Was this a tough course? Yep. However, the website had warned us about it, and it was right. Seems like all of the course problems from past years have been addressed. Not sure there was 1,000 feet of level ground in the whole marathon. The back half is definitely tougher than the front. Expo wasn't anything special, but they had some good free stuff. Water stops were great, and food at the end was good. As for shirts and finishing medals, we runners need to make sure we don't complain about subjective things like the size of medals or the color of the shirts (my wife loved the medal), when the RD has obviously made tremendous strides in addressing previous problems. NOTE: My finishing time was about 20 minutes slower than I had planned, but the RD should get high marks.

Pros:
- Weather - perfect running conditions
- Big mile markers let you know when you're approaching milestones
- Nice pace timers along the course
- Great water/Gatorade stations (including rogue tables from the locals in front of their homes)
- Very good traffic control - directional arrows to let you know where to go
- Short off-road sections
- Nice long-sleeve race shirts
- Your name and home town were announced as you cross the finish line to cheering fans
- My wife and brother were able to run from 26 to 26.2 mile markers
- People were talkative along the course. Police office marathoners carried me through tougher miles.

Cons:
- Soup, old bananas at end tasted bad
- Mini-medals
- Hills were non-stop, with lots of walking between miles 19-23 because of late hills

This marathon was well organized, with decent community support, and was not as hilly as I anticipated. The expo was at the Radisson Hotel downtown, and the start and finish line were within a half block of the hotel complex. I arrived early in the day, so I had time to zip over to Kittery, Maine to visit Cape Neddick Lighthouse, walk my dog Bo on the beach, and have a lobster dinner (who needs pasta when there is lobster to eat?). Basically, there were two big loops that were run. The first loop was to the northeast, and the second to the northwest. The first loop was run with the half marathoners. This marathon had a six-hour time limit, so the race committee allowed those slower runners an opportunity for a sunshine start, giving us 90 extra minutes to complete the race. I was surprised how many folks showed up early. An older couple was completing a marathon in their 50th state together. Awesome! One of the race officials drove along with us for the early miles and supplied the sunshine start runners with water - and encouragement too. He did a great job.

Between mile 4 and 5, there was a turn from Union Street onto Campbell Street. About a half-block beyond the intersection, several police officers were standing, and I missed the turn on to Campbell Street - the turn was marked with sand arrows on the road, but they were faint. Fortunately, the officers immediately re-directed me on to Campbell Street, so I did not lose too much time there. Having a person on that corner to direct the runners would have been a plus, but we were early birds, and so it is likely that all of the support people had not shown up yet. Just past mile marker five, we entered the woods on a bike and footpath (Livingston Park) - for about a mile. That was nice, and there was a serene and peaceful little lake on the left. Then about mile 10 we turned on to Hanover Street and headed back toward downtown on a long straight stretch to complete the first loop. Right near mile marker 12, Maple Street crossed Hanover Street - with a traffic light. There was no one directing traffic there. I looked across the street, and a policeman was sitting in his vehicle in an adjacent parking lot, and appeared to be relaxing. Meanwhile, I had to clear traffic myself to get across safely, as there was automobile traffic. It was the only lack of attention to detail I noticed by law enforcement. Usually those guys are top-notch.

At the start of the second half, we actually crossed the starting line, only going in the other direction. We shortly crossed over the Merrimack River and headed out toward Goffstown. I missed the significance of a lot of the landmarks, but we did pass through or on the edge of Saint Anslem's College campus. Still, it was fun to see some of the large old homes around town. Toward the end we went through some more residential areas, then crossed back over the Merrimack River on a foot/bike bridge, and did a small loop around part of the downtown business district, then crossed the finish line in front of the hotel.

