Prior to this race, I had only run large city marathons. I chose this marathon because it was small and for the challenge. It was well organized, there were friendly volunteers and it was a beautiful course.

Plusses: homemade desserts at pasta dinner, free & very close parking to finish line, had access to school gym and restrooms prior to start, GU available at 5, 10, 15 and 20 mile water stations, aid station located on the HILL also had cookies & MnM's available, your name and city was announced when you crossed the finished line, a free lunch buffet for runners just across street from finish line. The bonus for reaching the summit of the HILL is the 2 mile downhill stretch that follows!!

Minus: only water and bananas available after the finish and located off to the side under a tent. I would run this marathon again and would recommend it to friends.

This was my first GCM, 6th marathon. FYI, there are a number of preceding hills before you get to 'The Hill'. Not a easy course by any stretch, but a great event run by some very nice folks. Crowd support is sparse, but it is a very rural setting with less than 200 running the 26.2... so it is about what one would expect.

This is a tough course to get to and a tough course to run. They brag about conquering the hill - it is a tough 2 mile hill between 16 and 18 miles, but downhill from there on in - if your legs can stand it. We saw bear, deer, and beautiful country all the way. Not many spectators, but wonderful volunteers.

Great as usual, 2012 will be my 10 yr. running it. Well organized, enthusiastic aid stations, pretty course, great post race comradery.
Half marathon should add people &
excitement. Recommend this race
for fun & a challenge.

GOTTA COME BACK,RAN 9 MARATHON SINCE 2003 GODS COUNTRY,NONE COMPARE. TELL DAVID I MEAN IT,I WILL BE THERE THIS YEAR GUARANTEED

If you are running this race simply for a medal then you are running for the wrong reasons. I have run this race 5 times and I come back every year for the fine people that work the race, the challenge, the simplicity of the area and the friends I've made, not the medal.

The God's Country Marathon folks committed the cardinal sin! They did not have the medals at the finish line since there was a printing error. You can have a tough course, bad aid stations, no spectators but never ever ever fail to hand the finisher a medal after 26.2 miles of hell and a three mile hill. You need to have the medals well before race day. No excuse someone dropped the ball and the race was June 4th and as of June 16th still no medal in the mail. I am disappointed.

I was apprehensive about this one, but the hill wasn't as bad as I thought. The downhill into Coudersport was nice at the end when you need it. Had to make a pit stop at mile 9, or else I would have BQ'd. (Missed it by a minute.) There are things about this race that are very appealing: the people and runners are friendly, the showers at the end were nice, and the feeling that you are part of a small close group was also nice. While most roads / berms have camber, this course had a good flat surface to run on. Towards the end, each waterstop was like a full service station: you were the only one there and they took care of you. Some stops had oranges, bananas, and candy. I practiced on some small hills, and that proved adequate for this race. Don't let the hill scare you; run this one!

The 2010 edition was my third God's Country. I had the best course time yet, in part because the weather was cooler and cloudier than the past runs, but also knowing what to expect and how to train. My running partner and I both finished under our goal times and are thinking of a BQ goal time for next year. This is a tough course and you want to train harder than you think you have to for it. It is very well run, spectators are enthusiastic if not plentiful, the course is challenging and traffic was never a problem. Looking forward to next year's challenge.

I find it odd that anyone called this course peaceful. It is run on a highway on the shoulder of the road into oncoming traffic, some of which are "wide loads" traveling upwards of 55-60 mph. It was anything but peaceful. I ran by foul-smelling roadkill and couldn't wait to get off of that highway (which didn't happen until mile 25).

People were great, the course was tough and aid stations were fine. I thought the roughest part was the gravel kicked up in my face by the traffic. Perhaps I am the only one to experience this.