouldn't even call hills. Since it's a small-town race, there are only about 200 runners in the half and full marathon combined and very few fans. Which means, it gets lonely on some stretches along the route. ;-) But runners pass each other a few times and support each other by exchanging encouragements, which is very nice.

The weather can get very hot (like in 2004) or rainy and windy (like in 2006), so make sure you train in hot weather for this race.

Plenty of water and Gatorade stations also offering fruit and even PowerGels at 1-2 stations.

Overall, a very nice, chip-timed event in the middle of the summer when there are few long-distance races to run in Ontario. I'm definitely going back next year or in 2 years!

This is the 11th time I've run this race. The first 5 times I ran the half, and the next 6 times I've run the full. I will see you in 2007.

Having done 31 previous marathons, I would have to say to the people of Massey and to the race organizers, "Well done." You more than made all of us feel welcome, and to anyone thinking about running next year, it really is a "friendly marathon" ...see you in 2006, Bill.