The course is very beautiful as you wind your way from Banks to Vernonia. The first 6 ish miles are flat, then steady up until the half. Steep drop and ascent at the half. Then, a steady descent for the second half. I did my second fastest marathon time on this course. No fans at all since you are in secluded forest. You end on the race track through a very small gate that only one person could go through at a time. I would definitely run this course again.

Don't expect to do a PR here; there's a steady climb from mile 6 to mile 14. Whew! But after I passed up the half-marathoners, I was cruising through the beautiful NW Forest on a perfect spring day.
There's almost no fans, and there were no photographers. Just you, your feet, and the forest. Tough. I'll hold back next year at the beginning so I have juice for the latter half.

Beautiful, rural course over 20-plus miles of bike trails through woodlands in remote part of NW Oregon. Few spectators, for obvious reasons, but ample aid stations, including one with a sense of humor, offering bite-sized servings of Spam, Twinkies, Jello and M&Ms.