After running 3 big city marathons (NYC, Philly, Nike Women's San Fran) I wasn't sure what to expect from a smaller marathon. My expectations were vastly exceeded by Buffalo! I loved the free pasta dinner (free for runners, only $5 for anyone else), especially the free beer! The course really is flat and fast...and scenic! Great views from the shores of Lake Erie and the park we run through in the 2nd half was lovely. Also terrific volunteers on course, handing out not only water and Gatorade, but fruit, gels, Vaseline and therma-freeze! The final element that I appreciated about this marathon is the ease of staying at the Hyatt (which gives a great runners discount and serves a delicious breakfast!) I walked right out the front door 15 min prior to the start and was in back in the room, in the shower within 20 min after finishing! My ONLY complaint was music was being played at ridiculously high decibels at post race party/awards ceremony. I would have immediately exited, but sat around waiting for my award while none of my family members could even talk to each other! Otherwise, awesome marathon...I highly recommend and would love to come back!

Expo - an upgrade from the single hotel room expo in 2008 but still falls very short of expectations for a 'big' city marathon... the second most populus metroplis in NY

Course - features some of the tourists sites of downtown, but running on open roads, a bike path, and an open access area in Deleware park are huge dissappointments

Medal - leaves quit a bit to be desired, as a runner who runs for medals and experience rather than running for BQ times, i was disappointed

Spectators - other than the group that traveled with me, the others seemed like stereotypical new yorkers (rude and put out that you were holding up traffic while running in their city)

Post Race Party - THE ONLY BRIGHT SPOT...plenty of pizza and free beer, a perfect way to celebrate a PR (which i did set in spite of my complaints and no thanks to the pace team)

In looking to put in a serious effort, I was pleasantly surprised after entering at last moment - another marathon cancelled. I didn't need to be overwhelmed by numbers of runners, spectators, or organizational requirements, but wanted to feel part of something. I felt was very well organized, and volunteer support far exceeded expectations (drink stations far more frequent than advertised). Did not notice hills, other than few short overpasses. Relaxing scenery without being spectacular. Breeze was annoying but limited to one direction by lake; otherwise sheltered. Was usually able to find a small group to run with, but it might have been lonely for backmarkers. Sufficient spectators, both in masses and small groups. Easy pickup, but Buffalo expo competes with larger nearby marathons in Ottawa (soldout) and Burlington (hills) on same day. Some may prefer different starts for marathon and half, but inevitably slow participants impede faster runners in the other, and combined fields provided early atmosphere for the relatively small marathon field (not big enough to cause real traffic). Buffalo easily accessed by travellers, although absolutely NOTHING available downtown outside of hotels. A valid option for a pleasant marathon and fast time.

COURSE - This was a special race for me since it was in my hometown that I moved from 30 years ago. I really enjoyed the course layout. The first half primarily encompasses the abundant waterfront area with great views of the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Erie. I've seen some grumblings in past reviews about the industrial area but it is over so fast, its not even an issue. The steel grated bridge is uncomfortable to run on but like most of my fellow runners, I ran on the adjacent concrete walkway. Careful on that though since it is somewhat uneven.
The second half of the race goes through some of the nicest neighborhoods and parks you will ever want to run through. Most of the streets are wide avenues with stately homes.
ORGANIZATION - I didn't go to the expo since someone picked up my packet but my niece had to make a change in the morning before the race and it was done quickly at the registration booth. Volunteers seemed to be plentiful, prepared, and friendly all around. I've seen some negative comments about the organization from a couple of years ago. From my perspective, they have taken it all to heart. One thing that didn't affect me but should be resolved is the lack of a bag drop this year due to security concerns. Having said that, there is plenty of parking around the race and most people can get to their vehicles about as fast as they could retrieve a bag.
SPECTATORS - I found the spectators to be well represented and enthusiastic. There were groups of 20-somethings at a couple of places that were especially vocal and supportive. Kudos to the folks that came out and supported the race!
ETC - While I like the course and race, it was not exactly 'flat' as advertised since it had 3 or 4 long ascents and a fairly steep bridge that we had to cross twice. The temp was ideal (mid-40s to 50s) but the cold steady wind of 10-15mph in many places was challenging. Obviously not a race controlled event but worth mentioning.
I would recommend running this race. It is small enough to not feel the crush of crowds and big enough to feel like you're part of something special.

