My first semi-marathon, and what a joy it was. It had a lovely route, with fantastically encouraging people along it, and the Arabian sun and snow-covered Atlas Mountains in view most of the time. It was the most memorable. I will do this again.

I really enjoyed this marathon. And what a fascinating place to visit. I didn't expect too much (like a pasta party, bands, huge expo, etc.), so I found the run excellent. The course was flat and well marshaled. There's a chance for a PB if it's not too hot. You basically run a circle around the city. There were lots of kids giving support on the route. There wasn't much food given out on the run, so take your own if you need it. It was well worth the trip. Well done, Morocco.

The course was very good - no question - and some of the fans were delightful. OK, it could be better organized, but for a developing country, they did fine, and anyone getting their act together will get a good time. This was my 5th marathon on 5 continents, and I am happy that I did this one for Africa.

This is a great run for anyone who can easily reach Marrakech on race day. It is not, however, an event worth training or traveling specially for.

The main strength of the Marrakech Marathon is its course: flat, well paved, and meandering through pleasant palm forests and a colorful range of urban settings.

The white-capped Atlas mountains stand as a unique contrast to the camels and plantations of the course's middle section. This is not so much a run in Marrakech as it is a run AROUND the city of Marrakech.

There are plenty of sponge and water stations. And while no sport-drinks were offered, oranges, dates, raisins, and sugar were available at water tables. A lot of runners were unaware of this provision.

Disappointingly, Marrakech and its local population show little pride or interest in this event. As a result the start/finish area is little more than a timing-line and you should not expect any count-down, start gun or event introductions.

By contrast, the Saturday marathon village was a festive and well organized prelude to race day. I ran in the welcome run (along with about 600 foreigners) and then watched the very amusing junior race. Throughout the day the marathon village was the site of music, promotions and registration.

This must be the most "international" marathon I have taken part in. Seemingly, the majority of runners came from Europe. Moroccan runners are quite fast, so they must have been up front where I couldn't see them.

Bad organization: no showers, or buses or shuttle service to/from the start/finish. There was no bag service (!), and no food (!!!) along the race until 25th KM. They just had water. There were no distance markers along the track (every 2.5 KM). There were no timers along the course either. There was also a traffic jam and the website lacked any details about the course and the services offered. The course is enchanting, but the race is badly organized... the worst I've seen and heard about before.

Marrakech was my first marathon and a great experience it was, too. The city has plenty of interesting sights, souks, culture, and architecture for before and after the race. Enjoy the experience; eat where the locals eat.

With no previous experience, I would judge this is a basic, no-frills, small but well organized marathon. No expo or razzmatazz, but these don't interest me anyway. What you get for your money is a good, flat, fast course. Conditions were excellent, with warm, sunny weather, though it was cold overnight. So with the 8:30 start, it was cool and fresh - sub-10 degrees C maybe, rising to perhaps 17 my midday, with 20 degrees for an afternoon peak. There was also very low humidity, which makes for comfortable running.

Refreshment stations with bottled water, dates and orange slices (no isotonic or gels) were available every 5K from 5K, and sponge stations every 5K from 7.5K. Supplies were good. I don't think there were any toilets on the route - not an issue for me though. Spectators are thin on the ground, but interested and supportive. If you hear, "Yallah," that's "come on." And your response is, "Shukran" - which is "thank you."

The route was kept clear and well marshaled.
I finished in just over three hours, and my friend in three and a half. My comments hold good for these times, but I've no reason to think that within the time limit there was any problem with supplies, route etc.

The route itself runs largely outside the city, which I enjoyed. Note that the marathon and the half set off together, split, merge, split again and then finish together. No problem with this.

The start was a bit of a crush and the race was timed from the gun, not the line. The refreshment stations seemed accurately placed (from my splits) - apart from the sponges at 32.5K - which was very long (I kind of knew it was but I was having a bad spell, so it was tough mentally).

This was a great marathon with flat course mainly ran on wide roads surrounding the town center. I ran my personal best time here. The water stations were well organized with bottled water every 5K. The race started at 8:30 a.m. so it was cool for the first half and only got hotter towards closer to noon, when I finished. Definitely a different kind of marathon running experience compared to big European marathons.

Different race, with nice views. Fans were only in some areas, but they were very active. I recommend this marathon.

Considering this is an "exotic" event in an African country, organization was good with a lot of support during the run. Drivers even handed out water bottles from the cars along the track in addition to the water stops every 5 KM. Food and drinks were ample, though no energy drinks or bars. The atmosphere was very good, with spectators cheering and encouraging the runners all along the way. Even heavily-veiled women were clapping and shouting, which was nice to see! Some local females were running in head scarves and long t-shirts and trousers, which added to the colorful scenery. Negative points: no toilets (no big problem for the men, but what about us women?), and some traffic on the course with stretches of the road having to be run in exhaust fumes. Around noon it got really hot, with the sun blazing on the runners, but then I suppose this can't be helped..

Nice though that the finishing cut-off time of five hours was flexible and even runners coming in at 5:20 still got their medals.

All in all, a very successful event.

I took part in the half marathon. I had read last year's comments about this race and was optimistic that it would be well organized. How wrong I was!! I have completed 5 marathons and 6 half marathons and this was the worst of the lot.

Packet pick up and start location were good and no problem, Water was supposed to be every 5KM with sponges every 5KM from 7.5KM. I should point out that I am a charity walker so was near the back (but not last!!) and can complete a half marathon within the 3 hour limit.

Firstly, this is the first ever race where there were no KM markers so you had no idea if you were going at the correct pace or not.... I found this very disturbing. The first time you knew how far you had gone was at the 5KM water stop, then 7.5, and then 10. After 10 I saw neither distance markers nor water, which was bad as it was 21 degrees (C) and sunny. The course is rarely traffic-free with the police struggling to control the very impatient traffic. After 10KM it was a free-for-all and you had to battle your way through very heavy traffic, many pedestrians and dozens of polluting mopeds. Once you lost sight of the person in front, it was hard to know where to go; and there were no KM markers to reassure you that you were on course. I was put right at one junction by a rare race official, and I, had to ask policemen twice and a pedestrian once where to go. The only real markings were in the last KM. The entire race it felt like you were breathing in neat carbon monoxide!! I really did not think I was going to finish, not because I couldn't but because I did not know the way!! I have never been so relieved to finish a race in my life. This race should come with a health warning: if the pollution doesn't get you, the traffic will. I could easily have been killed!! Nice medal and I enjoyed the local oranges at the finish!!