Ohio River Road Runners Club Marathon - Race Reviews

The flawless organization of this event makes it very worthwhile for you to come and run here!! Scenic, good time of year (weather was ideal - 32 - 50, clear and sunny), water stations & portolets spaced properly, correctly measured course and mile signage. A few small rollers but otherwise flat. Extremely glad I chose this as my Ohio marathon!!!! The ORRRC knows how to put on a running event!! Xenia is a great place for cycling/running paved paths but otherwise a town without much to offer, Yellow Springs is a nice village about 8 miles away and a nice day visit.

I judge this small marathon as one of the best organized of them all, based on my 95 marathons, including Boston and nine Flying Pigs. In fact, I love marathons put on my running clubs - as this one is - since runners know what other runners like: clear and obvious mile markers, excellent signage, police blocking traffic where needed, cheerful volunteers at aid stations, and a route mostly on asphalt. Parking in front of the YMCA made packet pickup on the morning of the marathon a breeze. The route itself was just fine; no mega mansions, just blue collar neighborhoods, and a long bike path along a creek. A few gentle rises, which I hesitate to call hills. So, it's PR friendly. I can't vouch for the food since I took a tumble at the finish line; genetic clumsiness, I guess. I can, however, vouch for the EMTs, who took care of me immediately. Thanks to all those brave firefighters for helping an old man up from the pavement, bandaging his wounds, and walking him to his car. Oh yes, one more thing. This marathon is a no-frills affair; and so is the entry fee. Bargain! Thanks to the ORRC and all their volunteers!

This was my 34th marathon and 31st state. Great course - country roads through cornfields and the Ohio to Erie paved trail on occasional rolling terrain. Great people - friendly race directors & volunteers give it a family feel. Great price - Race number, chip, tech shirt, medal, pre-race pasta dinner, post race meal indoors, including hot food, bananas, homemade cookies, and sodas, and finish with a post race shower. I told the RD I could not think of one thing to make this race better. If you need big crowds/fanfare and the accompanying hassle this isn't the race for you. If you want to relax and enjoy yourself go to Xenia!

This is a low-key but reliable race. I ran it back in '98 when it was in Bellbrook, and it's matured a bit since then. You get all the basics (water and electrolytes every 2 miles, gels, painted mile markers, nice SWAG), and for a good price. BEST THING: hot chili and chicken noodle soup at the end. Also, showers at the YMCA. WORST THING: monotonous course with heavy winds (paved bike path and roads through corn country). Although a mainly flat course, the strong headwind coming back is a detriment if you're running for speed. And the minimal crowd support is a letdown if it's your first marathon. But if you don't need bells and whistles, or a fast time, or big-city excitement, it's a good race for the money (maybe hold your nose near the 14.5 mark).

If you are a Buddhist or Hindu marathoner then pray that you come back living in Ohio. This race is amazing! I wish more race directors in Canada followed these rules. I paid $25 for the race, got a medal, a shirt and had lots of food at the finish line. Free showers at the YMCA and paid $8 for the pasta dinner. The aid stations also had gummy bears and Smarties (okay - M and M,s eh). This race is very underrated. You can sign up for next year's race for $15!!! More aid stations but that is a mild complaint. Well done! My 44th BTW. PS - Congrats to fellow maniacs who ran their 231st, 204 and 80th marathon. I will catch up with you all soon enough!

My comments are for the half. This is an 'old school' runners race put on by a local running club. I really enjoy finding these little gems in the running world to participate in. Super organization and hard working volunteers. Thank you so much! The rating on the course is low because it's almost exclusively on a paved bike path with not much to look at. There are virtually no spectators so I felt like I was on a big training run at home with a super support group. I am not a fan of these bike trail courses because I run on them often at home. If you enjoy this kind of course for a half or full marathon then you'll love this one. The course is not really fast or flat. First four miles are a hill climb with little give back but not over the top. The bike path is flat. The last five miles you get a full face wind because of the nature of the course and there's a slight grade to the last quarter or so mile to the finish. Overall, it's a fun event, with good post race soups, drinks and awesome cookies. Best cookies I've had at a race. Again, big thanks to all the volunteers for all your hard work!

