Having run a couple of larger races this was a nice change of pace. Generally not a fan of multi-loop courses, but it does make aids stations more abundant and manageable for a smaller community race.
The trade-off was likely giving away some more interesting terrain.

Given the extremely hot weather - this was a real blessing. Many marathon runners opted to stop after the half realizing that it was only getting hotter and it allowed them to manage/monitor the course better.

It would be nice if they can close the path to participants, but don't see that happening.

I loved last years experience, but my comments this year aren't so glowing. I didn't like looping twice, and I didn't like being in the sun so much. Even the parts through the woods were mostly in the sun. The volunteers were great, but I couldn't take much of the very warm water. As a result I suffered some from dehydration. If they change the course back to the 2011 course, I would run this again. On a positive note, I did have the same great pacers as last year.

This was a very well run race on what was a very hot day. While the course left much to be desired, the staff did an outstanding job providing plenty of encouragement,water and ice. The volunteers were great!

Course included about 10 miles (four stretches af 2.5 miles) on the frontage road for marathoners. On a hot day this was not only unpleasant but unbearble. Doing the entire race loop (which included double backs throughout) twice made it hard to remain enthusiastic. Also, with it being in the public park and many fewer entrants doing the marathon, you really didn't feel so much you were part of a 'race' during the second loop as you were just mingled in with other public. On a hot day, the course was mostly in the sun, which also made it difficult.

Weather was horridly hot, but can't do much about that. Organizers moved the start by 25 mins, but should have moved it to 6:00 a.m.. given preditions in the high 80s and 90s.

Logistics were easy and well handled. Seems many of the issues from first year were addressed. Water stations sufficent and really appreciated the ice at the latter stations.

I'm not sure why this previous comments said the course was beautiful. 8 miles are right next to a highway and the rest is in an unremarkable forest preserve. This is a nice run for a training run but calling it pretty or beautiful is misleading. I was hoping the forest preserve would be shady- not really. Other than that I think the race was well run. It was very hot and the organizers did a good job of stocking the water stations with ice and water. They moved the start a bit earlier which was wise.

When we finished, it was 96 degrees. I'll comment first on the race excluding any heat affect. The organization leading up to the race, at packet pick-up & at the start was good. Shirts & medals were great!

The course itself was two laps...first & last 2 miles of each lap were down a concrete highway (lanes were closed. The middle 9 miles or so were through a park on a bike path. This would have been great except for the crowds.

The first lap included the half marathon runners & there were several miles of out & back, with runners going both ways on the bike path. There was only room for 2 runners side-by-side on the path so it got pretty congested. Very difficult to pass anyone on this stretch.

The path was open to the public & on the second lap, the half runners were gone, but the public was out on bikes & roller blades & pushing strollers. This caused for some additional congestion.

All-in-all, assuming good weather, this would be an ok race. I wouldn't give it a great, but nothing really wrong with it either.

Ok...throw in heat & temps into the 90s. I felt that the race organizers were horribly prepared to handle this type of weather. It had been forecasted all week prior, so there shouldn't have been any reason not to be better prepared.

Water stations were 2+ miles apart, the water & gatorade were hot, no ice until mile 20, no sprinklers or cooling devices. Hot pavement stretches on the highway. Just not a good course for this type of heat.

I just ran Boston with similar heat & felt so much more comfortable in it...the addition there of ice early on, sprinklers, more frequent water stops...that makes all the difference.

Realizing that this is a smaller event & logistics would have made some of that impossible, at the very least they should have had ice available much earlier & cool (or at least not hot) drinking water would have been a tremendous help.

I was handled a bottle of hot water at the finish & I gave it back...the last thing you want after a 95 degree marathon is hot water. I should add that the volunteers were great!

Room for improvement...this even has potential but the course is maxed at this number of runners.

