Half-marathon comments. As others said, no water at two key stations, only ice at another. Orange peels were a slipping hazard in the rain, and my chip appears not to have timed. Both the half-and full-marathon shirts were cheap cotton instead of tech fabric, and thus useless for running.

Being my hometown marathon I was excited to run this race. The route is great, not hilly and great for spectators. However the race is run at the wrong time of the year so there is lots of rain, and this year the rain came down in buckets. Change the date please. Tables were not great; water, Ultima and Vector Bars. Lets get the right stuff at the tables water, Gatorade and gels. Not enough carbs and minerals. End of race not well organized, took a long time to get out of the rain into the stadium. Once in, no hot food. On a cold wet day that is the least one should provide. And of course those promised shower facilities were there, but the showers were cold.

I had a great time during the 2006 Vancouver Marathon in spite of the rain early in the race but was very disappointed when several aid stations ran out of Ultima. At one station there was plenty of beverage, but no cups!! No real problem for me as I just grabbed one of the thousands off the ground, but the volunteers looked shocked. I also wish that there was some kind of refreshment immediately after the race! I had to wait about 10-15 minutes in an enclosed pen as the doors to the arena were closed. In desperation, I asked a fellow runner for some gummy bears as I felt light-headed from having low blood sugar. The space was a bit cramped, also, and it was difficult to keep "moving" in such a small place with so many other runners. Once inside, though, the food was plentiful and there was good variety. The music along the course was great and the fans were very supportive.

On the half marathon course, there was no water left at the water stations from mile 6 on until mile 10! What were the organizers thinking!!!

The expo left a lot to be desired also.

Given that this is the largest marathon in Canada, the music was pretty poor.

A Rock' N Roll marathon in Vancouver may not be such a bad idea after all. I don't see how it could be any worse.

My worst marathon. Hardly any spectators! Didn't like the out-and-back course. Didn't like the bridge at mile 25! No food or entertainment at the end. Finisher's shirts too big. Didn't like the expo. Not even a marathon poster available for purchase.

Ran the marathon here a few years ago but this year tried the half. What a disaster. Critical water stations with no water (no water from Mile 5 to 11), horrible sports drink (Ultima - what happened to the light lemon flavor?). I really do feel sorry for the poor volunteers who work their butts off and end up with all sorts of abuse because of poor organization. Maybe in the future Vancouver can bring in professional organizers and we can have a world-class event.

I have run marathons in Victoria, Newport, Portland, and Disneyworld - and all have decent sports drinks (PowerAde or Gatorade) as well as gels.

Come on Vancouver, get with the program....

It was a beautiful run through the city. But I wasn't comfortable with the traffic. I understand the some roads have to be open for traffic; however there were over 14,000 participants. They could have organized it better. There was no water at the water stations in the most challenging parts, and there was a lack of spectators. The food after the race wasn't exactly the type of food people usually eat after a race. Anyway, I didn't find it too hilly, except the hill in Stanley Park.

The Good: Improvements have included the choice to sign up online and then mail in a check. Also there is indoor pre-race space at BC Place Stadium, with plenty of washrooms (it would be nice if the lights were on in the stadium washrooms though, the porta-potties on the stadium field were on a lit area). Also the "expo" is in a nice location, even though it is still very tightly controlled by sponsors, so don't expect a lot of variety there. Also they added timimg mats at the halfway mark, and at the 20-mile mark, which was nice (although those splits no longer show on the results, and they may fix that in the future). Also the results were online within hours of the race finishing, which was great.

The Bad: No gels handed out on course. Aid stations sometimes did not carry sports drinks, or handed out water in sports drink cups. Sometimes there would be two or three people serving a whole aid station. It could not keep up with a group running sub-3:00:00, I do not know how they would keep up with the rest of the runners. At the end we were handed out a plastic sheet, which did keep the rain out, but did not keep us warm. The reflective stuff is much better.

The Worse: I still do not understand why they have walkers at these events. Runners are hit early on with the marathon walkers, and later on with the half marathon walkers. They would walk six abreast blocking the course. I found it difficult to make it to some water stations because walkers completely blocked them. I had to push my way through them, as I need the hydration. It occured to me that walkers may be an easy source of revenue but, on second thought, they are far more expensive than runners. For they consume far more food and drinks, and they keep the roads closed to traffic for longer, which costs more money. Please drop the walkers, or give them a separate course. e.g., make them walk the seawall from Main St. near Canada Place to UBC and back(adjust for marathon distance). That would be great for them, as that would be a prettier course, and it is already off traffic. Keep the current course for the runners, as we do need the room the road provides.

That being said, I did a PB by 13 and a half minutes yesterday, and was very happy to do the race. It was my first time breaking 3 hours. The volunteers were great, very enthusiastic and helpful. Also I know the organizers worked hard to make this a great event.

Ran the full marathon. Felt there were too many turns around the city. The route through Stanley Park was great! Just the right number of spectators - I don't like too many screaming girls (like Boston).

Request that CHIP times be posted on the web and the certificate. My posted GUN time was 2 minutes slower than chip times. Don't encourage runners to crowd the front so their time would be more accurate when posted.

Post-race food had good variety. It was great that we could be INSIDE the BC Center before and after the race so we did not have to stand in the rain.

Who was in charge of water? No water until mile 3 or 4 - then there was no water from like miles 4-10 or something. It was crazy. If it wasn't for the rain, there would have been a lot of problems for medical people, etc... fire the guy in charge of water. The food at the end was the best I ever had. I partied all night on Granville St., then showed up just as the race started. I had a good time in the city.