I've run Belfast 4 times, last time in 2002. It's possible that I won't do it again. The organizers did put a huge effort in to the race but it lacked that professional feel. The course as it stood was quite boring, and yet if you know Belfast and the area - there are some stupendous views around Belfast Lough with not too much of an incline. I'd suggest that the course officials look at that asset. The relay changeovers are a NIGHTMARE; I've been forced out on to the road in front of traffic whilst relay runners push and shove their way through. Changeovers should be off the street.... Having to run on the pavements is a chore and trying to pass other pedestrians on their daily business is hell. I won't be doing it for the forseeable future. Maybe NI could find somewhere else for their main marathon - plenty of space out there, wonderful countryside....

I was actually running in the relay and my stop was the area of the bomb scare. I feel that the people did a reasonable job in guiding us away from that area but could have informed us better about what was happening. It was very confusing. Due to this confusion I was not able to find my team member who was to pass on to me and so she had to run my leg as well!!! Feeling I wanted to run I had to get transport to the next relay stop and run that leg. This wasted a lot of time. This was my first time running in this type of event and will definitely run next year - I just hope that it will be better organized. I agree that there should have been more energy and water stations and mile marks. Although I did not run the full 26.2, I didn't know how far I had run until halfway through my leg. More music stations should be put in place; they really spurred you on.

It's my 2nd Belfast Marathon since moving to Northern Ireland and having run last year as my 1st marathon, I was excited to see what improvements they have done since 2004; and I was very disappointed!

The comments on this year's race are true. It was poorly mile-marked, there were not enough water/energy stops, and it was congested at relay points and there were very few toilets.

The race needs a new commitee which has interest of the city at heart; it needs to attract a BIG sponsor (Adidas, Reebok, Asics); it needs to pay for international runners and for us to persist and register for next years Belfast City Marathon, otherwise the race will become extinct. Together we CAN make it better.

I ran Edinburgh in June 2005 and I would recommend it to everyone. Belfast take note and check it out.

I also wore a GPS device and it measured the course at over 27 miles!! I understand that the bomb scare didn't help, but I have a feeling that most of the problems associated with this marathon would have been present anyway.

Complaints:
1. There was no mat at the start to register the ChampionChip (I think there was one at the halfway point).
2. I was disappointed that there was no expo or really anything at the packet pick-up facility. I've seen more hype and energy for a 10k race.
3. What happened to the mile markers? Seriously, I have never run a marathon so poorly marked!!!!
4. Not enough water stops.
5. One energy drink station at mile 18 is not enough!! You should have it a bit earlier in the race and more of them.
6. Bad idea to have the last few miles of the marathon run through an industrial area, therefore nearly guaranteeing no spectator support the runners when they really need it!!
7. Very badly congested at relay changeover areas... the course should be roped off in these areas, so that groups of people are just not standing in the middle of the course blocking the flow of runners.
8. At one point, runners were stopped so as to allow cars to make a left turn!! Very frustrating from a runner's point of view!! Normally, during a marathon you don't expect to have to stop for traffic!!
9.Spectator support was very sparse. Surprising, in that this was the 24th year of this marathon. However, would like to mention that a few of the spectators were great and cheering for everyone. :)

Suggestions:
1. Have some type of expo at pick-up facility. With the amount of people doing the marathon and relay, I would imagine stores/vendors would be interested in marketing to them at an expo. Also, it would just add an aspect of excitement and energy for the marathon.
2. Encourage spectators more! Encourage local boys/girls clubs, charities, etc. to participate in cheering for runners by having a 'best cheering group' contest and donating money to the winning club.
3. Have mile markers for EVERY mile!
4. More water/energy drink stops
5. Have more bands/music along the course. The few that were this year made a huge difference in runner morale!

The bomb scare did not help the race this year. We measured the distance run using a Garmin GPS as 27 miles and 450 feet.
However, even if this diversion had not happened, this was not a great race. I would agree with all of the comments below. Difficult to see mile markers, non-existent mile markers, running through an industrial estate - none of these helped. I spotted my first mile marker at 3 miles and spotted 8 markers in total.
The course is flat, but the desire to put on a flat course has come at a price. I had put too much work into training for this race and felt let down.

The first ten miles of this course were nice; but after that, things got worse. The second relay changeover part was very poorly marshaled, runners were in single-file, and on two occasions I had to stop because of people crossing from one side of the relay queue to the other - very distracting. There was supposed to be a chip reader to get your halfway split - this was at 14.5 miles!! And there were no markers for miles 12, 13, and 14 - again very distracting, especially when you are checking your mile times. One sports drink station on 15+ miles is not good enough, especially as it was very warm and sunny for the later part of the run.

The course is mostly flat, however running by the coastline for a few miles will slow you down with the strong wind. The map printed in the race program was of very poor quality. I was surprised at the lack of a pre-race expo. Surely with over 12,000 participants there would be an openning for an expo. I think Belfast is a big enough city to have a marathon-only event.

The marathon started without any problems and the first 12 miles of the course had a fair share of spectators. Things got worse from there on. Firstly, the second relay changeover point was crazy; marathon runners had to run in single file, and people were getting in the way of runners which was very off-putting. Then there was the infamous diversion: there were no mile markers for miles 13 and 14 and the 'halfway split' chip reader was at about 14.5 miles. All this proved very distracting and energy zapping! As if there weren't enough ways to zap your energy during a 26.2 race! The course was mostly flat and not very scenic. I would agree with the previous comment and believe the organizers should rethink the course and also give serious consideration to having a marathon-only event.

This was a very inconvenient marathon. The start and finish were in very different locations with the baggage check near neither and it was unsupervised. A large part of the later part of the race ran through industrial estates and around an airport. There were no energy/electrolyte drinks for many runners. Water stops were erratic. Despite giving us championship chips there was no mat at the start. Many roads opened before the 3-hour mark (officially there was a 6-hour cut-off) meaning we ran on the side-walk. The organizers did manage to keep the race running when a bomb was discovered on the course albeit with an added distance (estimates range 380m - 1400m). If you want to run a marathon in this part of the world choose Dublin for spectators or Connemara for a beautiful route. I was very disappointed with Belfast.

This new course is excluding parts of Belfast that has the most spectators. It will now be run through an industrial estate without spectators who give you a new lease of life when you need it. West Belfast has the most spectators at any one point, yet is being left out of the route. The organizers should re-think its decision and make it a marathon for all.

My first marathon. Extremely interesting route, passing all the historic areas such as the Falls Road. Seeing the murals was a great distraction from the running! Also the relay change-over points made for HUGE crowd support every 5 miles or so. Spectators were fairly frequent at other points on the route and all of these were great, handing out water or fruit or sweets. Water checkpoints and sponge stations were plentiful and, in an ingenious move, the water was supplied in cups filled from the mains - so there were unlimited supplies, unlike other races where all the bottles can be gone before the slower runners get round. There were two Lucozade stations as well.

Minor complaints would include somewhat erratic mile markings and poor marshalling at the start (although the rest of the course was excellently marshalled). The hills were nowhere near as fearsome as I had expected.

The organizers indicated that the route will change next year, and I urge them not to go with the proposal of a 2-lap race. The other proposal, a figure-of-eight from the city center, sounds much better. All in all, a great friendly fun race I'd highly recommend it. Will definitely be back!