A wonderful course through this vibrant city, and a chance to touch two continents. Every international runner should consider this one. Just make sure to get very detailed info about packet pickup and pasta party locations before you go. Long walk back to baggage bus afterwards is a bit tough.

I was worried about running this because of the comments. Whoever planed this must have read the comments from last year because they fixed all the problems identified. Plenty of water stations and they used the timing chip. This is the only marathon I have considered running with a camera. The city was beautiful. I was worried about the weather; on Saturday it was snowing and very cold, but Sunday the weather was beautiful. Great run.

I ran the marathon yesterday and it was my first marathon. I did 3:57 and the weather was great (sunny all the time). The organization also gets five stars. A lot of water stations (towards the end, one at every 2.5 KM). Plenty of water, water sponges, apples and sugar. For me this was a great experience. The start (first 5 KM) of the course is a little bit tough (uphill), but then it is downhill and the last 30 KM are flat at sea level. I recommend this marathon to everyone. Great historic city and very beautiful view. (They used chips for the first time and for the runners who want to keep their time, it is great help.)

Definitely not a beginner's marathon. Amazing scenery, which I think is the world's best but the crowd support is poor. Water stops are very limited, no chip provided for timing.... It is a great adventure to run this race, which finishes uphill entering a stadium. It will be one of your slow marathons given the difficult course, and support. Strongly recommended for somebody looking for an adventure and real challenge....

First, let me just say that Istanbul is an amazing city and this was by far the most scenic course I've ever been on. We ran through both new and old neighborhoods, had a beautiful view from the Bosphorous Bridge, and a fantastic view of the Blue Mosque just before crossing the second bridge. The hills stopped for the most part at 15km and then we had a beautiful run along the coast. The fans that are out and know a race is going on are very supportive, particularly of Turkish runners.

That said, I would not recommend this marathon. The on-course support was poor at best. There was no sports drink provided, and water was available only every 5km. There were sponges available every 2.5km, but that is no substitute for water/sports drink. Particularly, in the final 10-12 km, water should have been available at least every 2.5km. At the final aid station on the course, no one was even there manning it, because it was raining. I had two friends run the 15km race and there was no water available for them at the finish line. When I finished the race at 4 hours, 9 minutes, the clock had stopped working and no one even yelled out a time for me. The race had a 5-hour limit, yet the marathon organizers seemed rushed to take down the course (because a football game was scheduled immediately at the 5-hour point in the same stadium).

The course is beautiful, and running in both Europe and Asia is amazing, but the support is very poor. I would not recommend this to a first-time marathoner because I'm afraid it would turn them off to running marathons altogether. This race is for more experienced runners that are looking for an adventure and not a PR.

One final point: this is not a chip-timed raced, so you need to bring your own watch with you to get an accurate time.

Running from one continent to another is really exciting. The race begins on the Asia side of the Boshophorus bridge (a nearly 1 mile long suspended bridge) and then you pass europe side and run along many historical places. Whoever loves the marathon must run the Eurasia Marathon and see Istanbul.