This was my first marathon. I wanted to run something in October close to home and it was either Niagara Falls, Syracuse, or Oswego. I went with Oswego, the Century Marathon in Fulton, NY. It had everything I wanted: small, affordable ($55! which included an UA shirt that actually fit; no baggy white cotton tee!), and a scenic double-loop course. If you just want to run a pretty fall marathon and do not need rock and roll and pomp and circumstance, then this is perfect. Everyone was so nice; especially the amazing volunteers who stayed on the course for the 25 of us that went on to run the full. The course is somewhat challenging; those rolling hills are tough second time around, but running past cows and corn fields at sunrise it's easy to ignore the inclines. My only suggestion would be a road marshall near the Walmart crossing (at the very end of the race).

What a wonderful, well-organized marathon! Logistically, it was all hassle-free: ample parking at the YMCA with real bathrooms and showers, packet pick-up right before the race (with nice swag including a cool gender-specific technical shirt, gloves, and snacks), and plenty of food post-race even for us back of the packers.

The course is two laps on country roads with impossible-to-miss mile markers. It is definitely not flat, but if you are used to running on hills at all, you won't find anything here that steep either up or down. The aid stations were more than ample with very supportive and friendly volunteers. I also appreciated the two separate port-a-potties on the course that were perfectly spaced! There were no real spectators to speak of, but I appreciated the cyclists who kept an eye on everyone to make sure we were OK, particularly on the second lap where you are pretty much running by yourself. Seeing the ham operator on the course along with patrolling police cruisers and ambulance also provided peace of mind.

All in all, I highly recommend this marathon for those looking for a high-value, low stress option.