This was my first marathon and as recommended for first timers, I took water from every aid station.

While I initally thought there were too many aid stations during the first 4 miles, those same stations turned out to be heaven the last 4 miles as the temperatures climbed.

The volunteers were friendly and supportive. There were not a ton of people on the course which is to be expected due to the layout. Those that were however, were engaging and enthusiastic.

There was a young lady sitting in her front yard with a garden hose around mile 24 who had a sign that read, 'Say yes if you want to get wet.' As I got closer to her I said, 'Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh God yes!'

This was a well organized event, which honestly is the highest compliment a runner can give. I would recommend it to first timers and marathon veterans alike.

Kudos to Ron & Sharon Suffolk, and the people of Charlevoix!

The course is beautiful, through woods and by the shore of Lake Michigan. The small field means runners can be very spread out, especially toward the end but if you miss being around a lot of people the setting makes up for it. The course is basically flat with some gentle rises here and there. The spectators are few but enthusiastic. Enough porta-potties. Good variety of food and drink at the end and a beautiful medal.

If you're looking for a small, no-frills race the Charlevoix Marathon will be hard to beat.

Pros:
1) The race directors did a great job with communication, organization, and support on the course.
2) I generally don't like out-and-back courses and was nervous about running next to US-31. I found the course to be very enjoyable, with a nice mixture of lake views and shady pine trees.
3) If you're from someplace as flat as me (Indiana), prepare for one good hill at mile 9-10 and another from 24-25. Otherwise the course was pretty flat...definitely PR / BQ-friendly!
4) Plenty of aid stations, cold drinks, overly eager volunteers and lots of porta-potties with no lines.
5) Great t-shirt and very hefty medals.

Con:
1) No accurate clocks on the course. Not a big deal but would have liked to know my half split at the turnaround.

One tip is to book your hotel early as lodging in CVX is limited. We stayed at The Lodge of Charlevoix, and the start / finish line was right outside the hotel. Can't beat it for convenience.

LOVED this marathon. Just ran it TODAY and I was so excited I wanted to write about it! Beautiful small town atmosphere. The people (lots of teenagers!) handing out gu, water and gatorade were soo kind and friendly! The race organizers were really on top of things and answered emails really quickly! The course was really pretty:)My only regret-wish we had made reservations for MORE days to spend here! I'll come back FOR SURE:)

Overall, really nice race. Beautiful, relatively flat course, great for beginners like myself. Very small race with small town feel (good for me but might be too small for people used to running the 'big races'. Organizers and helpers were very friendly and helpful (particularly to first timers like myself and my wife). Our biggest issue was with the bathroom situation. Maybe this is normal but we found it very odd that there was one stretch of nearly 13 miles without so much as a porta potty (from about mile 6.5 to 19 or so). Most everyone we talked to said this was way too far and there should have been at least a couple more. Definitely a great course and we would highly recommend as long as they solve the bathroom thing...

A buddy and I drove 600 miles to this race and it was worth it.I'm not a big fan of out and back course's but this one was nice.I train on the hills 1 day a week and I can only remember 1 little hill and 1 incline near the finish in my opinion this race is flat as a pancake. I ran the Derby marathon in Louisville on April 30th and admit my training didn't go as I had hoped.So I signed up for Charlevoix then things started to click.I beat my Louisville time by 52 min.Needless to say I was PUMPED UP They had plenty of water stops with Gatoraid. They had a good idea of starting the marathon at 7 and the half at 7:30. To my surprise the bike path didn't get crowded.Next year I'm taking my wife and make it a four day weekend.600 miles was a long trip home right after a marathon at least we got a late check out at the motel we stayed at. They needed more porta johns on the course thank God for the bushes. Overall a great race. See Ya next year!!!!!

The course was smooth and had some nice sights of the water. Great small town, beautiful downtown area. One area that could use some improvement is the 1/2 marathon walking. Our race started at 6:00am yet the water stations didn't open until 7:00am. If the race has started, the stations should be open. Also, it would be great if the volunteers running the stations could hand the athletes the cups as opposed to some stations had us go over to the table and pick them up ourselves-in a race time matters. Would recommend this race to a friend.

This was a wonderful small town marathon. The course was well marked and had aide stations that were adequate for the number of people running the race. The course goes through thick forest on a bike path that breaks through to views of Lake Michigan on occasion. I thought the course was beautiful, cool and well planned out. After the race there was more than enough food for everyone , they brought in more sandwiches when they ran out. I am glad I chose this as my Michigan marathon. Kudus to the race director.

The place was beautiful and the race was pretty well run except that some of the water stops were highly disorganized and several had really little cups.

Way too hot for me to PR or even put up credible showing as I baked in the limited shade available for most of the last few miles. Obviously that's not the races fault but I would have loved the day before when it was cloudy, slightly rainy and much, much cooler.

It looked like a great little vacation town and in retrospect I wished I'd booked a longer stay. The drawbridge separating the finish from the post race area made for some nice pictures. The race was small and actually felt even smaller as it definitely had a bit of a locals vibe. The staggered start made the mostly bike trail course surprisingly uncongested (the half starts 30 minutes after the full goes off).

Not sure what the first reviewer was talking about on the food; I limped in a smidge over 4 hours and there was still some food to be had. Didn't think about the water since I grabbed one on the finish line side of the drawbridge but water on both sides probably would be an improvement. Agree on the parking though, that was easy, close and free.

I will definitely recommend this race.

The Charlevoix Marathon was my first. I could not have had a more positive and memorable experience from beginning to end. From our accommodations just steps from the start and finish lines, to the great weather, beautiful sights, fantastic aid stations and downhill finish, this well organized event just may have me hooked. Although few in number, the spectators were great. I loved the small town feeling to the event and the opportunity my family had to cheer me on in numerous locations along the course. While I wish this event continued success and growth... For me... I like the size just the way it is!! I look forward to the opportunity to return again next year.