First off, the volunteers were very friendly and tried to be helpful... if anything, there were too many volunteers. Otherwise, this race was horrible.

* Pitiful communication from the race directors. An e-mail I sent to them 6 days before the race was never responded to.

* Expo was held in an industrial park, in a vacant trucking warehouse. The small parking lot had speed bumps so high that you needed an SUV or pickup to navigate them. Those of us in cars (me included) ended up getting the undercarriages of our cars banged and scraped on the speedbumps.

* Getting to the marathon was a DISASTER. I followed the race directions, and the three-lane road getting to the parking area was coned down to ONE LANE. Traffic was backed up for miles. I'm certain many runners were not able to make the start. Porta-potty lines were still 6 to 7 deep with bibbed runners 15 to 20 minutes after the start.

* Race organization didn't attempt to enforce lining up by pace at the start.

* Very boring course. Spectators along the route mostly consisted of volunteers.

* Finish line was another DISASTER. The weather was cold with wind and rain, and there was no sheltered area at the finish to towel off and put on some dry clothes. Runners were forced to walk a long way to get out of the fenced off finish area.

I could say much more of the same. Forget this race.

I was quite looking forward to this event as I was familiar with the area as a student at UC Irvine 15 years ago. The course was fairly enjoyable, and the last few miles on the Back Bay trail was a very nice touch. Unfortunately people in Southern California are not used to bad weather, and the rain probably kept most of the bands, cheerleaders and spectators away (bands, what bands?). On the other hand, the volunteers were all very enthusiastic and supportive throughout, and fluids were plentiful throughout the course. As for porta-potties, it seemed that there was exactly ONE of those per mile except at the start and finish. With the rainy weather, I wouldn't be surprised if not a few participants took a leak in their shorts, since no one else would have known it.

I'd have to agree with the earlier comments about the finish line area problems, especially the lack of adequate shuttle bus transportation back to the parking lots. Many of us ended up walking back in the rain, and not a few of us seemed to have gotten lost on the way. It felt somewhat odd walking around in wet shorts and standard-issue plastic bags mingling with holiday shoppers at Fashion Island. There was, however, one silver lining to all this - since I spent all that time walking around in the rain, my legs were pretty well-iced by the time I got to my car, and I felt much less soreness than usual the next day.

I thought for a first marathon, not bad. I liked the course, despite the missing/incorrect mile markers. The finish area seemed kind of vanilla to me. I didn't stick around because I was freezing, but I think better preparation for potentially bad weather is a must. The course support was ok - they needed more volunteers at the earlier aid stations though. But, they had a LOT of aid stations which was great. Parking at both the expo and the race was challenging. Spectators were slim, but I'm sure the weather played into that. I'll definitely do this one again - all in all it was a good experience!

Conditions were less than desirable. The expo shuttles were few and not on time. Very limited parking at the expo and no option to have the chip and number mailed to the runners. The race started late; the extra few minutes would have meant less rain on the way. Not enough johns at the beginning or during the race. The 10K mat didn?t work for several runners. The first gel was not provided until the 17th mile. The last few miles of the course had several horrible steep dips in and out of river tributaries. And to top it off, the last four miles were littered with walkers from either the 5k or the half marathon who had no concept of getting out of the way of runners struggling on the last 4 miles.

It was idiotic to combine the races at the finish line. The finish line support was adequate considering they had been rained on for hours. I hope they had enough first aid for the near-hypothermic runners. The firemen were very kind to me in helping me in the first aid tent.

Race day weather was cold and raining. However, I have run marathons in much worse. I heard other people complaining about headwinds but I did not have any trouble.

The course itself was great as a runner but lousy for spectators. Some up and down grades the first half but no real hills. From mile ten on we were off road on paved bike trails that are inaccessible to vehicles/spectators. Occasionally a group of people would be hiding out of the rain under an overpass and cheered as we ran under the overpass but other than that, spectators were few and far between.

