Calgary Marathon was my 59th marathon and first Canadian race. I have positive associations because I snagged a PR there but here are the pros and cons:

Con:
It feels like any other Midwest city, and the course is not particularly scenic.

There are some lonely stretches in the residential areas and elsewhere; I don’t care too much about on-course entertainment but there’s not much in the way of crowds either.

It was a fairly warm sunny day and there’s not much shade in the second half.

Everyone starts together: 50k, Marathon, Half, and 10k, and runners are on their honor to position themselves by pace. It was a bit crowded until the different distances split.

I had a friend who finished later and she said the 5k runners dumped in near the finish, crowding the finish line.

Nuun served on course. I think it’s kinda gross.

Pro:
Well organized event and well marked course.

Good communication leading up to the race.

Not too many out and backs.

There are some hills which can be viewed as good or bad but overall the terrain and elevation mixed it up a bit.

Good amount of aid stations. I didn’t carry my own water because they had plenty.

Popsicles offered at least twice. It was a warm day so this was nice.

Cold sponges - I took one every chance I got, at least three or four. Also some people had hoses set up and sprayed people which was nice.

Good medal and shirt.

Easy expo - some vendors if you wanted but quick to get bib and shirt.

Good finish area food - a bag with chips, a Kind bar, Stinger wafer, fruit, and a couple other things, plus you could get bananas and delicious recovery smoothies too.

Plenty of portajohns at the start.

Overall, it was a good event. Not particularly exciting or scenic but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It’s a decent sized event, maybe 8,000 total runners but I think only 500 or so in the marathon. Once the half splits off you have a lot more room to maneuver. Again, I was happy with my performance so I will always think of Calgary fondly.