Weather was near perfect except for some wind.
Expo was good and friendly except I see one lady having huge problems with an Italian passoprt and English medical certificate. She was given only one option of paying for new certificate from an Italian doctor which they kindly provided access to. Identification must match location of address/medical certificate location - Italian Law.
Organisation at start was good, not crowded, a relaxed mood. Crowd support was minimal except for a few locations where it sounded great. I was surprised with 2 KM or less to go and no crowd support. No mile markers ever mile. Fluid stations were good with water bottles which I believe is best solution but bottles were too big therefore I emptied most and continued with bottle in hand. They also had cups of some carbohydrate drink.
My own race resulted in 2:47 instead of 2:43 or so, mainly because of being under-trained and cobble-stones possibly brought on hamstring cramps. There were more cobble stones than I expected but not miles of them - difficult to run on. Winds which seemed present for majority of race did have an impact but cannot be fully blamed for my slower than expected time. 2 minor hills surprised me. No problems with traffic, coarse was closed to traffic. Afterwards there was a nice park to relax with food stands and believe it, yes there were crowded showers for anyone who wanted to follow the sign and walk 800m. I say every marathon should do like Milan and supply showers!!!!
I would recommend Milan for a fast time but not a perfect coarse because of cobble-stones and fluid stations only every 5 KM.
Overall a great production and congradulations to the Milan people who I liked alot and I will return one day.

This was my 10th Marathon and I chose it because of previous reviewers comments about a fast course. It is amazing to run 26 miles completely on the flat (with the exception of one slight road underpass). You start outside the city at the Expo Rho, which is a bit boring and almost no spectators. Once you get into the historic centre your family can easily see you 3 or 4 times by just walking a few 100 meters. Drinks were bottles (which is unusual in Italy) and they had lots of fruit (who has time to eat a banana!) I ran with the 3 hour pace makers, who were great, got me home in 2:58. They ran a perfect even pace and encouraged you towards the end (in Italian - sorry). You finish in the historic centre next to the Castle. Medal best in the world. Goody bag OK (great coolmax t-shirt). Daughters liked the fact you could shop in Abercrombie post-race.

Milano City Marathon just gets better and better each year. Very well organized, really impressed with the event. New in 2013 was that the marathon was added to a so-called 'green sunday' which means that the center is closed for regular passenger vehicles. One huge advantage, both in terms of air quality, noise, and general well-being. Free ticket for all public transportation race day came in the goody bag! The t-shirt is the best and coolest free race t-shirt I got. The course is point to point, starting in an exhibition area outside the city and into the city center and passes most major sights before closing off the walls of the old city that today is a great park. Drinking water stations had both in bottles and paper cups, sports drinks in paper cups. This year the weather was ideal, with cloudy and about 8-9 degrees celcius at the start, and eventually the sun and around 15 degrees at the finish. Plenty of space and very well organized finish. For two years side was all speaker information in the starting area in Italian, this year it was also in English. The medal was great. My time was 2:57.

This was my first international marathon of 26 completed. I would recommend Milan for a first time int'l event. The destination is really great and easy to get there. Lots of hotels to choose from. You can stay at any hotel near a Metro station because you go to the Expo and start line via the Metro sub-way. I would stay at the Sheraton at the Duomo if I were to do it again.

That is the best tourist area, and you run past the Duomo at mile 16, so your family can cheer you on! The best part of this course is that it is totally flat, the entire distance, no kidding. Also, you get water bottles at the aid stations, rather than cups (like the US). This is also a relatively small marathon with 3,900 runners this year. Pay attention to the weather, as it can be warm the middle of April in Milan. I happended to catch a rainy day, which is better than too much sun. Think thru your logistics. Hard to pickup items last minute if you haven't prepared.

Example, I didn't prepare for the rain and had to buy an umbrella day before the race. Should have brought one of those trash bags to wear at the start line. Also, be prepared to follow the crowd. Instructions at the start line are given in Italian only, so don't be afraid to make a friend who speaks a little English. Expo is very disappointing. No shoe/apparel/nutrition vendors, so if you forgot something, you won't find it last minute at the expo. Took me 10 minutes to pickup my race packet and walk thru the expo. Final comment: Two thumbs up for this marathon, super user friendly.

Very fast and flat course.
Quite boring for the first 10K but with good sections, in town centre.
Crowd - when present - not very supportive.
Great job from the volunteers with good support all along the race.
Good refreshments, with bottled water (no cups)
I will run it again one day, when I want to improve my PB

Milano City Marathon is getting better each year and is all in all a good marathon, but it is surprisingly small (in terms of number of partcipiants) for such a big city. The plus: fast race, extremely helpful pacemakers, good water stations with bottles (as opposed to cups), some scenic segments (including the one under the dome and the finish), very helpful organization staff, decent race bag, good bag deposit service, very good deals for the hotels. The minus: website and registration procedures are far from smooth, the start and first 15 km are very boring, the spectators are few, closing the streets to traffic irritates many cardrivers who honk and shout in frustration. All in all, I would definitely recommend this race to any runner who likes a middle-size (4000 participants) and very fast marathon, in a beautiful city which is easy to travel to and with plenty of additional activities to offer. The organization is doing a very good job for improving this relatively young race from year to year.

The organizers held a brilliant expo, and visiting Milan was a big highlight. The start is a little odd, but funny in hindsight. I would highly recommend this marathon to anyone.

Milano was not my first choice for my spring marathon - but i'm so glad that I ran it. Fast course, very flat. Very good organization and a fun city to visit - make a great weekend. This year was a bit windy for most of the way, but the weather is good.

A great surprise - I didn't plan on Milano as a place for my spring marathon, but I am very happy that I did. Great course - flat and fast (this year was a bit windy). Milano is a wonderful city to visit, and the organization was excellent. I'll do it again!

Fine weather - crispy cool in the beginning and sunshine. Flat course, with beautiful mountain scenery on the way. The organization was excellent and the race shirt was very nice. Not many spectators, but as a woman, the other women lining the course really supported me. Even though some drivers where impatient, honking the car horns, I look at it as support and took it to my advantage. I found the city expensive, but I will be back again. Thank you for some good memories.