The expo was great, however I'm surprised New Balance was absent. Marathon start was a disaster. Three different starts and none were specific. Volunteers leading the runners didn't know which way to send the runners. Water stations were not sufficient specially in Stanley Park. Gatorade or electrolytes were missing throughout the entire marathon. I ran with a bottle of water, otherwise I don't think I would have finished. Medal was very small, needs to be improved in size. Other than that I think I will be back. Vancouver is beautiful!!

I agree with the prior comments about this race. I chose it because they stated it was 'flat & fast' and I beg to differ. I've seen San Francisco's and Humboldt, CA courses and it matched those courses well. It's not that the elevation of the hills was high, it was that they were very long and gradual so subsequently hard on the quads both uphill and downhill. I would have definitely trained for hills if I had known this so I wouldn't of hurt so much afterwards!

Also, it was not as pretty as they say in the beginning of the race, but nice in the park and great crowd support. I could have done without the slow song at the start and all of the extremely loud music (and drummers) throughout the course! The expo was nice and the city was fun. Thanks.

This (2004 marathon) was my third and most enjoyable marathon. Vancouver is a beautiful city, as is the course. You cover different parts of the city and 3-4 miles in beautiful Stanley Park, which is a nice contrast to the city. The organization is great and you can tell that the organizers think first and foremost about runners. It's not some big corporate event.

The start time is perfect (7:30) and the race started on time. (The same was true of the half marathon, which started at 7:00). Every water stop also had a sports drink. Sponges were given out at 4 stations, the first at around mile 18.

There were about 4,500 marathon runners, a size I find ideal. (My prior marathons were L.A. and N.Y. Although there is something to be said for the spectacle of a large-sized marathon, personally, I prefer something smaller.) There are not tons of crowds, but I find this to be a plus too. There certainly are enough, especially at the latter stages of the race (from around mile 16). My chip time was very accurate. Weather in 2004 was perfect (cloudy and cool, but not cold). I highly recommend this one!

Very little of the course features beautiful vistas. Too much of the course goes through ordinary commercial and ordinary residential areas. Prime running courses like the 'sea wall' and Stanley Park were used at a minimum. What little of the bay I saw was littered with marine fuel platforms (featuring their corporate logos) and tankers.

Too much of the course was 'hairpin' filler-miles (run in a straight line to a point and run back). So you see a lot of looking at other runners coming back from the road cone you want to run around.

At one point in the race, the volunteers had no idea where the course was and steer us 2 blocks off course. That was incredibly lame!

Make sure to bring your own gel and electrolytes. No gel is provided. Small portions of bars were provided halfway though. Diluted Ultima was provided throughout.

The climate was perfect the day I ran. High overcast. Temperature ranged from the upper 60s to lower 70s. The 2 days before the race the temperatures were closer to 80.

This is a good race if the race is just a small feature of your vacation in Vancouver. Flying in on Saturday and flying out on Monday is a waste.

This race should give you better appreciation of your past races that you might not have been too impressed with.

It is my understanding that pre-2003 Vancouver Marathons featured more cities on the north side of the bay and more of the bay. It is my guess programmers had problems getting permits to race through those cities.

Organizers said in the promotional material the course was relatively flat, even flatter than previous years. For someone from the Midwest, this was very deceiving. Most of the course has rolling hills, with the last seven miles the most difficult (including the steepest grade at mile 25 over the Burrand Bridge). The city itself was a great travel destination. It's very scenic, especially North Vancouver, Stanley Park and Lyn Canyon, with great hotels and restaurants.

I found the water tables poorly manned and the kilometers and mileage poorly marked. Needs to be improved!! Getting your shirt at the end of the marathon is not a good idea, just put it in the race package. The food/drinks were excellent. Thank you for all your hard work.

This was my first marathon. After training here in Vancouver all winter, the marathon was a very homey event. Knowing a lot of runners in the race made it comfortable. The rain was very annoying, but the temperature was not too bad. The course, however, was well chosen. Too bad they have taken the Prospect Point hill out of the course for next year. It was a good break in the pace, and good scenery. The free CD with Quicktime movies of the race, including our finish, that was mailed to everyone, was a very nice souvenir. It captured the magic of running this marathon.

The volunteers were great. Not enough toilet facilities at the start, lots of men and women relieving themselves in a garden in the start area. Someone I know started 15 minutes late because she was lining up to use the toilet. Chip timing credited her for lost time. The shirt pickup area was way too crowded because they let friends and family of runners go in the area. I wish they would keep them out. Overall a great time, I look forward to doing it again on May 2nd, 2004.

This is an absolutely beautiful marathon! I did it for the first time in 2002 and came back in 2003. This is one of those races where you can see the entire city by running through it! Volunteers and spectators are wonderful!

I ran the full last year (2002) and the half this year (2003). The course is great ? I actually like the half course better because it takes in all of the best of the full course (Gas Town, Chinatown, downtown, Stanley Park, two separate waterfronts) without the long out-and-back.

I agree with people who say they should keep the bridges and the big hill at Stanley Park. That hill is the only significant hill on the entire course, and is shorter even than the one in San Diego, which is considered to be a ?fast? course. My only complaint about the bridges (on the full course) is the LAST one: at about mile 25, the course looped under the bridge then made a steep climb up to the bridge, then went up and over it ? ugh!

One of the things I like about running in Vancouver is the accessibility of the city to the course. Both times I stayed at wonderful hotels within walking distance of the course, with wonderful views. What a city! Great crowds for both races.

By the way, both the full and half courses were personal bests for me. I think the cool weather had a lot to do with that. Will have to try Victoria next?

You guys put on a great event. Coming from flat Winnipeg, all we heard about were the hills. What hills? Mountains, snow-covered peaks, water, huge trees, great looking women. It does not get better then this. Running in the rain was novel for our group. We all exceeded our expectations, and all had so much energy it was unreal. I found running the hill in Stanley Park surreal. With the rain and the heat from the runners bodies, the road up to Prospect Point was misty: very surreal. We appreciated the music on the course, and the wonderful folks at the water stations. Being wet all day, these folks cheered like hell for us - thanks. I should also say a big thanks to the wonderful group from the Edmonton Running Room - you guys rock. The only thing that needs to be looked at is the recovery area; it took far too long to get your dry stuff, but the hot soup was very much appreciated. This was my 32nd marathon, and I enjoyed it the most. Vancouver, you have a wonderful city and a wonderful marathon. As Arnold said: 'We'll be back'.