As many have said, oh the hills. I knew it was a hilly course going in so shame on me for having unrealistic performance expectations. The 1st 5K of the course is relatively flat followed by a MASSIVE downhill that gets you about a mile at near sea level. And then you climb. And Climb. And Climb...for about 8 miles. I feel for anyone who did the full because they got to enjoy that not once but twice. Post race was pretty weak IMO, no electrolyte solution like Gatorade just water with bagels and fruit.

If you want to qualify for Boston, this is not the course for you. Too many steep hills.

2015 was my first time running the new course (half only); I had run the old course several times in my attempt to improve my marathon time and qualify for Boston. The old course was a fast, flat run mostly along the Erie Canal. About eight miles of it were on dirt/crushed stone, which actually seemed to help my feet not get as sore as they normally do. The new course is very scenic, but it is also extremely hilly, not just rolling hills but steep inclines that you almost need to walk up. It is a double-loop marathon, and after running the half, I couldn't imagine having to turn around and do another loop. I might consider running the half again, but I would never do the full marathon. I wish that this course had been added as an additional half marathon for Rochester runners, rather than replacing the Rochester Marathon course along the canal. However, I do like that Fleet Feet is now running the race - they always do a great job keeping everything organized and fun.