The organizers need to work on the parking for the expo and the race. The shuttles back to the to the starting line needs lots of work. Runners had to wait up to a hour for a bus back. For a first-time marathon, logistics went well. But this was not the well-oiled machine of Boston, Chicago or New York.

I enjoyed the course and didn't mind the rain at all -- until the end. I thought the water tables, aid stations and food along the course were great. Perhaps a little more training with the volunteers would have helped. I can appreciate all that goes into planning an event like this but there had to be some way to make the lack of organization at the finish a little less painful. After 45 minutes searching for my bag (among poor other bags that were torn apart and strewn everywhere), I waited 1.5 hrs for a shuttle. There were only two shuttles running while a parking lot of some 20+ buses went unused not far from the start line. Folks at the finish line stopped handing out the space blankets (not sure why) but later continued passing them out to spectators (not runners).

Just thought that an experienced group like Kinane would have had a better handle on the event including some last minute changes that could have helped out the runners considering rain was predicted 7-10 in advance. I enjoyed the CalCoast enthusiasm among the coordinators, volunteers, and pacers. Some runners seemed more uptight than I'm used to seeing, but maybe the rain brought them down. I look forward to this becoming a regular and popular event that can be improved upon with the right touches.

Great first marathon, even with the the rain, wind and cold. This will be a very fast course with moderate weather. The finish and shuttles were disorganized and that can be expected for an inaugural marathon. Great crowd support in very harsh conditions. Plentiful water and Gatorade. Looking forward to future O.C. Marathons.

I understand that this was the inaugural year of the OC Marathon, but c'mon - they shouldn't have LIED about details they advertised! There was NO Gu available at any of the aid stations, only some banana and orange segments. The finish line was awful and people were required to PAY for the food at the end. The shuttle going to and from the finish line was completely disorganized. I ended up walking an extra mile in the rain just to get to my car because I couldn't stand around for an hour to wait for the shuttle. I finished, but not happily.

The inaugural OC Marathon, half marathon, and multiple kids races were an ambitious undertaking. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. The course is runner-friendly, but could have used more volunteers. At one point I lost at least a minute waiting in line for an overworked volunteer to dip cups one at a time into the Gatorade vat. The spectators were almost non-existent.

The mile markers were way off, which made it difficult to know what pace you were on. I also didn't see a marker at miles 1 or 3, but I could have just overlooked them in the crowd. The start being delayed would not have been too big a deal if it hadn't been for the cold wind and threat of rain which made most of us huddle near total strangers for warmth.

Since both the half and full marathons travel the same route for the first miles, I saw no reason to divide us at the start, but more important was the lack of running room. Why weren't both sides of the road open from the start? The gear check and pick up were an absolute mess. Plastic grocery bags just don't cut it. At the finish people were crawling all over each other and dumping bags on the ground to get at their own bags.

And what is this trend toward giving both half and full marathoners the same shirt and medal?. When you run twice as far you shouldn't receive the same reward as those who only ran half the distance. The OC tried to differentiate by giving different colored ribbons, but the medal itself was the same.

Overall, the race wasn't too bad for the first try. I'm sure the weather will be better in the future (it never rains in southern California, you know) and the problems I've mentioned would be easy to fix.

Living in Orange County, I really wanted this marathon to go off well especially since it was the inaugural 'OC' Marathon.

Having run in the inaugural PF Chang Rock & Roll marathon in AZ earlier this year, I was expecting some logistical nightmares. Throw in the rain well...

Breakdown --
Pre-race parking -- Free for all.

Starting line -- Well done and luckily no rain.

Race -- Very well organized. Water stations at least every mile with Gatorade and shots when you needed them. Course was a fairly flat and fast point-to-point. Not as scenic as it could have been. Pace groups from Cal Coast were awesome! Rain began about 1 hour in. Obviously, there were few spectators except family and friends.

Finish -- Disaster. Point-to-point required the use of a shuttle system. Although it was only 1.5 miles to the starting line (but then, who feels like walking after the marathon?). Waited an hour + in the rain, wind and cold. Post-race activities were non-existent.

Overall, I enjoyed the race up to the point I crossed the finish line.