I drove 8 hours to run this race and did NOT regret it one bit! PROS: 1) Where else can you enter a race for $25 and get a nice tech shirt, medal, chip timing, well-stocked aid stations, plenty of food after the race, post-race showers and close proximity parking? 2) Course was a nice rural, mostly flat course with only a few small hills. CONS: 1) Start time was 8:30. I was told that it's usually very cold this time of year, so that was why it started so late. For people driving a long distance home, like me, a 7:00-7:30 start time would be much more reasonable. 2) Had it not been a cloudy day, the sun would've been tough to deal with, since the course has very little shade. Would I recommend this race? Absolutely!

It's not a big race but they do a great job. It's low key which is great. I was able to drive in park with no problems. Packet pick-up the morning of was a breeze. Other runners were friendly and encouraging during the race. The half-marathon and the full start out together. It made it a bit hard to pace properly in the beginning and I started off a bit fast because of it but I still ran my best time yet. Pros: Start isn't crowded, able to walk up at the last second Packet pick-up morning of race Plenty of well stocked aid stations Post race showers at the YMCA Homemade food after the race including chili and excellent cookies Easy to find your support crew and for them to find you. Well marked course with guides at all of the turns. Potential Cons: If you like big crowds you won't find them here Course isn't flat, but the hills aren't bad.

This was my first time doing this race. I drove 9 hours from Green Bay, WI to run this and would do it again! I absolutely love the 'back to nature, peaceful' feel of the course. It really is very beautiful, and the people most wonderful. Thanks for the great time!

This is my second year running the half and I was even more impressed than last year! There were around 400 more people than last year and the ORRRC did a great job to accommodate everyone. The course runs from the YMCA through a few streets in Xenia, out on a country road, and then out on the bike path for a few miles before hitting the turn around. The only hills of note are within the first four miles and they are very easy. The course is great for a fast time and I PR'd by over four minutes! Great New Balance tech shirt, finisher medal and great food at the finish. All of this for the preregistration price of $25! I've done some very small races and some larger ones (Air Force, Columbus) and this one is my favorite. Would not be surprised if it keeps growing.

This is a very nice little race for runners who appreciate attention to detail without a lot of hoopla. It is an amazing valuefor less than $1 a mile you get a technical top, attractive finisher's medal, well-staffed and supplied aid stations, and plenty of hot soup at the finish. There is parking at the start/finish area if you arrive early, and showers available at the Y after the race. Everything is right there in one spot. The aid stations (approx. every 2 miles) have water and Gatorade, and plenty of volunteers. The course is mostly flat (with a few hills) on country roads and a paved bike trail. It is well-marked, with volunteers to guide you at every turn. One caveat is that the weather in Xenia is unpredictable, and the race takes place during tornado season. The wind is guaranteed to be in your face at some point, and there is not much shade on country roads if the sun is out. These factors can prevent you from running as fast as you might expect. The hot soup and homemade cookies at the finish are wonderful!

Wow, I was VERY impressed with this race. If you are a small-scale, low-key, just running because-you-love-it kind of runner, then this race is for YOU! It was perhaps the most inexpensive race entry fee I've ever seen ($25!!!) - and we got great tech shirts, a very attractive medal, and hot homemade soup at the end! The course support was SUPERB! These volunteers were AWESOME! Not a lot of spectators, but I actually liked that. It was mostly on a bike trail through the woods and by old farms - very serene! Also, don't miss out on the $8 pasta dinner the night before  homemade spaghetti sauce  YUMMMY!!! :) I definitely recommend this race. No complaints at all!! Glad I endured the 5+ hour drive to this race. It was more than worth it!

I ran the half this year and was more than impressed with everything! The course is actually very nice as the trail running out of Xenia is pretty scenic. Organization is top-notch for such an inexpensive race ($25 preregistration). The course is nice, and you get a great tech tee, nice finisher's medal, and hot food at the finish. Wouldn't be my choice for a first half or full since it's so small, but it's definitely one to add to the list. I'll be returning next year!

I've been somewhat lamenting the fact that marathons have become traveling circuses - large spectacles and parties on feet. This is NOT one of them. With a field of just over 160 people, if you're not a serious runner, you have no business being in this race. Which is why I enjoyed it. Great price, and for so few people out there volunteering, they gave so much! Loved it and ran my PR.

There were split clocks at the one-mile, two-mile and the six-mile markers. The other miles were plainly marked on the bike path or road in spray paint. The volunteers and police were excellent. The water stops were great. Even at 70 degrees, do you really need water more than every other mile? Spectators were few, but the water stop people made up for it. For $20 you received a tech shirt and medal. Plenty of food and great soup at the finish, plus hot showers at the YMCA. What a deal. If you need cheering crowds, then go to the big-city marathons and pay big bucks. If you want a great value and a great marathon, then this is the marathon for you.

