I had planned my first trip to Israel, looked on the MG calendar and was delighted to see that this marathon was the last day of my trip. I'm extremely glad I ran it last week and would recommend it to any one for a lot of reasons. It's a great course - mostly flat with a few rollers, and downtown to the finish, this year with a nice tailwind (and a 15 mph or so headwind from the half turnaround for 4 or so miles.

It's in January when there are few races. It's in a beautiful part of an amazing country. It's well supported (with the possible exception of very little Gatorade, and what was served was terrible, and big bottles of water).It's the right size. It has a broad range of hotels within several blocks of start/finish - we stayed at the Scots Hotel, which was great. It will probably have good weather.

It's a PR course with the fastest group of elites I'd ever seen in a small race. Really, it's one of the best marathons I've ever been lucky enough to run (out of 40).

I enjoyed the race but there are huge differences between races in the United States and this race. They hand out bottles of water. That is good and bad. The bottle caps are on the course on the way back. People ride their bikes next to a runner on the course on the way back to Tiberius. It was an out-and-back course. I found that unnerving and unsafe. Gatorade is not served (like in the US) at all aid stations. I probably would not recommend traveling for this race as I did, but if you are already in Israel, it would be worthwhile to run.

This is a wonderful marathon. I've run 6 or 7 (mostly in the USA), and this is hands down my favorite. It's supremely well organized. The 2010 race had unexpectedly high temperatures (27 C or 80 F), and they responded nicely with extra water and sponges. On top of that, they had record participation this year, and it's expected to grow next year.

The course itself has optimal conditions - mostly flat with a good road surface and little sloping.

The only drawback is that the spectators tend to gather at the start and finish (which coincide), so you're mostly alone for three hours (two if you're Kenyan). On the other hand, those who do come to cheer are wildly supportive, and you get to slap hands with hundreds of school kids who line the route.

Finally, the best part are the free massage tables, which have two or three staff per runner for up to 10 minutes, both before and after the race. This alone is worth the cost of entry.

Be warned, though, that the registration fee ($70 this year for early) is slightly higher after the currency is converted ($80).

All in all, Tiberias is a great place to visit, and this is well worth the trek.

Although this was my first marathon, I've run four previous half-marathons (including New York City) and a handful of 10Ks, so I can give a fair assessment of this race. The course is an out-and-back starting in Tiberias, reaching Kibutz ein gev about halfway around the Kineret. Because the route runs along the water, it can get a bit windy at times. However, if you choose to run with the pacers, there are enough people to draft off of that the wind that it shouldn't be much of an issue. The course is very flat except for a few small rolling hills towards the end.

I personally found this race to be very meaningful as a Jewish Zionist competing in an international marathon in the holy land. However, it would have been nice to see a few more people along the course. Only once did a large group of people - local school children - appear along the course. I personally don't need motivation from others, but if you do, then this race may not be for you. The crowd at the finish line was large and it was nice to hear your name being called over the PA system as you crossed the finish line. Photographs of finishers were great. T-shirts were very nice, sponsored by New Balance.

I would definetly recommend this race to anyone.

Very good and flat race; perfect organization!

I have been to Israel many times and had to be over there again on business this year. When I saw the marathon was at the same time, I jumped on the chance to run it as my first. Since it was my first marathon, I do not have much for a point of reference. In response to one of the other comments, though, they had a huge surplus of pins for the bibs the night before. People must have used them - sorry! Anyway, the scenery was beautiful, there were some spectators - it was nice to see the schoolchildren line the gate to cheer for us. The water stations were manned by very nice people. The gusts of wind were unexpected, but again, that has nothing to do with the organizers. It was a gorgeous day, great route, nice crowd, nice medal - all around a wonderful experience! I will be doing it again! The dinner the night before could have been a little more organized and the organizers could have arranged for some more parking, but other than that - GREAT!

I traveled from the U.S. to run this marathon. I came away pleasantly surprised. The course is beautiful - an out-and-back course that starts in Tiberias, and runs along the southern portion of the Sea of Galilee, before turning around near Ein Gev. The course is mostly rural/country (so there is not much crowd support) and is very scenic. Approx. 750 runners finished the marathon. (There was also a 10K, but it started separately at a later time.) There were fewer water stations than one normally finds in U.S. marathons (probably about 8 total), but they were more than adequate. (They gave out water bottles at the stations.) The race started on time. (However, I would recommend an earlier starting time. 9:00 is late. It wasn't a problem this year because the weather was almost perfect - except for some pretty strong winds during the middle part of the race - but it would be a problem on a hot day.) They used chip timing, but I found it odd that there was no mat at the starting line and all runners' times began when the gun went off. Contrary to another poster, I received four safety pins for my bib and more were available if necessary. All in all, this is a very nice marathon, which I highly recommend to anyone except those looking for a big, corporate, urban marathon.

This is the first marathon that I've run outside the USA, and while it wasn't the best-organized marathon I've run, it was certainly adequate. Online registration for overseas runners was easy, once you found the right page in the English-language section. No expo to speak of, just packet pickup, which was no problem and most importantly, RACE-MORNING PICKUP, without which I would not have entered. Most of the signage and info was in Hebrew, but anything you really needed to know was in English as well. Just one thing - they only provided one safety pin with the number bib. What good is ONE safety pin? Bring your own own pins.

Water stations were more than adequate; in fact the 1/2-liter bottles they were handing out were too much and most of the water was tossed out after a few swigs from the bottles. That's better than having too little water! Volunteers were plentiful and enthusiastic and finish line food was plentiful.

The course is an out-and-back around the southern end of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). It's almost entirely flat and fast, and there were no problems with vehicles as the road is closed during the race. The only problem this year (2007) was with the ferocious wind that blasted us from the Golan Heights, but of course that is not the fault of the race organizers. Just do not expect any spectators, and distance markers are in kilometers, which we metric-impaired Americans should be able to deal with anyway. And it is entirely below sea level!

If you are feeling adventurous, do not hesitate to do this race, the first of the year.

In the case of running a marathon like this, low expectations may be half the battle.

I came to Israel for the experience, and the marathon was just icing on the cake.

That being said, I agree with the other comments that the race isn't the best logistically organized. (At least it wasnt when I ran it, and based on recent comments this may not have changed much).

However, the marathon does provide a nice finisher's medal, and eventually by prodding and telephone calls, a certificate - one I hold very dear since my name was handwritten on there by someone from the marathon committee whose first language (alphabet) was obviously Hebrew!

There is a very nice hometown-style pre-race pasta dinner, where I met different runners from all over the world (imagine, a member of the American military stationed in Greece (myself) flies to Israel for a marathon to meet Canadian soldiers also visiting Israel but from Lebanon).... Definitely multi-cultural.

The pasta dinner included entertainment by a band of local high school students.

Very pleasant marathon in a part of the country full of nature and of course the Sea of Galilee. More spectators would have made the course mentally a lot easier. The stretch of course between 30 and 38KM was particularly tough. Anyway, not a bad experience at all.