The 168 seconds of silence and the names of the victims along the route on the banners were quite emotional. Great volunteers throughout the entire race. Good support at water stops. The course was pretty flat, but the strong wind made up for that. Only negative: some runners did not line up according to the pace they would run. Overall, I highly recommend this run.

I had a very good time. The weather was typical of Oklahoma - I was not quite certain what to wear until race morning, and the 6:30 start was great, so I didn't have to run in late-morning heat. Organization was outstanding; the race directors seemed to have everything under control. Fan support was great (thanks for the chocolates at mile 10 and the offer for the Bloody Mary). The course was great and the start/end were in a fantastic location with a lot of activities going on for non-participants. Thanks, Oklahoma City.

It was super windy, but thanks to the cloud-cover, the low 70-degree temps felt cool enough. The course was very scenic and the spectators all over the city were great. The volunteers were amazing and water stops were well stocked.

The expo was small but nice; I got to meet Joan Benoit-Samuelson and Bill Rodgers (they both signed my Runner's World magazine).

I grew up in Oklahoma, so I picked this marathon as my first because of the purpose of the event. I ran in honor of 2 people, and the 168 banners along the course with the names of the victims was very inspiring. In our goody bag we received a free entrance into the Memorial Museum; it is a must-see. The start at the Memorial and the 168 seconds of silence were very emotional.

During the run I thought, "This is TOUGH; marathons aren't fun" - mainly due to the wind. Of course, after that I started thinking about how I could do better. I will definitely be back, whether to do the half or full!

Overall, I enjoy this race. In 2009, though, it seemed that there was less music (hence, less enthusiasm) at the start. I ran it in 2007 as well.

Weather can't be helped, but it was too hot (70's) this year from the get-go. Add to that 20-40 mph south winds beating you up between miles 20-24, and it was a tough, tough set of conditions.

My biggest complaint, however, is the length of the course. I have talked to 4 people whose Garmins all registered 26.5 miles or longer. I realize that there is a certain allowable variation but this seems like too much. It really is only a problem for runners trying to BQ or going for time.

Poor organization with shuttle service to hotels; none came to the Meridian hotels race morning. Too chaotic at start line. Too many runners require a lesson in running etiquette... cutting across, running sideways, etc.

First, this was typical OKC spring weather (strong south winds, warm, humid) so you better come prepared for this every year. The organizers can't control this so just expect it. Out of 9 years, this was one of the warmer/windier occasions, but it's nothing unusual for Oklahoma weather. Everywhere on the course, there are good volunteers and good support. Overall, it would be a fantastic race... EXCEPT that the start area is total chaos. Please, organizers, do SOMETHING about the corral system. Have corrals based on previous marathon times, start the half-marathons at a different time, or do something proactive about this mess. It takes forever just to scramble through the spectators and get to the corrals, and I began moving up 6th Street at 6 a.m. sharp. Next, get the darn walkers and 12-minute pacers out of the front of the corrals. I'm very happy they are all out there participating. More power to everyone who gets off their butt and does this event. But it is pathetic when you have to risk ankle sprains and waste energy to scramble around these groups of 2-3-4 wide walkers when you are starting at the so-called 8-9 minute pace area. The race is too big these days to leave the start corrals to chance. With half-marathoners, relayers, etc., this race is full of relative newbies who have no idea where/how to line up realistically. In a race of this size, I believe it is the organizers' job to take care of this. Fix this mess and you've got a gem!

The good:

The tribute to the OKC memorial was amazing. Truly touching.

The volunteers seemed to truly care about both the cause and the runners. Great personal touch.

The bad:

The weather was HORRIBLE! No, "horrible" isn't quite a strong enough word. Heat, humidity, and WIND, WIND, WIND!

Course was hillier than the elevation charts indicated.

Finally, the final 6+ miles of the marathon were almost impossible to run due to the half marathon walkers taking up the entire road. I was just hoping to find some little, tiny space between the walkers to slip through. Getting water in the last miles was IMPOSSIBLE because the half-marathon walkers were blocking all of the aid stations.

Bottom line: Great cause and great theme, wonderful volunteers who truly cared, but terrible weather and a terrible idea to have the half-marathon and marathon finish together.

I've missed running OKC only once in the last 9 years. The course, volunteers and citizens of OKC have always been excellent, and this year was no exception. It was very warm, windy and humid, but that's life at any given marathon. There was plenty of PowerAde and water on the course. Special thanks to the church that offers the free pancake breakfast before the marathon. The OU band was a nice addition at the start too. I come from Atlanta every year for this event and will be back in 2010.

Outstanding race. I loved the 6:30 start time; those who didn't know when it started when they registered shouldn't have run it. There was a good start line corral, organized by pace. No chaos at all - crowded, but no chaos. Weather was warm and windy, but you're running in Oklahoma in late April. Great volunteers and the water stations were very well stocked. They were very prepared for the warm conditions. Best finish line, with plenty of food and drink after the race. I will run this one again for sure. Kudos to OKC for a great race.

The expo: The expo was well organized and despite a line that seemed never-ending, we all moved quickly along. With so many volunteers helping out, the entire bib and chip distribution was very well-organized. The expo itself was okay--I was hoping that there would be representatives from the major athletic companies present. However, the vendors there did have many of the last-minute items that runners might want to pick up before the race. I enjoyed seeing and talking to Bill Rogers and Dick Beardsley, both of whom were really affable and enthused to speak with their fans.

The course: the course itself is not tough, and no one should concern themselves with the elevation chart: Yes,there are some hilly sections, but for the most part you're on fairly flat road. What was an absolute nightmare (far beyond what I could have ever expected) was the wind, which on this day was 35-40 miles per hour and came from the south. Thus, during the final 10 miles, we were all facing an unyielding wind. Drafting was a necessity and even that didn't help very much.

The people and the crowd: Awesome is a word overused and misused, but I mean it when I say they were worthy of awe. Everyone had cheers and smiles. The people at the water stations were friendly and yelled and encouraged us when we were dying and fighting the wind. The opening ceremony was especially touching and the singing of the national anthem and the moment of silence in honor of those killed in the bombing was incredible; you could hear a pin drop in a crowd of 19,000 total runners. Incredible.

Post-race: Yummy! All sorts of goodies were there for us. Great cheeseburgers (and I haven't had red meat in years), cookies, juice, fruit, everything you could want after a marathon...except for beer. Medics were there to greet us just to check up on us and make sure we were fine.

Overall: This was a great marathon and OKC proved to be a great host city. I highly recommend this as a first marathon for those interested. Just don't be disappointed by a slower time if the winds are coming from the south, and yes, they will come from the south. 2008 was an anomaly.