The course used for Sydney marathon is great: very scenic in the first half as well as challenging because of the many ups and downs especially in the second half. Prerace organization is good, registration is easy and the start area is well organized. Finisher T-Shirt and medal are nice!

The run itself however would benefit significantly of some improvements in support. Water and electrolyte drinks are provided sufficiently, but food can only be obtained after about 30km... and if you are a slower runner like me on that day (finishing in about 4h30min), it happens that all food (i.e. gels) is gone, you get nothing and have to hope the later support stations still have something left for you. Similar experience in the finish area... some oranges were left, bananas or fruit salad gone... and one powerbar available. In view of the rather high registration fee (Australien $165 for me as foreigner, which is equivalent [Sep 17, 2005] to ca. 99 Euro or US-$ 121), this is a very disappoiting experience!

Sydney is a magical city no matter how you look at it. The opportunity to run in a marathon here should not be missed. However, be prepared to pay, both financially and physically. Entry was about $127USD, making it one of the more expensive marathons. You don't get as much as you might expect for this price, but it could be that police and permits cost more than usual.

Running over the Harbor Bridge, as some have already said, is an amazing experience. And finishing at the Opera House is great fun. But be prepared for some sneaky hills thrown in in between, especially at the end where you least need them. Unfortunately there was no elevation profile on the website, so I wasn't mentally (or physically) prepared.

Weather was great with overcast skies the first half, then sunny the second half and temp about 70F. Crowd support was just about nil, even up until the very end. There are a lot of police for traffic control, however, and they'll always throw you a good word or two.

Water stations are plentiful, and every 2km the second half. The 'Recovery Village' was located past the finish line and up a very cruel, steep hill. Those Aussie's are a humerous bunch...

If you get the chance run it!

You only notice lack of organisation, hence the organisation of Blackmore's Sydney Marathon was invisible.However its results were not.

The event started on time and in good humour with a surfeit of portaloos, drink stations & helpful people.

Participants needed only to concentrate on the job at hand -the finish line 42.2 kilometres distant and what a finishing line.

An honour guard/cheering squad for each runner down Macquarie Street so that no matter how tired, how sore, how depleted each runner's soul soared and feet took flight.

In every way a jewel of a day worn with family, friends and strangers and warmed by their laughter and comraderie.

This was my 4th marathon. I had previously run Chicago and Grandma's. This race was very well run and very fun. Someone made comments on this site regarding the 2003 race and that they did not highlight the city. It seems that they took those comments and made them work. We ran accross the bridge early in the AM which was pretty cool, if not a bit windy, went out to Centenial Park, through the city, Gardens and finished at the Opera House. All the landmarks in one good morning!

The pre-race pick up registration was very easy but a little light on specific directions as to where to go (if you were local it was probably fine but being from out of town it was a small challenge). The start was well organized and unlike Chicago no trouble getting lined up. Spectators were sparse in many places but there were at least a few people just about all the way through. The finish area was a little disappointing, at least when I finished (3:55); just got an orange and a bottle of water. There was a long line to get the finisher's shirt. Clothes transfer from the start worked perfectly. If you have a chance I would highly recommend running this race.

My sixth marathon - London three times, New York once and Monaco once. Sydney stands out as the most magical of the lot - a real sense of community and enjoyment amongst the runners. Crossing the bridge in full sun shortly after 7am will always be a very happy memory. Thanks Sydney - until the next time...!

I have run the Sydney marathon twice: 2002 and 2003. 2002 was my first ever marathon and it was tough, 2003 was a chance to improve and enjoy the event more.

Lets be honest here, yes it's a buzz to run the blue line, but Sydney is one of the most gorgeous cities in the world - why don't we show it off.

The course starts over the Harbour Bridge and out to Centennial Park, then they have incorporated some ridiculous loop backs which do nothing except add a few km here and there. The course then makes its way through the city and over the Anzac Bridge through some horrible boring suburbia and out to Homebush with lots of hills in the last 10 km.

My suggestions are to take in the Domain and gardens, skip the Homebush idea and loop around Iron Cove and finish back at the Opera House. Then it would be a truly magnificent course.

This is my seventh marathon and first international race. Scheduled my holiday around this marathon. Some awesome venues to run through, but harder hills than expected, especially the last 10K (difficult to train for hills in Chicago). Wonderful support along the route and well organized with the exception of the finish - very confusing. Plenty of spectators at the finish - very cool.

Being my first marathon, I have nothing to compare this to, however, it was a great experience. The course had a few tough hills to compete with and doubled-backed on itself a few times, but covered some great parts of Sydney. Running over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and looking back at all the runners was a great sight. The heat was a bit of a problem as was the strong westerly in our face for the last half. However, the organization and marshals were brilliant, although not too many crowds were there to cheer us on. I would recommend it to anyone.

This was my 10th marathon. Course was mostly flat and had some nice bits to it, the highlights being that it (largely) followed the 2000 Olympic course and crossed the Harbour and Anzac Bridges. Traffic was vanquished for the whole route. Organisation was good, the volunteers were great at the end in particular with making sure everyone was ok, getting people water etc. Nice t-shirt and medal with things to eat and drink once the small matter of running a distance sane people travel using a car is dealt with. Supporters were a little thin on the ground for a marathon in a big city but there was good support from those there. One note of warning - the sun was quite strong at times although thankfully it wasn't humid.

This was my second marathon after competing in the London Marathon in April 2001 and it certainly didn't disappoint. I had been travelling for six months prior to arriving in Sydney and had done the bare minimum training but the surroundings were more than enough to carry me to the finish line. Crossing the harbour bridge on a beautiful sunny morning was a highlight, but finishing in the Olympic village on the Olympic track was very special. It definitely was depressing seeing all the 10km runners finish with us having another 32kms to go, but there was enough support along the course including many people who had clearly just left the pub!! Overall a great marathon that I expect to grow in the coming years, and one in which I'd love to compete again in the future.