I ran this in 2009 and it has improved a lot, starting with the race pack pick up having it in the City Hall gives it a more impressive start. There are still not enough toilets at the start - a lot of people missed the runners start because of this, but its a small problem. The Duncrue section is lonely to run but having the music there helps. My main problem is the section at the end where you go into Ormeau Park close to the finish only to leave it again for another 2miles or so weakens the legs some what. The water issue has improved. On the whole it´s getting better.

This was my first marathon and I had injury problems starting 8 miles in. The crowds kept me going and enabled me to make it around. The worst part is running up the side of the motorway and into the industrial estate, but once through there you know you're going to make it.

I will be back next year to try and get a more respectable time.

Although drinks were in cups (that didn't bother me at my pace), there were plenty of hydration areas; nutrition stations, however, may not have bothered - pieces of orange and cups of PowerAde!

I don't understand anybody who goes on about the bottled water. Try going to the biggies (New York, Amsterdam etc.).  Guess what? Water in cups... so please be quiet and stop talking nonsense. You get what you pay for. This is one of the cheapest marathons available, with a lovely expo and packet pick-up in City Hall (5-minute queue beats the half-hour wait in New York), tech t-shirts available, ample water stations, good crowds, yes, a few hills (still 26.2 miles), fantastic finish area, and showers free of charge at the finish line. You won't see that anywhere else. NO, it is not New York, or Barcelona, but it is Belfast and if you look closer at it, it's a very good race.

This is an average marathon. Reading through some of the problems from last year, I do think its improving but a lot of work to do. The start was ok; I saw massive queues for the loos, but what's new?! The start did have plenty of slow runners in the 3 - 3.5 areas, and more of an effort should be made here; but to be honest, it got away quite smoothly - I've known a lot worse! I liked having the relay runners mixed in, of which there were hundreds; I think the crowds were very supportive of the full marathon runners in amongst the relays. The mile markers were very good and seem to be guarded.

I didn't clock onto how hard the hills would be, and whilst I do like hills, this certainly is not a PB course.

I'm of two minds about the course. There was a short section through the Falls Road area, and it was a bit menacing as the local residents were trying to make some lame political point with banners and making a silent protest. Who they thought they were making a point to, I do not know, but in a way, this is Belfast, and I felt like I was running through its recent troubled history.

The organizers made an effort on the boring industrial sections, adding a few bands and cheerleaders, which was appreciated.

The finish was ok - nice enough medal and a good quality t-shirt, which is a improvement on other comments.

BUT, and this is my ONE BIG gripe, WHY, WHY, WHY on a marathon that is sponsored by a water company do they give out plastic cups of water? You CANNOT drink water from a cup when running at 7-minute/mile pace! It goes up your nose and down your front! I suffered extreme cramps from dehydration, as I just couldn't drink the stuff. They even poured PowerAde into cups, which I avoided, as I didn't want that all over my face!

Sort that out and you have the beginnings of a nice race!

Having just read the reviews of last year's race, I am pleased to say that many of the problems seem to have been ironed out this year.

1. Bag collection was from City Hall, along with a much improved expo.
2. Mile makers at every mile were clearly evident.
3. Technical t-shirts for marathon runners instead of cotton ones.
4. Pacers were available.
5. Sound system at the start was very clear, with time warning giving a countdown to the start.
6. Supporters were generous, providing sweets, etc. themselves.
7. Plenty of shuttle buses were evident.
8. Better security at bag collection after the race.

Ok, so parts of the course are dull and water comes in a cup (think of the environment), but remember: it is about running a marathon across a city that is unique. Open your eyes to the culture and history and "enjoy" the majority of the race that hits the mark.

This was my first marathon and I was a little worried after reading previous posts. I'll start off by saying that the water issue is horrendous! A major water company sponsors this race and you end up drinking mains water out of plastic cups. The worst thing was that the water station between 17 miles and 21 miles had run out of water by the time I passed. This just happens to be one of the most important spans in a marathon and you're left high and literally dry. The crowds from the city to Falls Road and up Antrim Road were fantastic. As a bonus, they did give out a proper running top this year, and the medal wasn't the worst I've seen. Thanks, Belfast!

The explanations below cover pretty much all of the problems with this marathon. The mile markers, the buses, the t-shirts... etc. The only other thing that was ridiculous - although personally I don't care about it - was the medal, which is probably the smallest, cheapest one I have ever seen. This thing needs a lot of work, and I just hope that whoever is in charge is looking at these websites.