If you are a first time marathoner, this is not the race for you. Do Chicago. If you are an experienced marathoner and do not need much attention, then this one is perfect.
PROS: Lovely course, mostly through Busse Woods. Volunteers worked hard and were supportive. There was ice at mile 24 and it was a lifesaver.
Great pacers.
Timing chip is in the bib.
Support at the finish was wonderful.
Popsicles for the kids. Nice touch!
CONS: Not a closed course, so the path through Busse Woods is shared with everyone, including some bikers who still wanted and expected to get their ride in, regardless of the runners. Potentially very dangerous; some of the bikers brushed right up against me. There were also clueless walkers who were three across and wouldn't move. Overall, most athletes were kind and respectful. But the bikers need to get their Lance-On elsewhere; I am surprised there wasn't an accident.
The final 2.5 mile stretch is tough; there is no crowd support (though the awful heat may have had something to do with it) which is always helpful, but the finish was intimate and I was able to run with my children. Awesome. You cannot do that in the big races!
Great job, everyone!

I am slightly bias; I like large marathons. I love the energy from the other runners, from the crowds, and the expo with all the swag.

This is a small community race with only about 400 full marathon participants. The race was well organized. The volunteers were great,the people who came out were great. It was a crazy hot day; 89 degrees when I finishes. I hated the course. Again, I am a city girl. This was a race through forest preserves for the most part. Plus, the full went two loops of exactly the same course! We ran through the finish line at the halfway mark and them went right back out. That was tough. I will never do that again.

Overall it was a nice race if you like small community races. I can't say that I would ever do it again, but I know most of the half marathoner had a pretty good time.

I was a little disappointed with this race. First let me say that when I registered the only spots that were left included a mandatory donation to the sponsoring charity which more than doubled the entry fee  I have run 10 marathons and this was by far the most expensive. Granted, my fault because I couldn't commit to the date earlier, but it was not worth it. Here are my issues:

1. There was some confusion finding the race. Unfortunately, there was also a 5K the same day in the same area. There were several signs for the 5K but no signs for the marathon. It would have been really easy to put a couple of signs right off the interstate pointing people in the right direction. I talked to another runner that had the same issue.

2. Most of the course was nice  through a park. However, the full marathoners simply did the half course twice. The trails were a bit narrow and because it was a public park the course was not closed and bikers were an issue  I was passed by several bikers going dangerously fast, including a guy on a recumbent bike that almost took out a runner at a switch back.

3. The race was hot and there were not enough water stations. Also, during the second loop it seemed like the volunteers really ran out of energy at the water stations. I had to stop a couple of times to pick cups off the table because no one was paying attention. I really appreciate the volunteers (who seemed like a lot of young people) but it didn't seem like there were enough of them. Maybe the charity that benefited from the marathon could help recruit volunteers.

4. Entertainment along the course was non-existent. This is not an important thing for me but I guess for the registration money I spent it would have been nice to have something.

5. The full marathon medal was really average. This is also not that important to me but for the money I spent to enter this race, I expected more.
In sum - if the location of this race is really convenient (as it is for me) and you are in a position to commit to it far enough in advance that you can take advantage of the early bird entry fees then put it on your list. However, do not expect too much.

Being the inaugural year of this event, I expected there to be a few kinks and there were. On the positive side, the course was great other than the last 2.5 miles. Busse Woods was lovely. The volunteers were all great and the pace groups were a nice touch for a small race. The parking was easy and there were plenty of port-a-potties. I understand why they had the start and finish where they did for parking. However, the start chute was way too narrow and the finish area turned a bit much. It was also terrible to have the last couple of miles along the frontage road. There was literally no one there. Although there were plenty of water stations, they were way too short/small. They all had only one table and many of them literally had only two volunteers working them. Especially in the first five miles while we were still with the half marathoners, you couldn't get anything to drink. I got nothing for the first two water stations because I wasn't willing to wait while they filled more cups. The packet pickup at Dick Pond was ridiculous. I had to wait a half hour for my packet and then had to go over to the store to wait another 15 minutes to get my shirt, and then had to get my chip in the morning! I also had chafing from the velcro strap, so wasn't fond of that. The course is great, so I would do this again, but the organizers really need to work out a few of these issues.