Overall, a great marathon. I just wish I remembered more of it. Miles 13 to 26.2 were a blur, mostly because I was cramping so bad. Aid station at mile 21 came in handy and the ladies there were nice enough to rub my calves with this oil and gave me a couple of ibuprofen. Great expo, but not great shirts (cotton). Medals were just okay. Great finish line and massage at the end! I would do this one again (if only to improve my time)! HA!

I think that the comments by my fellow runners as we rounded a corner about mile 23 and looked up... way up to the bridge, which about summed it up. None of them are repeatable without *expletive deleted*. As someone has commented, this has a lot more elevation that would tend to be suggested by the profiles. And having that climb so late in the race, and worse yet, the hill down... that was adding insult to injury.

I understand the need for the loops in the east end, and they didn't bother me too much, as I'm not running a race for sightseeing.

I appreciated the organization and the use of the BC Place stadium; great venue for start and finish, especially with the weather.

I'm not in it for the medal or the shirt, although the shirt did seem rather "cheap" compared with others I've received.

Crowd support was great despite the weather.

This was my third marathon (Bermuda and San Fran) and was by far the best organized. It was so nice to start and finish inside a building so you could relax and have access to "real" restrooms. Food at end was both good and plentiful. Nothing but praises. Vancouver certainly knows how to host a marathon!

What a great experience! I was somewhat leery of this race because of comments made about the 2006 event. The problems from the past had either been fixed or were over exaggerated. The fan support was fantastic, even in the rain! The course was scenic and relatively flat with just enough elevation change to make it interesting.

The only negative feedback I can offer concerns suprisingly small finisher's medals, and it seemed like I had to walk a kilometer after the finish to get something to drink.

All in all, well done, Vancouver!

Coming from Chicago I have come to respect the hills that back home we would call mountains. Buyer beware, the full marathon course has a little bit more grade than you will see in the course layout.

Past my own personal struggle to elevate, I would have to give many thanks to some of the best fans I have seen in a race. I swear that more people showed up after the drizzle started.

There was not one aid station that was not fully supported and stocked. The volunteers were amazing and enthusiastic.

I come from a very pretty city, but I have to tip my hat to Vancouver. This entire city was an exciting run from start to finish. While I do not know the entire city, I have to disagree that we ran through the ghetto. Being a city boy most of my life I have come to appreciate the variety that most major cities are going to offer.

I am writing this since I put a lot of time in reading about races before I sign-up. I have to say that I was surprised to see many of the past concerns seemed to be addressed in 2007: we were allowed to wait for the race to start inside (warm!!!), etc.

I hope that the same respect is given to this year's concerns. I have to echo others complaints:
1. Don't replicate the half marathon shirt by putting "full marathon" on the cotton long sleeve finisher shirt.... That's cheesy and cheap.

If I put in twice (arguably more) the effort, I would like to see the same return in the T-shirt.

2. The expo was on par with a race I did in Ft. Worth Texas with 1/4 of the entrants. If you are sacrificing the expo for The Running Room, you are doing your entrants a great disservice (overpriced and not that much variety in products).

3. Please send me the real medal. I know you were just kidding by giving me the one you gave me. Please, tell me you were kidding.

My first marathon, but not too impressed in my hometown. It's a given I take our scenery for granted, so I look for other things about the marathon itself. For example: Not enough toilets, non-technical shirt. Last year the half marathon didn't have water for most of the course and I pray that they fixed that for the half marathoners this year. The course was tough - not flat. Lots of spectators were cheering me on. The bib with your name is a cool touch. I'll run again.

This was my second half-marathon, both in Vancouver. I don't think I can add too much to what's already been said other than to enlighten everyone about the 'garage doors'. What the runners were actually in were airlocks, in place to keep the roof of the building inflated. If the air pressure inside falls below a certain level, then the roof will collapse. The airlocks are the fastest and easiest way to move the large numbers of people from the course to inside. Vancouver, keep up the good work. I'm not in this for the shirt or the food afterward...just the rush of achievement! Thanks for another great year.

Running in Vancouver is ALWAYS a pleasure; however, for the relatively high entry-fee, I would expect a better runner's fair, a TECHNICAL finisher's shirt, a nicer race medal, and Gu/gels at later stages of the race. Having run Eugene, OR the week prior (a first-rate event!), I was kind of disappointed by Vancouver's somewhat mediocre efforts in what can be a spectacular setting to run. Know that with minor tweaking and a desire to provide better value to participants, this event could be much better as a premier running event in Canada. My thoughts: I am optimistic that VIM can do much better than this!

Someone complains here about running through skid row. E. Hastings St. is skid row. Alexander street, where we ran, is nearby, but it was not so bad. It has some nice old buildings. Honestly I did not have any negative thoughts while running through it. They suggest running in nicer parts of the city. Sadly this is it. The nice parts of Vancouver are all around downtown, the West End, and Kits, where we ran. We also did Fairview and some of the downtown eastside early in the race, which are not so nice. Where else do they suggest we run? They could add Spanish Banks, past the turn around on W 4th. But that would either make that out and back longer, or add a big hill if we come back around UBC. Going anywhere South or North of the current course will add big hills. Going East is not very pretty. If you want to go West, then you better bring your swimsuit.

I agree the Expo is poor, and it is so because of exclusive sponsorships by The Running Room and Aidas. If the organizers could free themselves from exclusive sponsorships, the Expo could be much better.

People complain about Ultima on the course. It is true that it has no energy, but it still has electrolytes. So drink it. You can get energy from gels, which you have to bring yourself.

One suggestion that I have is give out the plastic sheets to keep runners warm right after the finish line. They handed them on the entrance of the heated stadium, a long walk from the finish line, when one no longer would need them.

This is one of my favourite runs, but mostly because I lived in Van for a long time.

The organization was very good. The Expo was fine and packet pick up was easy. The course was relatively easy and very scenic for an inner city race. We didn't have to spend many miles going through boring industrial areas like a lot of courses. I didn't think the hills were bad but some people disagreed with me. The fans were a great help and I was surprised to see so much support despite the rain. Pre and Post race location indoors was terrific. In that respect Vancouver is better than New York, Chicago and Boston. We would have frozen in the rain after the race without shelter. There were plenty of post race snacks. Vancouver is one of the races where they provided enough post race food for marathoners and half marathoners. 1st time I have ever had milk served after a race. My only complaint is with the so called energy drink. Ultima is nasty tasting, stomach churning and powerless. It does not provide enough energy for athletes running a marathon. Why can't race directors stick to Gatorade or Powerade? Those drinks provide the energy we need and don't upset our stomachs.