This was my first-ever marathon, and I was not expecting a fast time, but most of the water stations had run out before we got there, and a bucket is a dangerous replacement. Then the route through the industrial estate lacked mile makers (or else they were so far up a lamp post as to be a joke). Then, having to dodge traffic at the finish was a pain. It needs a lot of improving.

I can't fathom how the organizers got this so wrong. The start was a mess, and the finish was an even bigger mess. For a marathon to be sponsored by a bottled-water company and give out water in buckets - yes, buckets - is a joke.... I could go on and on.

Well, ladies and gents, the title says it all. I have run this marathon 3 times now - 2005, 2008 (see '08 review) and this year. I gave it the benefit of the doubt in other years and hoped that someone would get their act together and finally make this marathon into the event it could be, but sadly, not this year, again. The organization fell flat again, plus the calls for small improvements seem to have fallen on deaf ears. To mirror one previous post, I have run such marathons as Boston, Amsterdam, Dublin, Barcelona, and comparing Belfast to these really shows it's shortcomings. I'll begin:

The bag collection:
Bag collection was in a lovely big park, about 6 miles out of the city center. Nice, if you wanted to go for a picnic, but personally, I think this could have been situated more conveniently nearer the city center, considering all that it consisted off was a small marquee containing the race bags and one stall from a local running shop. The expo was non-existent.

Bag-drop:
Again, the bag drop was into the back of a single transit-type van. But at least this year, they had it identified as an official marathon vehicle. But for anyone who was a stranger to the city, it would have been very difficult to find, as I found out last year. Also, a point to note: when the bags are laid out at the complex at the finish line, there did not appear to be any sort of supervision or security. At the end of the race, I was able to wander freely through all of the bags and search for my own. I know bags are left at your own risk, but at least one person to check that the bag taken matches your race number wouldn't be out of the question, would it...?

Start line:
Again, absolutely no effort was made to separate runners of varying times/abilities. A general free-for-all. They had a few placards on the street lamps designating the general area for the different finish times, but these may as well not have been there. Marathon runners, relay runners, and walkers were all in the mix. So it took the usual 3-4 miles before it all got sorted out.

The mile markers:
This one was a big bone of contention for me last year. The majority were missing last year, but I did notice a slight improvement this year, with about ONLY 7 or 8 markers missing, especially in the latter stages. But I would take their accuracy with a pinch of salt, as I did mile 16-17 in 5:55 - not bad, considering I was running at 7:30 pace. Just by pure coincidence, a runner who was running at the same pace as me and my friend was wearing a GPS, so we gave up even trying to work of the mile markers and ran too his watch instead. But it did become the running joke through the rest of the race to spot the next mile marker and guess how far it was out.

The course:
A) Long, boring stretches of dual-carriage after 3 miles from the start with no support.
B) That terrible, narrow cycle path from mile 16 until about 19 mile, again with zero support - which then leads you into that soul-destroying industrial estate, full of interesting smells and aromas. Funnily enough, there's not much in the way of support there either. It isn't until the relay changeover point near Mile 21 that you start to see much in the way of support again.

T-shirts:
Every other marathon I have run in the past 3 years has given out a high-quality, wicking, running top/t-shirt. Belfast still gives out a run-of-the-mill, white, cotton t-shirt, with a screen print on the front. Also, I was given the wrong size this year. An expensive t-shirt at £30 plus....

Water stations:
I can't fault the number of water stations; there were plenty of them, and there were also energy drinks. But it strikes me as bizarre how a marathon, sponsored by Deep River Rock Water, gave out all of its water in those miserable plastic cups, filled from buckets that were filled (in turn) from fire hydrant stand pipes...! You don't see a bottle of Deep River Rock Water until you cross the finish line. No lovely screw-top bottles here, folks.

So there you go - all off of my chest. I only hope that someone can take charge and turn this event around. This event has so much to offer. The crowds, although scarce at times, are full of enthusiasm. When running through the relay changeover points, they would really cheer the full distance runners on, which was one of the things I always looked forward too during this marathon.

But sadly, it's still not an event that I would encourage any serious marathoner to aim for. It's good for a family day out, or if you only ever intend to do one marathon and leave it at that. For a marathon that advertises over 16,000 participants (when actually it is nearer to 2,500 marathon runners, with the rest made up of relay teams and walkers), I think they still have a lot to do - really, a lot to do.