My 46th marathon! This was the tenth year of the race and it is easy to see why the race is so popular. It is very well organized and the race kit was filled to rim with goodies including soil! The shirt was nice but I think after running 42.2k I would want everyone to know. The yellow colour begs for Charlie Brown zig zag. Really.

The course was pleasant and there were plenty of water stations (every 2k). The station at 6k and 4k had trouble stocking water for the runners which was a bit disappointing. More adult supervision needed is my guess as I didn't see any around. Plenty of power gels and porta toilets as well.

My only complaint is the booking on the same day as the Goodlife TO marathon. A week apart would work for me but and even better idea is to have the races a day apart - A Maniac challenge! The coolest part of the race was having the race announcer say that I was the happiest and most charismatic runner on the course. He gave away my secret weapon - JOY!!!

one of the most fun marathons I have run. They had it all. Loved the road runner song at the start.
Course is a point to point course with a net downhill.

Only beef is that after the race and after you have cooled down, they make you walk 2k UPHILL to get to the cars/busses.

this race is awsome

I ran this race last year and this year and this year watched an a spectator. It was a shame to hear about the course problems such that 2 of the lead runners had to be disqualified and a number of the masses missed a section of the course.

Everyone has been talking about the top 2 finishers being disqualified, and that is indeed tragic. I take it no one has noticed, however, that there is a 16-minute gap between 2nd and 3rd, where other runners were also disqualified for going off-course. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I hope those runners are getting a bit of justice in this whole thing too. To train that hard all winter long and not even post a time because the course is so badly marked is just awful. The organizers have a great course and the volunteers at the water stations were very enthusiastic and helpful. Mississauga could have a great race on its hands, but until the basic organization of the event is under control, they're going to suffer, especially if Toronto continues to run the same weekend.

A very nice course mostly through neighborhoods and along the water (luckily the 30 mph winds were at our backs for the first 16 miles). Definitely more downhills than up. Spectators were pretty much absent, and it was very tough for family and friends to follow us because of all of the road closings. Water stops every 2K were excellent. Enthusiastic and plentiful volunteers. The same old problem with slow half-marathoners blocking the bike paths and pedestrian bridges along the waterfront near the end. Nice finish area: live music, and lots of food and beverages,(unfortunately because of the cold, rainy wind, I think most took off quickly). There were about 1,200 marathon finishers, and when the half marathoners split off at 8 miles or so, you had as much space to yourself as you wanted.

Overall it's an excellent small marathon worth considering if you're in or visiting the Toronto area.
I would highly recommend this race. I would highly recommend this race. This is a coarse you can run a fast time. While the scenic course is technically downhill theres just enough geographic diversity to act as a challenge. The only negative related to the coarse is the paths you run along toward the end of the race. As a marathoner you had to keep your head up looking for half marathoners walking home after their race on the course. Those runners should know better. The enthusiastic aid stations were well placed and it was great having 3 Powerbar gel stations. Keeping in mind it was a cool, wet and windy day the crowd support was minimal but on this course it didnt seem to be such a big deal.

Being a point-to-point race, I was lucky to have someone drop me at the start and pick me up at the finish but from what I saw Mississauga transit had plenty of nice new comfortable busses to transport runners and spectators to the parking areas so no one was left waiting outside getting cold.

I have run this race in 2009 and 2011. The course was back to its original layout after unsuccessful changes in 2010. However, course problems remained. Top two finishers were DQd this year after their lead cyclist missed a turn, and a lot of GPS devices measured .1 of a mile short (160 to 200 m short). There were not enough marshals and volunteers, and the course was poorly marked on park paths in the second half. Park paths are also narrow, and faster marathon runners run into slower half runners and walkers at approx. 38K, which could cause problems.

Due to lack of traffic control, my 3:15 pace group approached the 25K turnaround from the wrong side of the road, and had to cross paths with slower runners to get back on course.

The expo was well-organized though fairly small. Aid stations were plentiful, but there were fewer volunteers likely due to rain, so I missed a few cups. Finish area was adequate though far removed from shuttle buses and any local attractions.

Generally, I believe this course has a great downhill first half, poorly laid out and marked second half, and a finish area that is too far to be truly welcoming. I will likely not run it again until these problems are resolved.

My 29th Marathon! Here is what I liked:
1. Great Stuff in registration kit - even with the bad economy still lots of goodies
2. Aid stations every 2 km - amazing with porta potties to boot
3. Free parking
Dislikes:
1. Parking volunteers didnt know where the start of the race was. Bad.
2. They closed off the parking in front of the Walmart which is more central and close to the start
3. Some of the porta potties ran out of toilet paper
4. Why schedule this event with another great marathon only 30 minutes away? Space it out two weeks away or something. Sheesh.

Well worth doing.
Sanjay

My main complaint for the 2010 marathon was the lack of public transit (or at least public transit information) in the City of Mississauga! Most if not all people had to take a taxi or - dare I say it - drive, especially when the city has a population of 700,000. After finishing the race none of the volunteers reminded me that I had to take off my chip until I asked them for the area where the food and massage area was. Then I wasn't able to get a leg massage because it closed about an hour after I was done with the race. I know these races last up to 6 hours and I was done at 4:42:58! Imagine not being able to walk or bend down and being told to more or less suck it up because they have to leave early. Remember, I just ran a marathon. I shouldn't have to deal with bad planning afterward. Overall, it could've been a lot better if transit service was shown to be at the port credit location on the map instead of the park near Cawthra and Lakeshore for shuttle buses (which was given to me on expo day and could've been fixed). Volunteers were great at the aid stations but the finish line definitely was crammed at the end, as I was a sprinter. There was even one aid station that was offering up Advil, which helped me through the race!