I can't say enough about the Med City Marathon. With an eye on qualifying for Boston I signed up last November to run the Cellcom in green bay the previous weekend, but high and rising temperatures precluded that from being a realistic goal. I stopped at the half, thinking cooler temperatures in the next few weeks would allow for a better effort, and the calculated risk paid off in Rochester.

What can you say about Wally Arnold? I contacted him via email several times with questions about the race and the course and he was quick to reply with exactly the information I was looking for. Fast, friendly and efficient.

The race website indicated the Best Western Soldiers Field had rooms for $63 a night. Not only were they still available, the hotel pool has a Jacuzzi, the free breakfast was opened an hour early on race day (at 5am) for runners, the free hotel shuttle dropped you off right where the race shuttle departed to take you to the start AND the hotel provided runners with a 3pm checkout so you had a place to flop/shower after 26.2 miles. Thanks to Myron Salz for going out of his way to accommodate us marathoners.

My wife and I had a great pre-race dinner on Saturday night at Victoria's Ristorante in downtown Rochester. If you're racing in 2014, put this place on your list. Great authentic Italian food, not that processed glop you'll get at Olive Garden. Free parking in the ramp just down the block.

The race starts off along country roads in Byron, about eight miles west of Rochester. The course elevation drops about 230ft during those eight miles, setting you up for a fast start and a nice 'bank' of time to draw against during the rest of the race. From there the course meanders through several parks and neighborhoods, mostly flat except for the small inclines/declines where trails enter and exit the parks and one section of open road around the eastern edge. This is definitely a place to qualify for Boston, as over 16% of this year's finishers proved despite a 15mph wind that was in our face most of the day. You didn't really notice it except for a few isolated wide open areas.

Water stops were well-spaced and ample, Gatorade and Gu was there when you needed it, and the post race food was exactly what you want after a marathon. Beer tent, too, without the limit green bay puts on their runners. (My wife was driving home.) Unfortunately you can't plan the weather, and the rain during the last six miles had me soaked and shivering after crossing the line, so I headed back to the hotel for a hot shower and returned to refuel. Wally made it a point to tell me to grab a beer when I got back. The outstanding volunteers handled the lousy elements with cheer and enthusiasm, as did the fans who came out to spur the runners on.

And I did make my BQ time, by over three minutes on a cool day on a fast, descending course. Now if the BAA can just figure out how they're going to handle all the runners gunning for a spot in the 2014 field, I just might finally get to Boston.

If not, there's always next year in Rochester. I'll be back. You should GO!

This marathon has always been great, but keeps getting better. Wally and Peg Arnold, thank you so much for your awesomeness - not just the marathon, but how your really know your runners and really care. I want to come back to this one every chance I get. The rain the second half of the race did NOT dampen my spirits any. I absolutely love the start in Byron so we get some 'Country Roads' and the music played along the route with just that song! I also love the bridges when you get into Rochester, the beautiful parks and I think that Rochester must be the most dog-friendly city in America - so cool! The band at the finish line was AWESOME!!! Thanks for such an awesome event Wally and Peg, and all involved! I love you people!

Last year was blistering hot. This year it was cool, windy and rained for two hours, but that's the Upper Midwest.
Even though the volunteers were getting drenched, they were enthusiastic and plentiful. There was a good group of fans at the start. Other than that, it was mostly volunteers that served as fans.
But that's OK. Much of the course was on trails, some in wooded parks that made me feel like I was in the mountains (but no thin air).

A very well organized race from the time of packet pickup through finish line duties. One suggestion would be to include a course map in the race packet.
There was an abundance of post-race food, including Muscle Milk, which was a great discovery for this runner.

The 365 marathon entrants was just right for me - enough that there was company on the trail but not crowded.

