I was worried that I may not be able to finish. I am 68 years old and this is by far the longest distance I have ever run. I have ran about 25 Half marathons. But I was pretty well prepared, I followed Jeff Galloway's Walk/Run programme, (5 min run, 1 min walk). and it really paid off. I felt strong at the last 2 miles so 'went for it' and finished without any problems. I thought the whole race from start to finish was very well organised, every water station was well equipped with lots of various energy builders and sports drinks, as well as water. The volunteers were awesome, all along the course, as were the spectators. I had read various comments from others, complaining about the hills, but I found them very easy, long gentle slopes and I ran up every one of them. I particularly liked the very fast downhill finish. Congratulations to the organisers, I hope to be back next year.

Being my first marathon, I was impressed with the organization of the course. Volunteers were holding clear signs to point out speed bumps and were standing on the course to prevent a wrong turn. The water stations were awesome, always marked for water or Ultima. Volunteers were handing out pieces of energy bars, oranges,and snacks with rubber gloves on. That was refreshing to see and greatly appreciated. This course is about as flat as you can get with the only incline back and forth on Burrard Bridge. Training in Montana made me realize that the hills I have to run on at home made the marathon course simple. (as simple as 26.2 miles can be). Spectators were cheering me on by name because it was printed on my bib number. That was great, really motivated me. This was a great first marathon and the only improvements I can recommend is that there be porta potties at the start because all of us had to go in the open and in a 'community spot.'

My comments are about the Half. My friends and I missed the start. There was no announcement telling us to get outside. Once we did, we couldn't figure out where the start was. The walkers started at the same time as the runners, so we had to weave through them and the slower runners. I never saw a mile marker until mile 6. I'm sure they were there, but were they behind all the participants? As someone else said, they ran out of water very early on. I talked to a woman who completed it in 1:40 and there was no water for her either at those two critical stations. And lastly, the web site: There's no net time listed for the half and it's a real challenge to find the information you want. But with all that said, I'll probably do it next year. The course is beautiful. Just get there early so you can get your bearings and carry your own water.

Great course, lousy water stations, terrible t-shirt, and a hard-to-navigate website.

My name is Efrain Aizman. This was my 5th marathon... and the worst. But it shows me something: If you finish this marathon, you can do anything in this world!!!

I probably could have done better if there was a little more attention given to hydration requirements of participants. I should have known to carry my own water with me because A) two water stops were missing in the second half (unacceptable), and B) Ultima Replenisher is worthless and it tasted like diluted saltwater. I wasn't too impressed with the course. I actually trained for hills, but these were more like gentle slopes. Also extremely frustrating was the fact that mile/KM markers were nonexistent and I actually had started joking with other runners during the race on how many they acutally saw. Really, this marathon is behind the times since mile markers were horribly placed and split time/gun time at critical points were not available. This makes it really, really hard to pace oneself. At lease put a split mark at the halfway point. If you are looking for a big-city/international marathon, this isn't it. I won't be back for the marathon, but I would return for other attractions BC has to offer. Course spectators were good despite the dreary weather, but don't expect the crowds.

I didn't mind the rain or the hills, both typical of Vancouver. And I knew from previous years that I had to carry my own food and Gatorade, since the sugar-free Ultima and Vector Bars are poor marathon fodder. However, I did expect to get water along the course. The first few stations were overwhelmed and to get water one had to line up and sometimes even pour it yourself. (At least they had water, unlike some of the half-marathon stations.) The stretch between water stations 10 and 11 (mile 18 to 20.5) is too long at such a gel consuming part of the race. My final complaint is the official timing, which was 1.5 minutes off my watch time.

On a positive side, most of the volunteers did an excellent job and were very cheerful despite the rain. The spectators were also great, and I liked the addition of our names on the number bibs.

Well organized, friendly assistance, and a gorgeous city. The size of the marathon is perfect: 5000 is enough to feel crowd energy without cramped running. The shirt is the absolute best, thank you. But please: I'd rather run hills than a warehouse district. The last 17 miles were gorgeous, the first 9 too many tight corners in the frumpiest part of town. Give us circles in Stanley Park?

This marathon needs a lot of improvement. There weren't mile/KM marks; the first one that I saw was at 5 miles and then at 12 miles. Not enough water stations and no GU energy gel or some sort of high-calorie energy food. We got gummy bears at around mile 18 and some hard-to-chew energy bars towards the end.

Race organizers are doing an exceptionally POOR job for a supposedly world-class event: no water, no Ultima at key aid stations (and Ultima is a terrible rehydrating source for endurance events), not enough calories (too many people I know get cramps because of electrolyte imbalance), and Vector Bars are inappropriate - especially with no water station close by. What are you thinking? Fans are great though, especially down the last 15 KM. The course is mostly scenic.