It's a great marathon that has very few hills and a lot of support for most of it. There are definitely bigger crowds and more cheering during the first half of the course when the half and full marathoners run together. There are some lonely spots after the marathon breaks off from the half. Parking/getting there wise, it's hard to get to the start line. There is no parking and the subway doesn't open early enough to get there by subway so most people get dropped off a few blocks away and walk to the start. The race overall is really well organized with helpful volunteers. The expo is great but the swag has gotten worse over the last couple of years and packet pickup takes a long time because it's not very well organized. Overall, definitely a good big city race!

What a day! I signed up for this on a whim as a training run and I had no idea what I was in for. I woke up at 4:30am and drove over from where I was staying. It was already hot and humid at 6am and was looking like we were in for one of the hottest days of the summer. I probably should have looked more closely at the elevation before I signed up for this since it was a race on a ski hill! But there we were off and the course starts by running on a trail up to the top of the hill. From there it was a mix between trails and country roads. The trails were great because there was actually some shade to make the suffocating heat a little more bearable. As the day progressed it just kept getting hotter and hotter and there was not a lot of shade so lots of people were dropping out of the race. I managed to keep going by putting ice in everywhere I could! The course is a lot of going up and down and back and forth on ski hill, especially at the end where you do a couple loops for the third or forth time. The run ends with you going down a hill for the second time on slippery steps which were really dangerous on legs that weren't functioning by then. The race was brutal but a lot of that was just how hot it was, which no one can control. All the aid stations did have ice and the volunteers were super helpful! I met some great people at the race and might even be back next year.

The first part of the course is extremely ugly as you run through the industrial areas of Hamilton. The course is much prettier in the second half as you run through residential neighbourhoods but there are rolling hills the whole time until 26km when there's a giant hill (closed in 2015). I have never been to the expo, always had a friend pick up my bib, so I have no idea what it's like. There's not a lot of crowd support but it's a popular race because of the time of the year and distance (30k). After my first one, I didn't see the appeal but I went back this year and had a better time.

This was my first ultra and I had a fantastic time! It was really warm for day for April but thankfully that dried out a lot of the mud. The course is a lollipop shape with the out and back in trails and the loop on gravel. There are two big hills in the trails. The race starts out on single track so where you are at 1k is essentially where you are stuck for the first 10k or so until the path widens enough to pass. It's a beautiful time of year with all the flowers blooming. Unfortunately, it's too early for the trees to have leaves so there isn't a lot of shade. If it was raining, it would be a super muddy course. The aid stations are all great and fully stocked with Clif products. Everything was really well organized and I had a great day. I'll be going back next year for the 50 mile!

You can read my full race report and see pics here - http://katherineyager.com/2015/04/22/north-face-endurance-challenge-series-50k/