Obviously a first time effort with many areas in need of improvement. Food, provided by Outback Steak House was closed down at the 5 hour mark. Many runners did not get any food at the end of the race. The course is hard, it'll make you work! It was published that there would be many local high school marching bands along the route to provide music and support. This runner, 4:15:00 pace, did not hear a single one! As this was the marathon's return to charm city I expected much more!! I hope those that organize it will work on this and improve it for next year.

Great turnout for a first time event, especially so close to NYC, Marine Corps, and Philadelphia. Interesting city course --starting at the waterfront and looping out through the city neighborhoods and back -- with lots of supporters along the route. But the rolling hills are relentless from mile 3 through 24 -- (although 'mostly' downhill for final 5). No big killer hills, but one right after another (200 meters to 800 meters). Definitely not a PR course. Need to improve the organization a bit, especially at the finish -- much too congested and confused -- but that may have been a factor of its inaugural status and big turnout (at least 7,000, I'd guess). Plus, the runners were forced a little too close to the traffic in the final 3-4 miles. Lots of fumes and honking. Hot weather would turn this into a real killer. But this could become a good city race and a nice alternative to NYC and Marine Corps. It had an excellent field of runners this year.

Course was much more difficult than advertised. In addition, there were other problems: traffic into the city led to delays; there were not enough porti-pots; there were no lost runner tents; even getting to the expo was challenging. Perhaps it will be more organized next year, afterall, it is Baltimore's first.

The course was too hilly, worse than expected, (was there any hill in Ba. we missed?) with many rutty road surfaces, not nearly enough spot a pots leaving runners to go in trees, bushes and behind cars, and there needs to be water every mile on a tough course like that. Putting a few spot a pots and some water at every mile cuts down on the crowding at any one station. After running those hills and losing time there, no one wants to stand in line for 10 min. to use the bathroom and in temps like Saturday, with the hills, dehydration is a significant risk. (see Austin Motorolla for the best race day ammenities I 've seen.) A course this challenging will be hard pressed to bring back any but the most hardy runners who are interested in a real challenge and not a fast time. The course was more scenic than I expected but I never realized how sloping Baltimore really is. After the 15th mile it was just discouraging to keep climbing hills. I've never seen so many people in cramping calf agony, possibly due to not enough water stations as well as the hills.

This was a well run marathon, but a difficult course with hills that never end! After having run Boston, Marine Corps, and New York City, I found this to be very challenging.
I'm glad I did not know ahead of time (except for reading the article in the program guide by Falls Road Running Store at 11:30pm the night before the race) how difficult the 'rolling' hills were because I may not have registered for the race and had the opportunity to finish - and also be #18 in my age group.
I recommend the race to anyone that is prepared to do the hill work as part of their training.
Spectators were enthusiastic, but scarce during parts of the course, and it would help if runners were released in a location where they can reunite with friends and family right after the finish.
Plan on staying an extra day to enjoy Baltimore Inner Harbor!

The fans really kept me going the entire way. The water and gatorade stations were plentiful and overall I felt the marathon ran very smoothly, especially for a first annual run.

Way too hilly a course for a marathon. There were no timers at each mile like other marathons and it was difficult to see some mile markers (on the ground).
Car traffic was stopped and backed up throughout most of the course. Disorganized finish area, difficult to find where to get medals. 1st buses (for relay members) should have been in front of the start line so they could leave later than 8:00 so people caught in traffic wouldn't have missed the bus. On the positive side there were plenty of volunteers and fluids throughout the race.

For a city's first marathon, the 2001 Baltimore Marathon was a really valiant effort. Lots of spectators, GREAT police support in keeping traffic away from the runners for the entire course, and friendly volunteers at the numerous water stops.

The Baltimore Marathon's course is, however, immensely hilly. The bulk of the first 16 miles is almost all uphill, many of the hills being incredibly long and steep. You don't really start heading downhill until mile 20, by which point a lot of runners had wiped out.

Hopefully the organization will be a little more with it next year, though. Chip times were not available the day of the race, and are still not available a day later. To even find out your clock time, you have to check the Baltimore Sun's website; it's not not the Baltimore Marathon's site. Most of the later water stations also ran out of gels and sports drinks pretty quickly; redistributing the supplies a bit better couldn't hurt.

Still, a great first time out, and hopefully Baltimore's second marathon will be even stronger!

My first marathon. It appeared from the elevation information to have a slow climb out and a decent one back. It didn't show that it was constant rolling terrain from miles(approx) 6-22. The fans were GREAT and made running through some of the neighorhood streets worthwhile. Needed more porta-potties at the start (don't all races?) Overall a good event. The finish area celebration was a welcome treat. Thanks Baltimore!!!

I found the Baltimore Marathon to be a very beautiful and challenging course. I was not prepared for the difficulty of the hills. I had hoped to qualify for Boston on this course but was not able to meet that goal, but still had my second best time in a marathon. I had run Tennesse's Country Music Marathon in April and it pales in comprison to the hills in Balitmore. For a first time marathon, it was well organized, had plenty of course support, and good spectators. I would return to this marathon to meet the challenge of the hills again.