Great course! Each time I have run this course have been my 3 fastest marathons of 18. The Sub-Lancer (2:59) pace team is outstanding. They control the pace evenly mile after mile and give honest assessments of the course. Running with the Celebrity Pace Teams is fun and well managed. Can't say enough about this race. Organization, fees, YMCA, EVERYTHING about this race is great. This is no Chicago Marathon. It is just as organized without all the hassels. Just do it and you will see!

I completed my 7th or 8th. GRM this year and it keeps getting better every year. Plenty of free parking at the YMCA, showers available and a Race Director that greets the 1st. place finisher and stays at the finish line greeting all the runners there after. The course is well marked, plenty of aid stations and a lot of chili and beer at the finish line. The marathon shirts are very attractive and the entry fee is lower than most. With the Celebrity Pace Team Leaders and usually perfect weather, if you want a PR; give GRM a try.

Everything was great, except my Garmin died at mile 17 and I was trying to pace my girlfriend to a BQ. (She made it by 13 seconds)

This is an excellent race for beginners or veterans. The course is super. Great scenery, shade and good even track to run on. The aid stations were well stocked and the voluteers were fantastic. Organization was excellent. Spectators were ethusiastic. Some may complain about how few there were, but that's not what this course is about. Besides all the medals, bagels and bananas we all have come to expect, you get free beer and chili after the race. Just an oustanding experience.

I was looking for a fast, well-organized marathon and this didn't disappoint. The course was almost all flat (a few small hills, but nothing that cost more than a few seconds) and very scenic, going by a small lake, the river, and over a few (flat!) bridges. The level of organization was superb and you could tell the race director really loved putting on a good race. Plenty of water stops, enough runners for it not to be lonely out there but no overcrowding, more spectators than I would have expected, and great volunteers.

Overall great course, experience, and organization.

Having the YMCA open prior to the race proved a bonus because runners could stay inside for the pre-race rituals without worrying about the cold. Indoor restrooms were great too. Parking was plentiful. I only had to walk across the street to reach my car after running 26.2...enough said.

Most importantly the GR marathon is a small race. For those of us who are tired of marathons with 30K or more this is a welcome relief.

If you want a small, well organized marathon GR is a good one to run.

Race director Marathon Don has done a great job with this race.

A great Boston qualifier, this fairly flat course has a large portion of the race through a park. Very scenic with the colorful leaves, this year even featured fog early in the race through the park area which just added to the beauty.

The volunteers were great, and you are personally greeted by Marathon Don at the finish. How many marathons can say that.

The comments from previous posters are still all true.

A great race to add to your calender.

This was one of the best marathons I've ran! There are so many great things about it, but I'll try to hi-light the best:

-Race organization SUPERB! Don's e-mails leading up to the race were frequent & perfect. Nothing was left to question.
-Course was beautiful! A few small hills, but just enough to break things up. Scenery was terrific, just enough shade, there was always something to look at.
-Water stops were perfectly placed & very well stocked! Volunteers were tremendous & supportive.
-Spectators - just enough spaced out just right throughout the course. It's not a Chicago or New York crowd, but for a marathon this size, they were enough to give you a boost throughout the course.
-Finish - Don was at the finish line & shook the hand of every runner. He made you feel like a very welcomed guest.
-Post race food, etc was plentiful & great!

The only negative I would report was on the out & back from mile 16-22'ish...the road was fairly slanted & made it a little uncomfortable to run. You couldn't quite find a flat spot. BUT...this is just a slight negative :)

I am planning on making this run an annual event - LOVED IT!!

Fast, mostly flat and extremely well organized. How many marathons can you run and get a hug from the race director after you cross the finish line? Don Kern is outstanding.

I thought the course was scenic and not too crowded with runners. The section along the river was lovely.

The race director is dynamite and made himself totally available during the expo and at the finish line. I got the impression that he truly appreciates every single person running in the race.

Grand Rapids is a really cool city and this is a great race!

The only downside: by the time the marathoners were finishing, all the half runners had finished off the free beer!