This is a small marathon, but well organized and supported mainly by other runners. It's a rural course. Most of the marathon is on rails to trails, with a few excursions on country roads. The trail part is flat. There are cheering crowds mostly at the start and end. Mile markers seemed to be limited to on-trail sections; there was one on-course clock at the 10K mark; and water is available about every 2 miles. After the half-marathon split, I ran alone for the rest of the race. By the turn, it was full sun, no shade, and 70 degrees, which was hot for me this early in the season. I could have used water every mile towards the end. I don't usually race with a personal hydration system, but it would have helped in this case. If you like low-key races, then this is the marathon for you. I don't think it would be a good fit for the typical first-time marathoner. Bring your GPS watch; you'll need it.

This was my second year running the ORRRC Half Marathon... and once again, I was not disappointed at all! This really is a very friendly, low-key, awesome race. The course is very scenic, the volunteers are incredible, and the race director really goes the extra mile to ensure a great experience for everyone. I love this race and will continue to run it every year. Oh yeah, the price is right too - $20!!! What a deal!

This race is a bargain. For a very low entry fee, runners get a short-sleeved technical shirt and nice medal. The aid stations were well-supplied. The YMCA was open before the race for late registration and packet pickup. Packet pickup was very organized with no wait. The Y being open meant that runners could use the restrooms before the race and showers after the race. I strongly recommend this race!

I've run a lot of smaller, hometown races and this marathon/half provided that kind of an experience. The course volunteers and local police were extraordinary. I don't believe I've ever felt as cared about or looked after as the runners on this course. Being a way-back-of-the-pack runner, I don't always finish to a table full of food or treats - but not this time. There was plenty of good chili, fruit and cookies. And HOT SHOWERS! Now about that mysterious "all-uphill" course...

I really enjoyed my first marathon run in the States (I recently moved here from Leicester, England.) I couldn't believe that for $20 I got a great medal and nice t-shirt. It was nice and simple to just turn up on race morning, collect my chip and number, and just run. The course was a long, straight track out and back (apart from a couple of small detours). It was a real mental battle, and I clocked my slowest time out of 6 marathons. The marshals were great. I asked one guy for some Vaseline at 20 miles, and he said that he had none. Then, another half-mile on, he came running up behind with some, which really helped me finish. Very impressed. I've done London twice and it was nice to not have the crowds watch my pain in the last few miles here. This was the best value for the money I've ever seen at a marathon.

My intent in running this marathon was to find a small, flat, close-to-home marathon in the early spring, and I found exactly that at the ORRRC Marathon. For what it was, this marathon was very good. For me personally, I found that my first small marathon, completed primarily on a bike path with little to no crowd support, made it extraordinarily tough mentally. I have completed two other marathons, both the Flying Pig, and found as I ran this course that I greatly missed the large crowds, many fellow runners to chat with, and running through greatly supportive neighborhoods. No fault of this marathon; it is just personal preference. The road was very lonely after the first seven miles, as the half-marathoners made the turn, leaving only 136 of us tackling the entire marathon. The course was monitored very well at intersections and water/Gatorade stops were staffed by friendly and supportive volunteers. A beautiful, chilly spring morning, a PR, and finally breaking the four-hour barrier made for a good day. In the future, this event would be a fantastic training run in preparation for a later marathon in the spring, which is what I found that many were there for that day. It had many nice, small-marathon perks and was extremely well organized.

I had a great time. It was cold and windy at the start, and then it got hot. But the volunteers and police get an A+. There was plenty of food at the end - a great way to kick away the winter blues. I will be back.

I really enjoyed this marathon. I have run some of the bigger ones (Detroit, Los Angeles, Cincinnati) and find that these smaller runs are much more to my liking. The race day check in was a nice convenience and having post race showers available was great. The course was nice and flat, and I finally met my time goal and PR'd on this one, so it will always be a special run to me. Being mostly on a bike path, there were not too many spectators, which is fine, but the volunteers were all absolutely fantastic. I look forward to doing this one again!

