I had a very enjoyable experience at the Prince Edward County Marathon.

From the time I arrived Friday night to attend the expo to the Sunday afternoon post race party I was treated first class by the organizers, volunteers and community.

I entered the race to see a new part of Ontario. My wife and I spent Saturday visiting wineries, provincial parks and welcoming communities. We will return to visit again. We stayed in a motel on Lake Ontario that was minutes from the start in Wellington. A perfect base to run the marathon.

The running expo was small but was in a interesting restored barn. Excellent prices on all running gear. Organizers were very helpful going to great lengths to make sure all my concerns were met. The pasta dinner was delicious and a great deal and well attended. A band provided entertainment.

The race course was through three towns and a provincial park connected by rural country side. Plenty of porta potties at the start. The course was well marked every kilometer with water stations every two kilometers. Later stations provided gels. The couse was relatively flat with a few hills to make it interesting. I had been concerned that a rural course maybe boring to run but found it scenic and entertaining with a surprising amount of fan support. The time went by fast and I was always surrounded by other runners. Farmers set up sprinklers to cool us down. The streets in Picton where the race ended were full with cheering fans.

At the finish organizers made sure everyone was OK to the extent of following me to make sure I had fluids and was recovering. The post race party was held in a beautiful restored dance hall where there was ample food and beer. Showers were available in the nearby arena.

This race met or exceeded all my expectations. If you are hesitant to enter a smaller marathon because of a lack of ammenities fear not as the County marathon provided all the comforts and atmosphere of any large race I have attended. The organizers can be proud of their race and I am sure it will grow in numbers.

Just a wonderful place for a Sunday run. I have run large runs like NYC and a bunch of different size marathons and I am sure this ranks up there for many reasons.

First of all, the organization was excellent. I have no complaints and wonder how Mark Henry and his group can do what they did for the numbers involved.

The route was most scenic, the people along the course, while not plentiful were very attentive to us runners and did their best to lift your spirits. The water stations were precise, every 2km, and well stocked.

The accommodation in the county is mostly bed and breakfast and there is no way I would let you know where 9 of us stayed, we want it again for next year!

My guess is that word of this run will spread and next year it will be more populated, probably more like Wineglass, except in Canadian dollars (although that won't matter much the way our $ is going).

My only suggestion would be to get the little towns more in sync with the run so they are ready for the lunches the day before!

Great race, put it on your schedule!

First time for this marathon in 2004. A very picturesque rural course running through 4 small town communities. A generally flat course with a moderate hill at 38km (appearing as a nasty hill while running).

There are longish sections with few or no specators. But where there are spectators, they are wonderful. The area has 25,000 residents, and it seemed like most of them were out somewhere along the course.

A few organizational problems, but they were minor and should be easy to correct for next year.

- water stops on top of the km marks.
- gels handed out at end of water stops instead of well in front.
- forgot to plug the coffee in at the pasta fest!!!

Those were the only negatives I saw.

The rest was fantastic. And the residents were extremely friendly and welcoming. They give the Friendly Massey Marathon a run for their money.

Considering this was the first time this event has been held, I take my hat off to Mark Henry. Job well done.

Course is flat with a couple of small hills near the end, but overall a fast course. Stunningly beautiful views of the lakes, very rural, picturesque villages. Crowd support was thin in parts (but don't forget this not New York City), but was very vocal and supportive. I found there to be plenty of water, Gatorade and gels at every (2km) aid station although I subsequently heard some of the later runners saying that some of the stations ran out of Gatorade and/or cups. Best feature of the event were the volunteers County folk are simply just great, even if you are not a runner you simply have to visit. This truly is God's country!!!

I was very impressed with this race. Spectacular course - not to hilly, very scenic, nice, clean, well kept roads. I was very impressed with the town spectator support. This was a small race but the town residents were out in big numbers and very activily cheering us on. Great organization; only issue was a 15 minute delay in starting. No KM marks on road, and these are necessary for a Boston qualifing course. Other than that it was a great time.