From the moment I arrived at the airport, I felt the warmth and hospitality of the Oklahoma City people. The pasta dinner was excellent, with volunteers coming to every table, asking where we were from, and thanking us for being there. Race morning was just as great with a memorial prayer service and a pancake breakfast before the start of the race. The 168 banners along the course were a constant reminder of the reason for this race and it was very touching. The volunteers at the water stations also thanked me for being there (I'm not used to being thanked during a race). The finish line was stocked with plenty of food/drinks and hamburgers. It was a real bonus to receive a technical finisher's shirt. This race was well organized, and the volunteers were outstanding. I highly recommend running this marathon!

This was my first half marathon event after running several full marathons, including OKC twice. You can't run this event without thinking of what inspired the event in the first place. You start by the memorial and there are always 168 seconds of silence before the race, one for each person who died. There are also banners along the course with each person's name. The volunteers are the best. They made a big improvement this year by staging the 5K walkers separately from the runners; however, they refuse to post results by chip time and instead post by gun time even though they do not have corrals to stage the runners. It makes the chip pretty much useless if someone has the same chip time as you, but gets a 4-minute gun time head start. No other event I've participated in does it this way. Since I ran the half, once you cut off from the full course, it was impossible to know where you were unless you had a functioning GPS. There were no mile markers or clocks after the turn west on 50th, and the flip cards were not changed either, so they were displaying predicted finish times that were inaccurate (even accounting for half marathon times). At the finish, I got my medal and food, but never saw anyone to take my chip and ended up leaving with it still on my shoe. I had to mail it in. Better process at the start and finish are needed if this event continues to grow. An assembly line at the end would make this a smoother process to get your medal, remove your chip, get your T-shirt, and then get food.

All races come down to organization but it is hard to fault this marathon for anything that was not perfect. Just the reason for this marathon is enough to make up for any shortcomings. It was my first time to OKC/memorial and was the reason I ran the memorial. I had no connection to what happened there that day but it was still important/touching to go there and run the race/see the memorial.

Organization: One thing, regarding the start, don't have one way into the corrals (from the back). Have side openings for people to get into the starting area or increase the size of the corrals (stretch it out more). Also, keep people who are not running out of the corrals. I saw two friends/family members inside the corral holding umbrellas to keep runners dry. Corrals are for runners, not spectators.

Overall a 9.5!

I absolutely loved the run and the city. The memorial was very emotional as were the banners for the victims on the course. The rest stops were the best I have seen. The people were encouraging and all stops well stocked.

I would recommend this run for anyone.

As a note for the race director, I was pacing three girls who were have a difficult time because of health issues. We targeted 7 hours because this was the posted course time. At mile 22, the cones and all direction signs were removed. We got lost getting to the finish and still finished with a chip time of 7:01. Apparently the 7-hour time was from gun time - not when the last person crossed the start line. Forty people finished behind me, and I am sure others also got lost. I would suggest that you leave the arrows up until all the runners are in. Other than that, the run was great. Thanks for a good weekend.

This could be the most beautiful urban marathon in the USA. The course is amazing, and the weather was great despite the early showers. The only minus was the crowded start line; they must separate the events: full, half, relay, 5K, walkers... all together it's a mess.

The water stations were fine, volunteers were really helpful, and it was a great event from the expo to beyond the finish line. They even give you a burger for breakfast at the finish. Great!

I thought the city was beautiful, the people were friendly, and the race was extremely well organized. The course was hillier than I thought it would be and the wind made it extremely challenging.

I visited the memorial/museum the night before the race and had tears in my eyes. I cried during the 168 seconds of silence before the start. This is an emotional event.

It's also a very well organized marathon. Water and PowerAde are available at every mile. Gels are handed out every few miles after 14. The course has more hills than I expected but that's fine with me because I hate flat courses.

I have nothing negative to say about this marathon. The people of OKC are wonderful and really support this event. I plan to return.

Thank you to the race organizers and the residents of Oklahoma City. I have run several marathons in various cities and normally don't plan on running them twice, but this one I probably will. The course has multiple rolling hills and the rain and wind in the first half were tough, but a marathon isn't supposed to be easy. The expo could have been better organized. The shuttle from the Marriott NW was a half-hour late. The finisher's shirt is nice, but the writing on the back is a little overboard. But I'm nitpicking. I highly recommend this marathon. The memorial itself is an extremely moving experience. A special "thank you" to First Church for the Saturday-night services and the morning pancakes and restrooms. This was a great marathon experience.

There is much to like about the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. The overall organization is good, the course is reasonably challenging, but not overly difficult, the people of OKC and the volunteers are friendly and enthusiastic, and the cause is worthwhile. The only drawbacks are the start and finish.

I hope the organizers will consider having seeded starting corrals for the timed events, or separate starts for the marathon and half marathon. The start is very congested, and there seemed to be a lot of walkers mixed with runners for the first couple miles.

The marathon and half marathon courses reunite just past the 21-mile mark of the marathon. Although not as congested as the first few miles, faster marathoners must work their way through walkers during the most difficult part of the race. This wasn't a major problem, because everybody seemed cooperative, but it could be improved.

The extraordinarily positive atmosphere of this event far outweighs the negatives. If it is possible to make adjustments to the start, and to a lesser degree, the finish, the event would be even better.

If you are possibly considering running this marathon, do it! Granted, I might be a little jaded because I have been trying to qualify for Boston for 2 years now and finally did it at OKC, so I'm probably more inclined to rave about this course than if I didn't qualify. After reading the comments here, I came to OKC with high expectations. This marathon exceeded everything I expected and will always hold a special place for me.

I honestly thought the course was fairly easy. Don't be scared by some of the comments here saying it was too hilly. The 2 mile hill or gradual incline at around the 23 mile mark is so gradual that it is barely noticeable. No doubt the headwind for the first 14 miles was a little tough, but for the remainder of the race, the wind was at our backs, or it was a sidewind. Those couple of miles running toward the lake were tough because the wind was whipping, but after that we were home free.

If you are looking to run a marathon that has some meaning behind it, do Oklahoma City. The entire weekend is a great way to remember the people who died in the bombing. I left Oklahoma City awestruck at how well set up this marathon was. The dry-fit finishers shirt was freaking sweet. The Expo was entertaining with a lot going on. Honestly, you should come just to listen to stories from Dick Beardsley and Bill Rodgers. Listening to them certainly inspired me to do well in the race and continue running for life. The pasta party was great - more stories from Beardsley and Rodgers and some quality guitar playing by some Hispanic dude I had never heard of. :) The volunteers were very friendly and hospitable.

Thank you Oklahoma City for a weekend that will stick in my mind forever. Oh, and be sure to go the OKC memorial and check out the arts district downtown.