Well, what would you expect from a marathon that you pay only $20 to run? Actually, from this one you can expect a lot! We were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of this race. A great value. This is a club marathon put on by the Ohio River Road Runners Club from Dayton, Ohio. In chatting with other runners along the way I learned that the ORRRC is one of the largest and most active running clubs in the country. Last year they had moved the race to Dayton, but flooding on the course was a problem, so it returned to Xenia this year for the 41st running of the race. I had never before been to Xenia, but remember that it was devastated by a tornado in the 1970s. Today it seems like a very nice small town that does not have much activity early on a spring Sunday morning. We drove up from Cincinnati on race morning and arrived about one hour before race time. We found abundant parking near the starting line. Registration and packet pick up was a snap and we were impressed that our packet included a technical short sleeved shirt and a timing chip. We recognized a few faces from Cincinnati, but most of the Cincinnati runners were running the Heart Mini 15K this morning. The weather was overcast and in the low 40s at start time. We dressed in a cap, short sleeves, compression shorts, racing shorts and light gloves. The vast majority of runners were in long sleeves and long pants, but I felt very comfortable the whole way. The forecast called for scattered showers, but we had just a few brief periods of light rain about two hours into the race. The wind from 10 to 15 mph was bothersome just in a few places when the course turned east for a short distance. The gun started the race only about 1-2 minutes late. The first few miles were on roads of Xenia and shared with half marathon runners. The miles were marked in spray paint on the side of the road, but I did not notice them until mile 3. Aid stations with Gatorade and water were a little undermanned in the early miles of the race when there were lots of runners, but fine after the first few. The course turned onto an arrow straight bike trail in the 5th mile. It seems to me that when I am running on a bike trail that I am always running slightly uphill, and that seemed to be the case again today. On the way out I remember thinking to myself, "It will be great coming back in these last few miles because they will be downhill." It may have been slightly downhill on the way back in, but it certainly looked to be slightly uphill on the way back in too. Rather than having the runners run directly out and back on the bike trail only, the race directors decided to have two 2-3 mile sections of running on the local country roads. I think that this was a very good move as it broke up the monotony of the bike path. But it did add some minor rolling hills in the middle of the race, as well as some pretty stiff wind. I did enjoy seeing a little section of the town of Cedarville. The roads were not closed to traffic, but the traffic was light. The bathrooms in the park of Cedarville were closed until spring. (For the rest of the country, spring had started 10 days ago!) Luckily for me, there were a few port-a-johns on the course and at the starting line. The final 1/3rd of a mile or so of the race turned back off the bike trail and onto a street in Xenia. When we came through, not all of the intersections had a monitor, which was a little frightening. Also, the finish line turns into a parking lot off of the road and cannot be seen very well until reaching the final block of the race. At the finish line we were greeted with a very nice medal and rewarded with plenty of drink, cookies and soup. Showers were available after the race at the Y immediately next to the finish line. Overall, I think this is a very nice, small, bike path marathon that is well organized and a great value for the money. The course is certified. I would be more likely to come and run the half marathon in future years as a tune up race for a later spring marathon. I enjoyed getting to meet several runners on the course today. I pulled my hamstring significantly six weeks ago at the Last Chance for Boston Marathon, so was happy to finish running at a comfortable pace without any further leg problems. One of my goals was to find out how the Ohio River Road Runners Club ended up in Dayton, Ohio, which is over 60 miles away from the Ohio River. Nobody that I met on the course could give me a satisfactory answer. Any ideas?

This race was great, for what it was. If you want a big city and large crowds, head to Atlanta. You want a marathoner's marathon, come to Xenia. The bike trail was taxing, and the wind and hills were challenging, but it provided an experience that makes other marathons seem like overkill. This was my second marathon in 2 days and oddly enough, the course (other than the bike trail) was nearly identical to the one in Olathe, Kansas. A suggestion: Have some music, or someone dressed in a goofy outfit, or something uplifting back there at the final "run around the cone" turnaround at the 23-mile mark. Glad to have some really nice and friendly people on the course. I will probably be back next year. This was my 32nd marathon and it was certainly worth the short drive. Can't beat the entrance fee either - 30 bucks for a medal that cool?? AWESOME!!

I ran the half marathon. Beautiful course - started out on roads through town, then moved into the country and ended up for most of the run on converted rail-trail. Absolutely beautiful, even with the overcast, threatening skies (but no rain!). For $20 bucks, we received a technical t-shirt, plenty of great food afterwards (chili, chicken noodle soup, fruit, cookies...), and an awesome finisher's medal. Some small glitches with organization, but nothing to ruin the race - ran out of my size t-shirts even though I had pre-registered, but this was remedied after the race. Also, the finisher's medals came at about 2:10 into the race, so the faster runners may have missed out - slow down and enjoy the race! Race volunteers were all top-notch. Fans were good too, but very few. I'd run this again in a minute. Thanks!