I ran Med City Marathon today, much of it in 45* rain and wind, and had a great time doing so.
The course is varied and scenic - country roads, tree-lined residential areas, bike paths along a river, around lakes and through parks. The only things keeping it from getting 5 stars from me are the twists and turns in the last 8 miles and the camber of a few of the residential streets. Otherwise a beautiful spring run.
The volunteers and spectators were fantastic! Though it doesn't draw the crowds of larger races (at least not this year), the enthusiasm of those who were out there would be tough to top. They yelled, cheered and made me laugh as they stood in the cold rain.
There are places to get in out of the elements at both the start and finish, and from my perspective everything worked smoothly and without problems.

This race was well put together. The course was nice and the spectators were great. With the weather being so hot it was so nice to see spectators and residences some out with ice cubes and bags of ice. People turning on their sprinklers for the runners was wonderful! Post race was great too. Lots of helpful volunteers and great food. Only downside was packet pick up...the expo and vendors was very small. We will run this one again.

I'm a 50 Stater who panicked when the Madison Marathon was cancelled a few days before the race due to the heat. I heard about Med City and frantically called the race director to see if I could still sign up. He spoke to me on his cell phone the week of the race! The race ended up not capping the number of runners so Madison runners could have a place to run if they chose. This race ended up being absolutely AMAZING! In addition to the beautiful course and superb organization, they ramped up the water stops because of the predicted temps in the 90s. There were bags and cups of ice for runners at every stop! The race director himself handed me a bottle of water at an unofficial stop at Mile 22. Volunteers and spectators checked on the runners throughout the race to make sure we were all coping well with the heat. I loved my finisher's shirt, but by the time I got done, there were only big sizes left and I am very small. The race director read my blog entry about how grateful I was to have a shirt since it took me so long, and he found a leftover shirt and mailed it to me personally 2 weeks after the race! You just don't get stuff like that from the bigger races.

Minnesota has a lot of great marathons, and this is one of them. Wally and Peg are AMAZING and you should not miss this race!!

I was one of the many that traveled up to run Med City after the Madison Marathon was canceled. I cannot say enough about this race and the organization. They stepped up and added water stops, complete with lots of ice to keep core temps down, plenty of volunteers, as well as homeowners with sprinklers and additional water. There were ample medical teams supporting the runners. Spectators were great, braving a very hot and humid day. The course was very nice with a mix of hilly country roads and then a nice run through down town Rochester. Thanks for a great race!

Hats off to everyone who helped keep this course open in the extremely hot conditions. You could see their was a shortage of volunteers but they were well placed at every spot. I have never seen so many bags of ice in all mylife on one course. My favorite part was mile 21 or 24 cause you could cheer everyone on that was running past you as you were passing them. I'm glad I chose this race as my Minnesota race for my 50 states.

This was one of the hottest marathons I've run, and I was going about 45 minutes slower than usual due to the heat and due to having had a medical procedure, FUS, done three days before. For a flatter than a pancake runner from Indiana, the start of the course was a little hilly, but not bad. My brother, my dad and I were registered for the Madison marathon that got cancelled, and we were really grateful to be allowed to register at the last minute for this race instead.

The volunteers and spectators along the course were amazing! Especially towards the end, when almost everyone was walking and barely hanging in there due to the heat, the volunteers were so cheerful, asking people if we were okay, and ringing those cowbells to cheer us on. The race director himself was handing out bottles of gatorade and water right towards the end. In short, the spectators and volunteers were amazing. Since it took me six hours, it got hot towards the end but we were well taken care of. In the last ten miles I would guess there were around 20 water stops and offers of ice in bags, etc. In the twelve different marathons I've run, these were the best volunteers I've ever encountered. AWESOME RACE!!!

The race course is pretty well laid out. Race day, tempertures were suppose to hit the 90s and it did with a vengents. The people of Rochester realized the race course could use spectator assistance by providing ice, water and other items. At mile 13 was ready to throw in the towel when someone came up to me and offered some ice, this provided hope. The further a long I trudged, the more people were out to assist runners. This was my 50th marathon and if it weren't for the city of Rochester would not have finished.