Plenty of signs to always know you are on the correct path. Lime stone path in excellent condition. Great aid stations with plenty of variety. Free burgers at the finsih line and free parking.

Very pretty course on the des plaines trail. Could of used more organization at the start and finish area. Loved the burgers after the race. If you are looking for a good trail run, run this one.

I second what everyone else had to say. Really nice course. I wanted my first marathon to be smaller so this was perfect. One water station had water that tasted like milk (might need to watch that for this year) but I had gone through the night before and dropped water bottles at strategic locations and pretty much carried it with me. But everything was great - fans, finish line, nice food at the end, everything was nice. Except the distance. My garmin had it listed as 0.5 miles short. I was very disappointed as this was my first marathon and I felt like I didn't really do a marathon based on the distance. I would definately do it again but please, please, please make sure the distance is accurate for 2012. I will most likely be back for 2012. Thanks!

This marathon was more than I expected, a flat trail in a forest preserve with fall leaves and cool weather. What more can you ask for? Even though there were only 120 or so participants, I was never running alone and although worried about getting lost or taking a wrong turn, everything was well marked and it was never an issue. My husband was able to see me at several places on the trail thanks to a map they provided. We stayed in the hotel across the street which was perfect.
I've done both small and big city marathons, but this was a nice surprise and one of my favorites, and would definitely consider running this again.

When they said the hotel was close by, they weren't kidding. It was just across the street. The hotel was very clean and accomodating to late check out. This is a small race; don't be expecting bands and hoopla. A really beautiful course through the woods and meadows. The running surface was really the best I've every run on. Very fine limestone; some thick socks to protect against junk in you shoes would be good. I was worried I would be all by myself with only 125 runners in the marathon, but I was always around somebody. The weather just happened to be gorgeous, which only helps the experience, but it was a well organized race. The race directors were attentive, but I suspect they could have used more volunteers. All the aid stations were fully stocked, and each mile was marked. I would definitely do this one again.

This is a beautiful little marathon on a wide, flat, easy-on-your-feet trail through a forest preserve just north of Chicago. The course is simply spectacular - through forests and marshland. Much of the trail has forest cover so if it's hot you'd be protected from the sun. The day I ran the weather was perfect - 40s to start and high 50s at the finish.

There were not a lot of spectators because there were not a lot of participants, but if someone wanted to follow a runner there were several places where roads or parking access intersected the trail. I saw one family at maybe 4 different points on the course.

The course is an out and back which is generally not my first choice because who wants to run the same thing twice. In this case, I didn't mind at all because the course was just so beautiful.

The trail itself was very well maintained and a hard enough surface so that you didn't feel like you were running in sand but so, so easy on the feet. I'm used to road races where my feet are just screaming by mile 23 from the pounding.

Water and aid stops were every 2-3 miles and consisted of one table with loads of options - water, electrolyte drink, m&ms, pretzels, gels, etc. I'm used to running through water stops and drinking on the run which wasn't possible here because there just weren't enough volunteers to pick up garbage. So I stopped at each aid staton drank two cups of water and threw my cups in the trash. Would probably be a good idea if they would put one garbage can 50 feet down the path but not a big deal. The volunteers were so friendly and helpful.

I ran alone for much of the race and if you're a runner who relies on thousands of spectators to keep you going, this race does not have that. I do enjoy that aspect of road races but I loved this too.

I registered just days before the race and was told that I would have to wait to get my shirt and medal sent to me in the mail. The race organizers had so many last minute entries their surplus supply was depleted. I didn't expect to get anything but they said they would place an additional shirt and medal order after the marathon to make sure everyone who participated got the shirt and medal which I thought was great.

Parking was available at the start and they also do morning of packet pick up which was so so nice. I've done alot of big city marathons (new york, chicago, boston) and I like those too but they are a hassle. This race was just so relaxed, convenient, easy to navigate and enjoyable.