I thought this was an amazing trip. I had a few minor organizational issues leading up to the event, but once the trip actually commenced everything went very smoothly. I thought Marathon Tours did a good job with arranging flights. Some people complained about delayed flights on Aerolineas Argentinas... they've obviously never flown American or United Airlines. Hotel accommodation in Buenos Aires was good.

The marathon course was very well marked, again a credit to the organizers, as I imagine it's tough to mark a course in Antarctic conditions. The run itself is very tough. The glacier this year had very little snow on it, and hence you were basically running on ice - very tricky, but a great experience. The rest of the course consisted or a rocky beach and dirt/mud roads. In addition to the glacier, there are lots of minor hills, so it´s a tough course. I thought support from other runners and base staff was great.

The rest of the trip after the run was brilliant - Quark Expeditions did a great job and their staff are excellent. Great scenery, andclose encounters with whales, seals and penguins made this a great experience.

Thanks to the Marathon Tours and Quark staff and all the runners on the Orlova.

You get to tell your friends that you ran a marathon on a glacier. Try to top that one. This race is a must-do for 7-continent wannabes. Marathon Tours puts on a great and challenging race. Thanks to my shipmates on the Orlova for the trip of a lifetime.

I completely agree with Benjamin R. Brown's comments regarding the course, expedition teams, and Marathon Tours management.

I just returned from the 2008 trip and it was amazing. Quark Expeditions put together a great itinerary and made each excursion interesting and relevant.

The course was fun, challenging, and in a strange way, beautiful (mud and all).

The real shame in this race is the manager. If you can get on a boat without him, do it! His on-the-ground staff are excellent but have no control over anything. The office staff are completely unorganized (when flying 200 people from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, charter a plane; don't make them get up at 2 a.m. for a commercial flight) and difficult to work with (just how many times do I need to ask you to change my ticket to what I originally requested? - by the way, this was never accomplished). The staff should try harder to obtain bulk fares to BA on a carrier other than Aerolinas. There are plenty of US-based carriers that provide world-wide reliable service at competitive rates. Those that flew Aerolinas in 2008 were delayed over 8 hours returning to the states from BA and some were left in NY when their original connection city was Miami.

I've heard that there is a German company that will hold a new Antarctica Marathon in 2009 about 4 days after Thom's race. Hopefully the competition will force up the level of service.

You will have an outstanding time if you go to Antarctica. The course will be hard but doable, and worth it. The Antarctica tour company (Peregrine) that is hired by Marathon Tours will overwhelm you with professionalism, fun, kindness, knowledge, experience, and personal catering to the marathoner mindset. You will meet fellow runners who will change your concept of "good people," and you will feel completely at home in the most spectacular place on the planet. All your other vacations will pale in comparison. Almost everyone at Marathon Tours is professional and fun, and will help make this trip for you. The trip (everything considered, including the time in Buenos Aires and the optional extension to run the Fin del Mundo in Ushuaia) is an EXCELLENT value. You will never regret this trip. BUT...

The management behind Marathon Tours is unpleasant and disorganized. Unfortunately, you may have to interact with the manager at some point in the process of getting ready for this trip, getting some materials sent to you after this trip... or you may be stuck on a boat with the manager (thankfully I was not). Expect inefficiency, calousness, and some ridiculously bad social skills in all these interactions. Find one of his staff to talk to instead. Ignore claims of service made by the manager. If you have a problem, do not expect help from the manager (luckily others will jump to help you because marathoners and explorers are great take-action people... so you will be okay). Maybe you'll get lucky and the manager will realize that he's hired excellent people for a reason and he will stay home where he belongs (cashing the checks). I would say, don't give any money to this person, but it wouldn't be fair for me to say since I've already gotten to go on the trip of a lifetime. It's just unfortunate that another company doesn't offer the same service, or that the manager doesn't hire a PR person to think and speak for him.

If you are thinking of trying to find another way to have this experience aside from a tour company based on what I said, I have to reiterate that 1 idiot cannot spoil an experience this good, and the great runners, Peregrine, and Marathon Tours people I met really made this trip.

Course - 5 stars. Organization - 1 star just to send a message to the manager (all the annoying stuff happened before or after the trip... not during it thankfully). Spectators - 5 stars (those penguins, skuas, and fur seals had a lot of spirit!).

Perfect Antarctic weather... ice, snow, mud and 14-knot wind. I met great people. The only bad thing was the presenting sponsor, Capella University. Runners don't need them. The made a DVD for runners to keep, but with a donation of $20. The DVD was ok, except that they mostly showed people with a Capella University shirt.

An extraordinary adventure with an extraordinary marathon to boot. Marathon Tours created a way for marathon adventurers to run a marathon on all 7 continents. By creating The Last Marathon (run on King George Is. off the Antarctic peninsula), one is able to complete a marathon on all seven continents. It's a cross-country marathon run on dirt roads, gravel, rocks, a 600M run up an icy, snowy glacier - something for everyone.

This is not just a marathon but an unbelievable adventure. What can I say but, WOW!!!! This was the most rewarding marathon of the 65 marathons I have finished to date.

Everything exceeded my expectations and I have high standards. Thom Gilligan, John Bingham (my running muse), Jennifer, and the rest of Marathon Tours delivered Nordstrom level customer service, a wonderfully planned race and trip, solved all problems that arose (which were few) and all at a bargain price considering what you received. Thom and Marathon Tours have me as a customer for life.

My only regret was that my wife could not come along. However I promised to take her on the Safari Com and Great Wall Marathons in the future and of course to Antarctica again.

This is the grand daddy of adventure marathons. Do not miss this one and do the Fin del Mundo Marathon add on option (two continents for the price of one)!!! Plus, having penguins for spectators and climbing a huge glacier is a five star all around rating in my hard-to-impress opinion!!!

Armed with the spirit of adventure and expectations of a trip of a lifetime, this is a trip and marathon beyond all others.

I expect excellence, a challenge, and the appreciation of seeing wildlife; and Tom delivers. There was never a day on the trip that I didn't appreciate the fact that I had this opportunity to experience Antarctica.

The marathon was challenging but I totally enjoyed the experience. Tom and his staff outdid themselves in delivering a quality race. It wasn't about time but the sense of accomplishment for each runner.

Don't miss out... it's a wonderful experience.

As everybody else who has run this marathon will tell you, this race is so not about the marathon. Everybody on the boat went down there thinking just the opposite, but after we all returned, we all agreed that the marathon was secondary.

It's a tough course and you may have to dodge a few penguines or seals, but that adds to the adventure. At the start the wind was blowing at what seemed like gale force, but it soon let up after we got over the first hills.

If you have the money, then go! If you don't have the money, then save up and go! You will not regret a single moment.

When I planned this trip, the purpose was almost 100% to run the marathon. However, after the experience, I have to say 10% of the trip was about the marathon: 90% was about meeting new lifelong friends from 14 different countries, visiting the homes of whales, seals, skuas, penguins, and other indigenous creatures, shooting icebergs and sunsets with cameras, capturing the moonlit Drake channel on film, swimming in natural hotsprings on a volcanic beach surrounded by snowcovered peaks and dotted with seals and penguins, sleeping under the stars on Antarctic continent, and rounding Cape Horn. Although there were fewer spectators than for any other marathon I have run, they were the most supportive ever: standing still in the cold to register our completion at the half point and our conquering of the glacier, taking pictures, and making sure we kept on course! Thanks Thom, Cliff et al.! Yeah Babie!