I grew up in the Queen City but had to leave in 1999 to find work. I always wanted to come back and run in the Buffalo Marathon. I am so very happy I made it back this year. I had a great marathon experience. Prior to Buffalo I ran New York in 2010 and 2011 and ran Philadelphia in 2012. I heard and read many negative comments prior to running the 2013 Buffalo marathon. Negative comments about the crowds being small and that the course support was weak. I found the exact opposite to be true. I was shocked at the amount of support on the course and the number of spectators. Obviously the crowds of spectators were not as huge as New York or Philly but I thought it was a very good number of spectators. I'm sure the number of spectators was boosted by having the half marathon and relay running with the marathon but nevertheless it was great. I really did not expect so much support or spectators for a marathon with only 1,200 runners. Plenty of water stops, gatorade, gel, fruit, water bottles. Just fantastic. It all helped to make a very enjoyable and safe run. The spectators were very encouraging and I thought there was a very strong Police presence between the Buffalo Police, Eric County Sheriffs and State Police. I was trying to qualify for Boston and wanted a fast course. If you want a fast course this is it, super fast and flat course. Got my qualifying time and a PR. Besides the course being fast it is very beautiful, especially along the water front and downtown Buffalo and in North Buffalo near Delaware Park and the Art Gallery. Yes, the steel bridge at around mile 7 and mile 12 is not too much fun. The course orgainzers may want to consider laying down some kind of carpet on that bridge in the future. Another criticism I have is that I really thought the finishers medal was kind of cheap for a marathon. The race shirt was nice and the expo was easy in and easy out. Overall I would say the Buffalo Marathon is a very well organized and worthwhile event. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fast course with good support in a great City. Thank you Buffalo Marathon organizers, officials, volunteers and Police/Fire/Ems. You did a great job. I will defintely run Buffalo again.

My first race since Boston. if their was ever a thought of being unsafe it left my mind the second I walked out of the hotel. An amazing job with security. A big thanks to Greg for taking time out of his busy day at the finish line to help me propose to my now fiancé. Helping to make sure she was where I needed her to be in the middle of a race of 6000 says it all. I live 700 hundred miles away and it turned out like him and I rehearsed it 20 times. If your looking for a NY state on your fifty state quest or just to run a beautiful well put on race, than RUN THIS RACE!!!

1) I would prefer to see separate starts for the Marathon and Half Marathon (say 15-30mins later). It was rather congested at the start (partly due to new security issues) but also just because of numbers.
Mile four had a narrow path going from one road section to another where people could only run 4-5 across. This was a real bottle neck with so many runners.
Separate starts would be helpful for the marathoners in terms of building support amongst themselves and sticking with pace groups. I had no idea how alone I was till the Halfers finished and I continued on seemingly by myself (No, I was not last just stuck in the back of the starting gate).
2) Better course markings are needed after the 1st half. Some 'flaggers' were very lazy with their pointing. Cones alone, can be ambiguous. All cones/curves/turns should also have an arrow sign. Note that the lead female runner missed a turn near the end of her run so, I don't think I am alone in this.
3) First timers should get a special arm band/shirt/ribbon or some such thing. It makes them feel special and helps fans to cheer a bit more.
4) The medal this year was gold in color. Last time I checked, a nickel was silver in color. The medals shown on the marathon site are silver and look much nicer than the bright/shiny gold ones we got this year. Go back to silver nickels!

Many years ago I lived in Buffalo for 6 months and I was looking forward to returning and seeing the city. The course did a very good job of hitting the highlights of the city from the waterfront to the hockey rink to the industrial section to the parks and the nicer neighborhoods of the city. The post race celebration was good with pizza, pretzels, beer, fruit, cookies, water and soda. There was plenty of on-street free parking and the coarse was fairly flat. Those are the good points of the race. And I have to give kudos to any marathon than offers more than lemon-lime gatorade. Delaware offers orange and Buffalo offers cherry flavor.

I would say that of my 15 marathons, this was the worst expo and the smallest (not including the mississippi coast marathon that had 72 runners). With nearly 6000 runners, the expo should have been much larger. There was no gear being sold with the race logo. There were very few vendors. The convention center only had one bathroom for each gender and the male's bathroom was being cleaned when I visited. The speakers room was difficult to find and the volunteers were not sufficiently trained. The organizer needs to visit a few other marathon expos (nobody beats the Detroit Expo) to get ideas to greatly improve the initial experience for the runner. There was good spectator support for the first half of the marathon but greatly tapered for the 2nd half of the race.

Not bad at all for those looking to knock out a New York marathon. The mile markers are unidentifiable for the first half due to their size and the number of runners and I'm sure that buffalo has a better 26 miles to showcase than most of what we saw. Organization was good, expo was fine but nothing spectacular.

I thoroughly enjoyed everything associated with this race - easy packet pickup, the delicious pasta meal (free to runners) at St Anthony's, the great running weather, and most of all the scenic, mostly flat course. Buffalo, you did a great job! Everything was well organized, the people were friendly, the city was clean. The Saturday tour of the course by open air bus was great (even if the weather was a bit cool!). I visited Niagara Falls after the race (20 minutes away). If I can get another cheap flight from Atlanta next year I'll be back!