The water/aid stations were staffed by a lot of younger folks, and they - as usual - provided a great service to the runners. Gatorade and water were available throughout. And GU gel was available about milepost 9 and 19 (and two are better than one, right?). So that was a big help too. Weather was better that the forecasts I read earlier in the week. Though it rained hard the night before, it was about 53 degrees shortly after 6:00 a.m. (I could not believe how light it was at 6:00 in the morning), 59 degrees about noon, with sun in the later part of the morning, and with variable winds throughout the morning. There were pockets of cheering fans over the course, and that always lifts our spirits when we are running - and I love doing high-fives with the kids. They have real spirit being out there cheering for us. Then the autumn colors added to the scenery. This course has some reputation for hills, but the hills were not that bad (Omaha and Charlottesville have big hills!) and this was my fourth best finish time - even with pain issues in both of my feet. So it is a worthwhile marathon event if you need a race in New Hampshire, and remember, the hills are not that bad!

Wonderful race. Advertised as hilly and it was (I love when they are honest). This is the coldest I've run a race like this and it was great! Surprising number of spectators, pretty course (still leaves on trees), and nice organization. I would recommend this to any New England runner.

This was my 37th state and 43rd marathon and it was one of the absolute best. I cannot think of a thing that could be made better. Organization was superb - and having an early start for us back-of-the-packers worked out really well. The course was very well-marked, with plenty of helpful volunteers. Lots of folks came out of their houses just to cheer us on. We had beautiful weather, too, and that made an already scenic course even better. Sure, there were plenty of hills, but they were doable. Manchester is a lovely old mill city, with several fascinating museums and lots of good restaurants. I hope to do this race again and spend more time touring around the area. If you are looking for a fall race or want to do NH, this is a fine choice.

This was my third marathon ever (NYC and Des Moines were my prior ones). The expo and pickup center was pretty low-class, as far as having stuff to buy and info, although it was across the street from the start, which was helpful. There was no pasta dinner either, which sucked. One of the marathon's head organizers told me directly over the phone prior to the race that headphones are ok, but just to watch out; accordingly, I used my iPod and headphones with no problems, as did a few other people. I opted for the early start at 7:10 a.m., which was great, seeing that I did not train at all. The course itself was not nearly as hilly or difficult as I imagined (except at the end, which is uphill till about Mile 26). The support staff along the way were helpful, although there were times when I found it confusing where I should go. All in all, not the best marathon, but certainly worth it for people like myself who have to "check off" the state of New Hampshire.

I had a great experience in Manchester, NH from the expo to the finish. I found the course challenging and scenic, offering a number of steep hills and surprising turns as the race traversed through downtown, a wooded path into a park, through neighborhoods and over bridges of water. Great fall foliage. The spectators were among the friendliest and most encouraging crowds in my travels. People cheered the whole 26.2 miles. The race was very well organized and the mile markers were clearly visible throughout the race. The weather was a perfect, clear, sunny, 50 degrees. I came home with a bag full of freebies from the expo, a great long-sleeve tech shirt, a cute medal and a big smile!

The Manchester City Marathon was a well run, pleasant, small race. I particularly enjoyed having the host hotel across the street from the start/finish. There were many and varied hills throughout the course, and few sections that were anything close to flat. This course was about 12 minutes slower than my PR on a faster course with a comparable effort.

After reading previous comments, I was wondering how tough this would be. While there are few flat sections, the inclines/descents are mostly gradual - except for a few steep downhills in the later miles.

Pros-
Well marked course
Great, supported water stations
Fair NE terrain
Very good traffic control
Mostly away from main roads
Very nice "off road" sections (short trail, pedestrian bridge, bike path)
Warm food at the finish

Cons-
Confusing award structure
Undersized medals
Un-interesting shirts
Silly posted rules that claim you'll be disqualified for pinning bibs on your leg, or not running on the right.

I understand this is a young event, but a marathoner has the daily experience to handle traffic. Also, it's November. If I wear a zippered jacket, the "rules" disallow pinning your number anywhere except mid-abdominal. Reading these while deciding on a race is a turnoff, and can work against this event from growing.

I live in NH and train on hills, and of my 20 previous marathons, I found the hills on this course to be the most difficult. There are no giant hills - it is just relentless up and down. The organization and volunteers were great. I found the traffic control to be good and the course was well marked. Beautiful weather and decent scenery for a city marathon.