We had a great day for running--sunny, mild breeze, cool temps. The course had plenty of water/gatorade stops and was well managed and organized. The crowd was great! It was a very hilly course, though, a little too hilly for me! Miles 1-4 were flat, and miles 23-26 were mostly downhill, but everything in-between was hills. I thought that it was a very challenging run; a little too challenging for a 2nd time marathoner.

This was a very difficult course. Of 5218 finishers, only 27% finished in under four hours. Day was very hot for October, which contributed to difficulty of the course.

Organization needs work. Registration was confusing, and poorly laid out. Runners were wandering around trying to find the next step in the registration/packet pick-up. Water stops the first ten miles needed to be set up on both sides of the street. There was terrible confusion, and congestion at the first few water stops. Mile markers early in the race need to be elevated. They were at ground level and hidden by spectators, vehicles, and other runners. Put 1-5 up about 8 ft high so they can be seen. Once the pack thins out, putting them on the ground is OK.

Post race meal nothing to write home about. Some fruit, a bottle of water, and some chips. For $60, I expected more. I think they spent too much on post race entertainment (The Romantics) and not enough on runner amenities at the end. Any local band would be fine. A lot of runners don't stick around for the party anyway.

It might help to move the race to November to avoid the potential for heat. Also, an earlier start would help with heat, and to avoid traffic tie-ups. I wouldn't have wanted to be in the mayor's office the Monday morning after this race. Traffic was not routed away from the race course very well. I felt sorry for the cops trying to deal with the traffic situation.

My overall opinion is that the race had a rough start in part due to the weather. The organizers need to get a lot of bugs worked out. Given a year or two of experience I think this race will take off. Some adjustment of the course might be in order, or at least a fair warning that the course is difficult ('challenging').

Thanks so much to those who volunteered their time and efforts to making this a great first marathon for me. All the water stops were well run and every volunteer had a smile and words of encouragement. Since I ran the race alone these people were my only cheerleaders. Another big thank you to the law enforcement officers of Baltimore who not only kept a lot of traffic under control but also shouted choruses of support as we ran by. It did not go unnoticed. And finally thanks to all the people along the course. There were few, if any, places on the course without people. Their cheers and support got me through the run, a very difficult first marathon course!

This course was my first marathon. It was a very interesting run. The scenery was exciting. Great spectators. The course was extremely hilly...with a large hill at the end. Very challenging.

After driving the course the day before, I knew to expect an extremely hilly run and wasn't disappointed. The fans were as good as any race I?ve run. The course was very scenic, with the downtown skyline looming large as runners made the turn for home onto Howard Street. The warm sunny weather was beautiful for spectators, but difficult for running. Ample water stations provided enough support for me to post a good time, and seemed to come more often than once every two miles as shown on the pre-race course map. I suspect that race officials scrambled to adjust to the warmer-than-usual weather with some additional stations in the last ten miles. Along with other runners, I noticed that several of the mileage markers, particularly in the first ten miles, seemed to be misplaced, possibly by as much as 1/10 mile. This may have been due to water stations being positioned on the actual mileage mark, with the signs moved before or after the stations to make them visible. This was frustrating, but nothing that couldn?t be corrected next year. Overall, a great effort by a great city!

I am a 4 time veteran of the Philadelphia Marathon and a 3 time veteran of the Boston Marathon. This course puts Boston to shame in terms of Hills! Brutal Hills. Great training run though. Almost impossible to set a PR! My boyfriend Bob, my sister Amanda and Brother-in-law Elliot had a wonderful time waiting in the runners area! Great job on the coordination. We stayed till almost the last runner crossed the finish line. My boyfriend ran the 5K and said it was great! We talked all night long on how much fun we had and we definitely plan on returning next year! The other runners were great - GREAT JOB TO ALL OF YOU! The help was awesome and the weather was beautiful!

The city really turned out to support the race. Baltimore is a city of neighborhoods and every few blocks a different crowd gathered or just cheered from their porches as runners passed. What was most impressive is that the course avoided the commercial and industrial areas and focussed on the residential areas and parks. Baltimore is quite an attractive town once you get off the main streets. Now for the hard part: there were about 21 miles of hills. I know people want to be supportive, but it does not help if spectators tell tired runners at mile 15 that 'It's all downhill from here!' when there are six more miles of hills. Also the concrete roads were tough on the feet. Bottom line is you can probably add 10 minutes to your goal time because this is a difficult course. There is already talk of changing it for next year. I'm glad I did it; it was a fun race--really challenging, but fun.

Positives: If you trained well on hills, they were a piece of cake. The crowds were great... not at all like I had expected! Well-manned water/gatorade stops. I felt confident with the numerous police crew around. I thought the 4-person relay team was a great idea. Negatives: Traffic was backed up the way that I traveled (I used the posted directions) although I heard other routes were clear. Perhaps alternate directions could have been given. There were not many bathrooms at the start or throughout the race course. No 'real' food was supplied and there were poor selections at the finish of the race. Overall, I really enjoyed this marathon in my home town! Thank you, Dave and CSE!

I came down from Connecticut for this, my sixth marathon, and I was warned about the hills. I knew it would be tough, and it was! I had heard that the last 6-8 miles were flatter, and that was NOT the case, but aside from that I felt I was sufficiently forewarned about how tough it would be. That doesn't mean I wasn't cursing the hills at mile 20-21, because I was definitely irritated at that point! I have to give great kudos to the volunteers, the police and the general support, including the spectators. I thought that this was extremely well-run, especially for an inaugural race. There was plenty of water and Gatorade, and the volunteers were upbeat and encouraging. I wouldn't recommend this as a first marathon, but I would DEFINITELY recommend it as a marathon for someone looking for a challenge. One of the little things that impressed me was the group of volunteers waiting at the finish line with an open bottle of water for each runner. That is an unusual touch that I found really heartening. Great, tough race!

The fans in this race were great, even in the not so savory parts of town. Unfortunately, the hills really beat you up for the first 18 miles (this was also a particularly hot October day). Also, the lack of food is a big mistake on a course this demanding. Otherwise good organization, lots of water/gatorade stops. Great first go for Baltimore.