I ran the marathon in 2018. The Expo is well done with lots of good booths. The t shirt was really underwhelming. Add to that the fact that they adhere to the new trend of making one shirt that’s the same for all 3 distances: 10k, half, and marathon. It’s always disappointing to me.

The weather this year was drizzly and 50s at the start. Within an hour after the start the rain had stopped and the weather was nice for running. The course is pretty bleak a lot of the time, but hey, it’s downtown Cleveland. It’s also a fast course with only a few hills. There are some decent areas but a lot of it is through undesirable and bleak neighborhoods especially the first half or so. The aid stations were well done offering gels, water, and Powerade. My biggest beef with the aid stations is the utter dearth of port o johns after the start. I ran with my brother and he peeeled off to go under a bridge. I decided to wait. It was 6 more miles before I came to a toilet. Unacceptable.

The support and fans along the course were great. I was a tad underwhelmed how few were at the finish. Much of downtown was under construction and the finish line photos included a lot of construction barriers, scaffolding, and orange cones.

Overall I would say I ran this race because I grew up in Cleveland and wanted to run my hometown race. The management was good but the course is mostly bleak on potholed roads. Would much rather do a course that maybe starts downtown but includes a lot of miles through one of Northeast Ohio’s amazing Metroparks. I wish they’d had more and more frequent port a Johns. The shirt was underwhelming. I’m not sure I’d recommend this race to someone over some of the others I’ve run.

I ran the 2018 half marathon with some friends. The race is held entirely within the confines of Robins Air Force Base, GA.

The start is held at the Robins Museum of Aviation. It was a nice place to stay warm inside the hangar with plenty of seating as the weather was a chilly 38 degrees and windy. The shirts are decent but I hate when they have the same shirt for multiple distances. It’s the same shirt whether you run the 5k or the marathon.

The course is flat and fast....and really boring. It’s just the nature of central Georgia. There’s not much to look at. The 13.1 course basically runs around the airfield.

Aid stations are pretty spartan with not much to offer. It was basically just water and Powerade. There were a few giving out gels...though nobody running a half marathon needs gels.

The finish was not well manned and there was no after party or celebration. There weren’t many people cheering along the course even at the finish.

Overall, I wouldn’t run this again at any distance. I ran it because my cousin asked me to. I had a decent time and the course is fast. Other than that there’s no real reason to run this race. It’s substandard in most areas and the course it’s really boring. You’ll want to run fast just to get it over with. Avoid unless you live locally.

I ran the 2017 marathon with my brother. We traveled from out of state. We decided to stay in downtown Charleston at an Airbnb with our wives so I can’t comment on accommodations at Kiawah. (Highly recommend staying in Charleston if you’re so inclined. The nightlife and restaurants and culture are incredible. If you stay on Kiawah it’s very convenient but you’re also confined to Kiawah). We enjoyed the expo and pasta dinner the night before. The food was plentiful and good...we just thought $40 a head was overpriced. The expo was pretty minimal but had a selection of items associated with the race. Nothing special. The swag for the marathon was somewhat disappointing. The race shirt, although technical, wasn’t very good. It was a hoodie emblazoned with “Marathon and Half Marathon on the back and very garish in color. I wished they had done separate shirts or hoodies. When worn the hood covers up the word “Marathon”.

The transportation is kind of a hassle but to be expected of a race in that location. Parking the morning of the race is several miles from the starting line. Parking is in a grass field and motor coaches are used to transport runners and families to the starting line area. This wouldn’t have been a big issue except on race day it had been raining for several days and the parking area was a mud bog. Our feet were already muddy and wet before we even toed the line. Granted...next time we’ll plan better and bring extra shoes and socks. Finally, in regards to transportation, don’t trust your GPS for the time to get to Kiawah. They don’t close off traffic and make it one way on race morning so although it only took us 45 minutes the evening before on race morning it took an hour longer. Plan accordingly.

Once we got to the starting line everything was fine. Weather was cold (high 30s) and wet but the rain stopped about an hour before the gun. The course itself is very flat and relatively scenic. A few segments allow ocean views and all of them show the nice houses on Kiawah. The staff and volunteers were excellent and friendly. Aid stations offered water and Gatorade and later jelly beans, pretzels, etc. There were not a ton of supporters but enough to make it fun. Near the finish line after about mile 20 we encountered some pretty great supporters cheering us on...several offering us swigs of beer which we politely declined. The finish line is well done and plenty of room to walk it off. Volunteers gave out space blankets and medals just after the finish. The medals are ok...but again they are identical between the half and full marathons. The center spins around to display either half or full. There was free beer for those of age.

Overall we enjoyed the race and the people more than made up for the minor inconveniences. We are planning on doing the marathon again next year. I’m sure they will address some of the minor quibbles we had with the entire affair.

I ran this as my first marathon way back in 1998. I honestly don’t remember a ton of details. The first 8 miles or so are fast as is just about the entire course. It was run in early January and the conditions were perfect...low 50s at the 6 am start and in the 70s at the finish.

Aid stations were great. The scenery, though atypical, was great as well. The course winds through all the major Disney theme parks and takes in all the major sites in each from the ball at Epcot to Cinderella’s Castle.

Hard to remember a ton of details that far back but I loved the race and the management was top notch. The finishers medal was nice and the shirt was great...although it’s long gone now. It was made of cotton.

Great marathon that I’d recommend to friends. I’m sure it’s gotten better with time.