I ran the Florence Marathon 2003 with three friends - it was the first marathon for all of us. As Americans living abroad, we thought Italy would be a good location for our families to meet us, and Florence is a great city for exploration in the days before and after the race - especially if you want to check out the countryside.

The course itself was really flat which I appreciated. The other runners were from all across the globe and my strongest memory of the race will be of 'bonding' with them, not necessarily the crowd, which seemed pretty apathetic. I was yelling at the spectators to cheer for me at one point! One other point - the food at the drink stations was kind of odd... pieces of cake and lemon wedges. I'm used to having power gels while I run so I brought my own supplies with me. And there didn't seem to be many portable toilets. I saw lines of women 15 deep looking annoyed at each one. Overall, though, I'd recommend it.

Having just returned from the Florence Marathon 2003 which was my first marathon, I am on a high! A gentle downhill start and a flat course snaking through a beautiful city. The event was very well organized from the expo to the marshalling on the day, and I found staff to be very approachable and helpful. The race has a very international feel and I met people from all corners of the world and felt a real sense of camaraderie. A very enjoyable atmosphere amongst the participants.

I finished the marathon in 4h 56 mins and received my medal with pride. The only negative comment I have about the whole experience is about the local support - or lack of it! Yes, there were some eager locals cheering us on at various points, but these were vastly outnumbered by bemused Italians staring in confusion as we passed by. I was really disappointed by the number of angry motorists I saw throwing a tantrum when told they couldn't drive down a particular street due to the event. The Florence Marathon is perhaps the only marathon in the world where you have to dodge shoppers and scooters!

If you are thinking about doing this event next year don't be put off by this. It really is a great course and the positive aspects more than make up for the negatives. I would certainly consider doing this marathon again some day!

I am an Italian citizen who had never run a marathon in my home country and decided to do so this year in Florence. I have previously run in London and Stockholm, Sweden. The pre-race expo was well organized and had lots of interesting products on sale; no queing for bib numbers.

I found the race in Florence very well organized by Italian standards: fast course, very scenic and 100% traffic free (which is almost impossible to find in any other Italian race). Spectators were few and not very interested in what was going on but along the crucial last 7-8kms (ran in the heart of town) they were very enthusiastic. Refreshment stations were well organized: on both sides of the road with water, salts, hot tea and sports drinks. Finish area was great too in magnificent piazza Santa Croce. A race that I advise to anyone who wants to try to beat his PB and visit a beautiful city at the same time.

The Italians seemed hampered by the marathon, clueless to what was going on around them. Rather disinterested. Multiple times I almost ran over shoppers walking in front of me. Florence is a fantastic city, lots to see, but the narrow, windy streets were hard to run on for an extended time. I enjoyed the long stretch of park in the middle. The fleece vest rocked, my favorite marathon keepsake. Overall, visit Florence; it's a beatiful city full of treasures. However, run a marathon in a city that is thrilled to have runners, not in one that's oblivious.

I loved everything about this marathon! The course was fantastic, a bit downhill at the start, and then flat the entire rest of the way. The weather was perfect. I found several people along the way to run with for a while and speak English to. The crowds were fun, cheering us on in Italian. Bella Lei! (I think translates to Pretty Her, which I especially liked.) One thing though, when they say the course closes in 5 hours they mean it. My friend who finished in 5:11 had a hard time following the course towards the end, which was being taken down as she ran. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the sweet tea that they served. And the finisher's shirt was really nice!

That was my second marathon (after Lausanne ? Switzerland). I know the city of Florence very well and must say that the race takes us to the most beautiful places of the city. The last 5 kilometres are particularly impressive.

Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed by the fans. Most of the people along the race were friends from the runners or tourist. I did not have the feeling that locals were really enthusiastic about the race.

If you go there make sure to stay over at least 3 or 4 days to really enjoy the city !

The course was altered this year to put a long straight stretch along the river near the start of the race instead of the end. There are some really nice sections running through historic Florence or narrow ancient streets. There are also some long dull stretches. Five times I had to move to the side to allow an ambulance to pass. Other then that the course was clear of traffic. Nice and flat too!

Nice international presense! And very friendly volunteers. Not speaking Italian was NOT a hinderance during registration or running.

The spectators were scattered and quiet. Save a few exceptions, it seemed like all the spectators were only there to cheer for their specific runner.

This was my third marathon and I set a personal best of 3:55:03. This is a fast course with a reasonable number of participants. Unlike larger marathons, you can hit your pace almost imediately. The people who designed this course did a great job because they could have added many more hills if they chose to. The official web site isn't anything special so it lead me to think that the race would be a mess. Not so. The course was clearly marked and they had signs at every kilometer marker. This made it much easier to monitor my pace. They also had sponge stations which I had not experienced at my Chicago Marathons. This is a great idea. More US races should provide sponges. My only real criticism is that the police and staff do not do enough to control traffic and the crowd. Half way through there were cars pulling into to race course and tourists were trying to cross as well. However, since there are fewer runners, the spectators and tourists do get flattened as much. All in all, a surprisingly great race. The staff of the Firenze Marathon should be congratulated.

My second marathon and while very different to my first (New York) there's much to recommend. Beautiful city, some fantastic sites and a lot to admire in the day and half before. 9am start on the Sunday with runners at the start from about 8.15 (none of that waiting around for three hours in a field stuff). Around 7,000 runners in total with around 4,000 doing a half. Running weather was pleasantly cool (low 50s F). First 5k was pretty quick - a combination of the downhill start and the preponderance of half-marathoners. Tip: don't pace yourself with one of them. First difficult point was where the half-marathon runners split from the full distance runners. Resisted the very strong temptation to join them. Ran very evenly on the largely flat course until 35k - after which things become more complex on paving stones and narrower streets round to the very spectacular finish in the Piazza San Croce. Traffic control a slight problem - but support was good throughout and my own 'fan club' found me easily several times on the course with little effort. Definitely going back this year. Join me?

This was my first marathon so I don't have anything to compare it to but it's a great looping course through the city. I was a little unsure where to go when the 1/2 marathon split off but everyone else seemed to manage ok. Seemed to take a long time for people to cross the start line and they didn't have some of the splits timed that were claimed. Running in some of the narrow streets was crowded but you get some good views and plenty of people to cheer you on. Overall, i'd be happy to do it again.