Trying to pick up 50 states, this one worked well with the timing of other races so I decided to run it. Echoing many of the comments already posted, the race had some nice features but many issues that need to be changed.

The good:
-Being from out of state, I liked the course, but that came more from being in Denver than it does the actual route. I did enjoy the run through the stadium and the firestation- very cool. I also enjoyed the stent at Sloan's Lake- very pretty and provided a nice breeze off the water.
-I like the shirt- tech, gray, ladies got the VNeck.
-The corral start for marathoners was efficient. I loved not having to battle for positioning and didn't have to pass walkers and made it to my corral very easily.
-Plenty of portapotties prior to the race with a minimal wait.

The bad:
-Water stop organization was terrible. As previously stated, there was a dry run early in the race which included one hill in the sun and I received no water or aid until mile 7.5. The water station was set up....but nothing was there. Mentally and physically challenging, and messed with my head as I started worrying about water for the rest of the race. Unacceptable and not safe. I had the same sentiments as a prior commentor and just started taking water and aid whenever it was available because they were poorly spaced thereafter- 2 within a mile, and then none for the next three? Why?
-The expo left much to be desired. The Run Colorado vendor had a lot of good merch, but otherwise it was very congested and didn't have much to offer when we went on Saturday.
-Most of the portapotties on course were located at relay exchanges. Needed more on course for the marathoners, because every time I tried to go at a relay exchange the lines were enormous.
-The turn back into the park prior to mile 26 was overwhelmingly congested. There were tons of spectators IN the corral as I turned at mile 26, crossing over to the other side. While I may not have had to physically stop for them, the last thing I want to worry about is someone crossing in front of me with a stroller when I'm coming in to finish a marathon. This needs immediate attention.
-The marathon was expensive in comparison to other races and for the lack of aid and swag received.
-Virtually NO spectators or fans except in the neighborhood halfway. For those that did come out to cheer, THANK YOU!
-Running the race early on, you could see all of the mile marker signs for the return trip- for instance, at about mile 5, I was staring at a huge 'mile 22' sign. Perhaps make those one-sided if the course stays the same...a little bit daunting.
-No chocolate milk after the race which is my personal favorite recovery drink. In fact, all I was offered was a bagel, a bottle of water and a warm can of soda.

Will not do this race again.

The course itself was decent, if a little scattered. Overall, my negative comments about this race have to do primarily with (1) the general feeling that the RD and team catered primarily to the sponsors / vendors / exhibitors and not to the actual runners, and (2) some HUGE misses on race day.

Expo felt like big brother. I've been to big race expos before, and I get that you tend to be herded like sheep, but this was over the top. I don't like to hang out at the expo - I want to get in, get my stuff, and get out. It was impossible at this expo. First, you could only take an elevator up to the expo area, which got jam packed. Second, once up there, the layout made absolutely no sense. You were forced to slog your way through every single vendor, etc. to get your stuff, instead of getting your stuff (all together at the beginning) and then choosing (like a big boy or girl) whether you wanted to spend time looking at the vendor's / sponsor's schwag (which I did not want to do).

Bathrooms were nice and plentiful on race day. Good job there.

There are a few things that you absolutely have to get right, and water / gatorade stops are one of them. The second water stop (around mile 2 or 3) did not have any water, gatorade, anything - just a bunch of volunteers standing around waiting for the water to arrive. THEN, the next water stop was not for at least 3'ish more miles, and that water stop had a line (literally, a line) of people, waiting to get water. You had to stop and wait in a line to get water. This is a piss poor way to run a marathon.

Finally, the finish line was a nightmare. Too many different races finishing in one spot, way claustrophobic, hard to get water / food, and then they forced you to go through the exhibitors area, whether you wanted to or not. I was feeling awful by the end of the race, just wanted a drink and to lay in the grass, and one of the volunteers attempted to refuse to allow me to do so without going through the exhibitor tent area first. Seriously? I had to force my way past him to the grassy area. Again, total disregard for the runners in an apparent attempt to please the sponsors / exhibitors.

There are way too many well-run races to waste my time coming back to this one next year, even though the start line is less than a mile from my house.

Yeah, unless you have friends begging you to do this, really, don't worry about missing it.

Chronologically...

the expo was a mess. Long line outside the stadium, and then, as others have posted, Only being able to take the elevator up to the 3rd floor? We're freakin runners here, we don't like lines, let us take the stairs. I picked up my tag and shirt at the expo and that was it. Overall pretty disappointing.

Parking was fine on race day, nbd. Plenty of port-a-potties available, barely a wait 20min before the start. Corrals were good, nice and organized.

The course was ok, a couple of really wonky, greater-than-90degree turns which were awkward. I didn't care for the fire station but the stadium was pretty cool. The neighborhood around mile 14 was really nice with shade and people coming out to cheer. The long gradual downhill on Colfax was nice too, if not a bit crowded. The bike path, both early and late, kinda stunk. It was narrow, and there were seemingly 9 races going on with people doing 5minute miles and 12minute miles and everything in between. The finish was a total disaster. There was a spur of about 50m in the final mile - really?

And the race royally hosed up the water stops. At the second one, we got there before the water did. Cups, people, table...no water. Unreal. Then the next one was a good 3-4 miles away, including a couple of uphills, so it was a good 6ish mile stretch of no water. That's pretty poor. Then you'd go a couple of miles without one, which is fine, but then there would be 2 within a half mile of each other. Just bizarre. I ended up taking at every single one just out of fear of the next one being way far away. The volunteers were nice and plentiful.