I also ran this event in 2007, and 2007 was a near disaster because flooding caused radical last-minute changes of course and associated confusion. This year couldn't have been better. The course was great, the medal is one I will treasure, the organization was tight, and the volunteers and few spectators were wonderful. I even got a laugh at an old lady yelling at a volunteer about having to wait for runners to cross the road.

This was a very enjoyable race. For $20 you get a nice shirt and finisher's medal, and the organization was excellent. The country roads were also quite fun. Although there weren't many of them, the spectators were supportive. The volunteers were also top-notch. If we only could have had the weather warm up a bit, it would have been perfect.

Give credit to the organizers. A last-minute flood and they still pulled it off. I'm not sure what the orginial course would have been like, but based on the last-minute version, it probably had potential. It was too bad the changes prevented mile markers... that was an inconvenience. And, having no spectators was a challenge. All in all, a good time and great opportunity to get in a long training run for future spring races.

I walked the half and enjoyed it for a smaller race. I appreciated all the hard work that entailed concerning the flooding issues. Walking along the bike paths, and through the parks, and by the rushing waters was awesome. Not many spectators, but I thought all the volunteers showing us the way were so friendly and helpful. It was a hot day, but there was plenty of water and/or Gatorade. I was lucky enough to finish as the 3rd female walker in the half, from seeing the results on the race website, so I hope they`ll mail my award.

The early registration price for both the half and the full was $20. I actually ran the half marathon, not the full, as a tune up for the Flying Pig in April. The course is flat and fast. Much of it is on a out-and-back bike trail (half marathoners turn around at mile 9, full at mile 16). There is not much crowd support, but the volunteers were awesome!! The race was well organized, and chip-timed with a ankle bracelet. All race participants that preregistered received a technical t-shirt, and all fininishers received a finishers medal. A gel pack was provided around mile 8 or so. (More gels may have been provided for the marathoners elswhere [and likely on the way back] - not sure....) The miles were marked but I managed to miss a couple of the markers. I drove from Cincinnati the day of the race and parked for free at the host hotel (Holiday Inn). I arrived early. It appeared that the parking lot filled up quickly. The # of port-o-potties at the start was good (maybe had to wait 5-10 minutes at most). I recommend this race and would run it again. The half is a perfect tune up for the full marathon you plan on running in late April or May.

A great small town race. The course is about a 7 mile loop around Xenia Ohio and the rest is out and back on a paved bike trail that's a former rail line. That trail goes through some really beautiful forest area along the Little Miami River. It's slightly downhill on the way out so slightly up on the way back. There's all of about 400 at the start line but only about 85 full marathoners so it's not some huge crazy mass of bodies at the start. Water or Poweraid about every 2.5 miles. Not many spectators but the few there are were very encouraging as were the volunteers at the aid stations and stopping traffic. Xenia police assisted with the traffic at a couple larger intersections. Great finisher's medal and the price was very reasonable. Mile markers quite visible, (guess they had a problem with them last year.)

I ran the half marathon as a trainer for the upcoming Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio. The only reason I ran this race was to get a good race pace down for the future Marathon. The mile markers were no where to be found for the first 7 miles! I asked several volunteers who were directing traffic where the mile markers were and they said they had no clue??? It would have cost race officials about $3.00 dollars to cut up posterboard and place it in the appropriate place and made everyone happy. Other than that, it was a great race. Cool, perfect running weather which led to good speed times and the course was interesting. Next year, raise the entry fee by a few dollars and give out finisher medals...I ran with many people who said that they had trained a long time for this race...at least be kind enough to give them a medal for completeing the race! I know it is a minor gripe but would have made the race much more meaningful for many. Other than that, a good race with great volunteers (THANK YOU!)and a good track to set a PR.

Good event but could have posted mile markers...our group had NO idea most of the time of our distance and that was very irritating. Previous years the markers were in full display. Food was wonderful and the volunteers were plentiful and enthusiastic and that makes up for the lack of spectators.

Nice flat out and back marathon, run mostly on an asphalt bikepath. Because of the rural location of most of the bikepath there are few spectators.