This is my first marathon... with that said, I have little experience to compare this to, but here is what I have to offer:

First, Vancouver is worth a visit for whatever reason. It is a beautiful city, surrounded by millions of acres of playground. Just look to the north and all you see are snow-covered mountains.

We stayed downtown at the Ramada Limited. It was just okay, with a good continental breakfast. Stanley Park is amazing; it's a must see.

The expo was not what I thought it would be. There was a lot of advertising for other marathons that I will never get to run and little info on the one I was about to run. There was plenty of gear to buy if I had forgotten any of mine.

The pre-race pasta dinner was good, but not worth the $21 for each of my family members. It seemed a little much for plastic forks and paper plates, oh and there was only water to drink; good for me, but my kids would have liked to have something else to choose from.

The marathon experience itself was awesome for me, with a few exceptions. No gels, but they had Ultima, which has no carbs and few calories. I had to bring my own and run with a Camelback. The stop at 6 miles I noticed had run out of Ultima. No split times were posted. No pace groups. Finally the course leaves a little to be desired. It was less than scenic and the 2 out-and-backs were painfully drab. The half ran 2.5 more miles in Stanley Park than did the full. Also, I did not see any construction on the Seawall, which is the reason we did not run it. I could be wrong about that.

Overall, a marathon is about you challenging yourself... I met the challenge and that is what matters. I would not run this marathon again even if I lived there.

Course: Beautiful (for the most part) and challenging. The last 1/3 of the race had more challenging hills than I expected. You were either going up or down for most of it. I run on hills all the time, but this still caught me off guard. I still set a PR, but it was not near what I was shooting for.

Spectators: Great. For the first 16 miles there is very little in the way of specators. But when you need them on the back half of the marathon going over the bridge and hills, they are there. Having run smaller races in the past, this was a new experience for me.

Organization: My only complaint is how they organized the pacers at the start of the race. The problem is they didn't. Instead of having big signs out early so people could self-segregate, they had the pacers join the crowds only minutes before the start. By that time the crowds were to thick and I had first-time marathoners hoping for a 6-hour finish standing in front of me.

Watering Holes: Well stocked for me. But I noticed some of the earlier stations having a hard time keeping up, so people farther back in the pack might have had issues.

Weather: Fantastic. But spring in the Northwest is tricky. The very next day it was raining on and off. If you plan on doing this race, bring all types of clothes and be ready for anything.

Overall: I will definitely consider doing this marathon again, but there are so many to choose from I am not sure when I will be back.

The course itself was great and the volunteers were awesome as well as spectators. I was extremely disappointed in the fuel up stations. To me "fuel up" doesn't mean eat a tiny piece of chocolate... I'm running a marathon here! I need some thing like Powerbars or more oranges... Anyway, also at the end of the race I was very disappointed that because I did not run a 3-hour marathon, I also cannot get a shirt that fits me. It is disappointing to pay so much to do this run and then not even be able to wear the shirt... also the food at the end sucked... bagels are great, but seriously what did I pay for???

This is a repeatable race. #15 for me and by far the best course, the best city, the best race. No, it is not a easy course, it is a challenge, but the scenery through every part of Vancouver is great. The support at the aid stations is very organized. The expo is lacking but remember it is catering to Canadian runners so it does not cater to American runners and our sometimes elite attitude. As they say in Canada this is a 'no worries' race.

Excellent event. I am local and always appreciate the awesome Vancouver scenery. As a walker, and being near the end of the pack on certain occasions, it didn't seem like the volunteers displayed much appreciation for the effort that the last of the pack were putting in (standing in the middle of the routes, etc.). However, had a fabulous time - but wish that at the end I wasn't sent to the wrong place to pick up my shirt only to have to walk back to the finish line to spend another 5 minutes waiting. Thanks to the volunteer who helped me out!

A little disorganized, but otherwise good.

Though I had a bad day and dropped out at 18, it was still a great day. The race was clearly marked, and the fans were great. Vancouver is not a flat town, but they try and make the route as smooth as possible. I had a bad day, but I'm not going to blame VIM for that. VIM did a great job with this race. When I was walking (very slowly) to the finish, lots of race officials talked to me to make sure that I was alright.

I'm not sure if I'll be back, but I did have a great time in Vancouver.

Much as I enjoyed the course, I was disappointed that the mile markers and water/sports beverage aid stations were so few and far between. As the temperature for marathon day was not as cool as preferred by runners, we were all bemoaning the fact that water stations didn't loom ahead at every mile or two.

Regardless, I enjoyed the run and the many friendly people I met along the course.

I was disappointed in the organization of this race. This was my 11th marathon and I have to say almost the worst I have run in terms of the race organization. To start with, they have changed the expo location from previous years, and although I should have read this in the information, I did not, and showed up at the Plaza of Nations with several other people who had made the same mistake. We had no idea where to go and there was no sign to tell you where the expo was, which would have been helpful.

The course was nice other that the first 8 miles or so of industrial area. Most of the course was quite hilly with long inclines. The worst part of the race was the finish area. It was a disaster! I finished in just under 5 hours and was very tired, and after waiting in an air lock area to get into the stadium found virtually no food. All there was to eat was some digusting looking sticky donuts, some crackers and white, bare bagels. I asked where the yogurt, bananas, etc. were and was told that they were all gone. There was no juice or power drink of any kind so they were handing out milk. The finisher's shirts were another disappointment as I was told now that there were no smalls left, and was given a medium which fit me like a dress.

Not everyone is a fast runner. Slower runners pay the same entrance fee and deserve the same as faster runners. There were a few hundred runners behind me. What was left for them?

The volunteers and spectators were excellent as was the music and camaraderie on the course. My thanks to these people.

Unfortunately I could not face doing this race again. Definitely pack a lunch if you consider this race.

The Vancouver Marathon is an experience that I will never forget in my life. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. I am glad to know that even if I only do one marathon in my life that I chose what I think is the most beautiful courses around.

This is is still one of my favorite marathons as it has a good mix of everything in terms of hills and flats. The weather can be a little challenging as it is held in the spring and the weather is unpredictable. The course is beautiful. It's definitely not a course for a PR unless you put hills in your training routine.

Contrary to the comments by JD, I think the refreshments and station aid is adequate for a field size like Vancouver. I didn't have problems in the last 2 marathons I did. However, there is always major congestion at the hall where the finisher shirts are given out. I will be doing it again in 2005. Hopefully, this time it will be more organized.