Then the finish line itself was horrid. The 'Urban 10-miler', the half-marathon, the marathon relay, and the marathoners all come in together. I ran a 3:21 marathon, which put me in with some slower relay teams, the 2:21 halfers, and I don't even know what time for the Urban 10ers. But it was PACKED when I came through, and that bites. Can the marathoners get their own finish? Or change start times so it's not so dense? The chute afterwards were totally crammed. People were complaining about being claustrophobic and having to get out of there. A dry bagel was the first thing offered to me. Mmmmm, dry bagels. Please.

The 'expo' afterwards appeared ok, but I was tired and just wanted to split.

All in all it appears to be yet another race that caters to the groups that bring in the most money, which is the halfers and in this case, the 10ers. Marathoners, the ones out there for the longest, are a complete afterthought.

I am glad I read the comments here before I ran this one and carried my own fluids, since one of the early water stops didn't have any water or gatorade resulting in a 5+ mile dry run. Otherwise I liked the course and I thought the start and finish line areas were set up well. There were plenty of porta-potties and I though the post race food was pretty good. As others have mentioned the expo venue was tiny and all I wanted to do was grab my stuff and get out of there because it was so overcrowded. The T-shirt was okay although I prefer shirts that are event-specific (this one listed all the events so I assume even the 5k runners got the same shirt, and it did not have the date of the race anywhere on it). I liked the medal (giant 26.2) and necklace/keychain attachment.
I have to say my biggest concern about this race comes from the comments of the RD in a news article after the race. From the Denver Post, regarding the fact that the half martathon was short: 'This is a non-issue and is clearly meant to harm an otherwise important civic and community event.' In response to the runners critical of the length, Kelly said Sunday: 'If (the questioning runners) had been courteous enough to inquire about this while on site, it would have been a conversation with immediate review on the ground of course settings to satisfy (their) curiosity.'
While this refers to the half rather than the full, I don't trust any race director that thinks charging runners $80 for a race that isn't accurate in distance is a 'non-issue'. If you are hosting a race that is advertised as being run on a certified course of a specific distance than not providing what was promised is certainly an issue.
Overall I would say run it for fun, but I wouldn't try for a PR here because of the issues with fluids and the clear disregaurd for the importance of providing a certified course expressed by the RD.

Packet pickup was horrible (on third floor of stadium, elevator access only? Really?). Expo seemed totally geared to vendors, and giving them a captive audience in a tiny space. Maybe nice for people who like that sort of thing, but I much prefer picking up my packet at my local running store. Or somewhere I can walk in and out of. No interesting swag to speak of...every half and 10K I've done has been better.

Got there at 4:50AM (for 6AM start), no problems with parking, easy walk to start.

The course itself was reasonably nice, especially the run around Sloane's Lake. After 20+ years in Denver, first time I've been to the stadium (not counting the expo)...you can tell I'm a sports nut. Could have done without the bit at the far end of East Colfax, since it was the anti-scenic. Aid stations seemed sparse the last four miles, i.e., when I really needed them.

The medal was laughably hideous. Might give a running gangsta some sort of street cred, but a mirror-finish massive 26.2? Really?

Post race food, to be frank, sucked. The 'BBQ' lunch was dry and tasteless. Lukewarm water, Pepsi, dry bagels, and bananas. In the future, I'll bring a cooler with my own post race re-fueling.

I'm pretty torn on whether I'll do this race again...my thinking is that, if I only do two marathons a year, there are probably much better choices.

+'s
Nice course
Neat medal
Perfect weather (this time)
Friendly aid stations*

-'s I paid $130 and:
Only 1 water stop for first 7.5 miles? (At stop #2 there were tables, cups, *friendly volunteers . . . but NO water or gatorade?)
Poorly made t-shirt (fabric kind of bunches-up around seams - for this price, pls go with a good, reputable mfg)
Only a bagel at the end (evidence there were bananas earlier)

Personal comment - I believe they over-reacted with police support. There were scores of police on bikes in areas where there were essentially no spectators and a thin stream of runners. Most of the bike police just seemed to be visiting with each other.

What an awesome experience. This race is well executed and all details were handled. If you're looking to run a big city, lots of glitz, followed by a ticker tape parade kind of event then this is not your scene. If you're looking to rub elbows with down to Earth runners and get a terrific finishing time in the Mile High City, hurry and register for the Colorado Colfax Marathon.

II have participated in this marathon since the first year. After 6 years, they have worked out most of the problems and put on a much improved event. The course has a few hills to climb but they are not more than a block or 2 long. The run through a fire station with the firemen cheering and through the NFL stadium (twice) add to the fun. The pacers provided by the organizers stayed on pace and the race showed off the diversity of the city. I would have liked more spectators but this is not a major marathon and the spectators were mostly family and friends of the runners. I am looking forward to running this course again in 2013 as the race continues to mature.

I signed up for the Marathon late as I had been nursing an injury and wasn't sure I'd be able to make the run. Hence, I paid the full price of $120. $120 bucks to get on the course and I then have to shell out another 25 for a finisher shirt? Sure it's customized with my bib #, but can't it be an option for those who want to buy one?

The website also advertised GU miles 10 and 20. I saw no such GU. I don't depend solely on them to provide it but when it's advertised shouldn't it be there?

There were some very vocal spectators and I enjoyed them. But for the most part, however, the spectators and staff posted along the route were busier speaking to each other than actually observing the racers. I've also run the Waddell Marathon in Kansas City and the spectators and staff were vocal, encouraging and terribly fun. Just my observation.

Nonetheless, the weather was beautiful, I did enjoy the run and will be back.

I enjoyed the race this weekend - I had heard the struggles from years past so happy that there have been improvements. Aide stations need to be consistently placed along the course - there were long stretches with no water and then water stations bunched too close together. Inconsistency was bothersome towards the end. Also, when are the chip times going to be posted. So far, I'm only seeing gun times.