Sudbury Rocks!!! Race, Run or Walk for Diabetes

Best marathon value going - a $45 early entry got me a great medal; a technical T not littered with advertising; and entry into the small field race that was well planned, organized and executed, with 21 aid stations and purse money (for the much speedier folks) that amounted to $59.52 per entrant. Can't beat that. Great organization and, as rumored on the internet by previous runners, this was the "best-pyloned course ever." The only downside on a rainy day was that much of the course was on the pyloned side of open roads, and hard rain meant running through lots of puddles where grates could not handle the volume of rainwater quickly. Course got progressively tougher from 90 minutes on as a result of pooling water. The second half chase was a very interesting aspect of a small field, and it was a good late-race confidence-builder to reel a few folks in who had seemed far off when they first came into view. A nice event. Consider this one as a great alternative to big-city Ontario marathons.

I would not say that this course is hilly - more like rolling hills. I did the half and appreciated the downhill section at the end of the course. Some sections of the course were narrow on the shoulder of the highway. Fair number of aid stations. Traffic control should be done by police only. The girl at the 9K mark almost had a vehicle turn in to me.

This was my 13th marathon. The course was hilly as expected, with minimal fans along the route. Not many people I spoke to knew about the race, which was sad since everyone associated with it was nice. I have a gripe about the race expo - I asked about the availability of Gatorade and I was told there would be sports drink. It would be better if they were more specific. Some Vaseline stations next year and some power gels along the route, but those are minor complaints. I am glad there are marathons up north but I will limit my races to the bigger cities for now.