-Hotels/ parking near the start location very convenient. Plenty of porta-potties and you can wait indoors prior to the race when it is 28 degrees outside!

-Water/Gatorade stations well organized, good population of porta-potties along course (didn't really see any lines after 10K), neighborhoods handed out oranges/candy, Gu stations later on.

-Great finish. You can't get a personalized finale like that in NY!

-Downside would be the pre- and post-race food. Nothing for the pre- (unless you wanted to buy snacks in the Holiday Inn). As for post-... well, I got a bottle of water at the finish line, painfully lumbered my way out of the stadium down the street to the post "party" in the Boling Arena where spectators apparantly had eaten most of the food. Only bananas, apples with peanut butter and some Gatorade left. Not worth the effort to go to the arena unless you needed a free message. Runners' food should be at the stadium.

-Overall, a good event. I was apprehensive because of the race profile and my lack of weekly mileage but strength training/cross training really paid dividends for this type of course.

This is an exceptionally well-organized race. The hills are challenging, but nothing crazy. Superb support on the course, great crowd encouragement, especially from the residents of the beautiful neighborhoods along the course. The race staff did an awesome job and really knows how to organize a first-class race. The finish in Neyland Stadium was spectacular. Highly recommended.

This was my 8th marathon. I was pleasantly surprised - I expected the hills to be tough but they were not as bad as what I expected. The support through the neighborhoods was great - very well organized (better than some of the big marathons). It was just the right number of participants without being "too little" or "too big." I would recommend this marathon to anyone that would like a change from the flat BIG marathons but not an extremely difficult course.

This was the first marathon I have ever run!!!! The course and the fans exceeded all of my expectations! This race was well organized and the support of the Knoxville community was very impressive and motivating. The hills made this cours challenging, but the beauty of Knoxville made the hills all worth it! I highly recommend this course to all runners!

Training-wise, I was better prepared for this race using objective metrics like splits on regular interval runs, etc. But the hills in the first 10 miles took all the life out of my legs. Not every marathon should be flat, but do this one if you want a challenge. There were some sections where the cement road had asphalt patches around 15-17 miles, but overall the first ten miles were through very nice neighborhoods and a bike path. The last six were through more nice neighborhoods and took you back downtown. Finishing in Neyland Stadium is really cool. Cold this year - about 35 at the start - but I kept my nutrition and hydration plan the same as for warmer days. Lungs felt great at the end, but I had no legs left. Again, do this one if you want a challenge.

OK, I read all the blogs about this race months before showing up on the start line and I have to admit, I was a little nervous about tackling all of the "killer hills" - especially because this was to be my marathon debut. Let me tell you, this marathon kicked ass! I had an awesome experience and loved every aspect of the race from the course to the volunteers to the finishers hat you get at the end. I seriously don't consider myself a dynamite fast/strong runner (I average a 12+ minute pace), so if I can do this course and feel great, then you can too. I still wonder where all of these ridiculous hills were that everyone was crying about. I mean come on, how boring and sore would a flat course be? I live in Atlanta and was good about hitting some hills during my training runs and I'm sure that helped. But I really showed up thinking it was going to be a lot tougher than it was.

My husband and friends brought their bikes up and were able to cruise around the course that way to cheer everyone on. But really this course was cool because it wasn't too congested and the scenery was beautiful. I mean, come on, we got to finish in Neyland Stadium, which naturally made you feel like a star. Yes, it was 29 degrees on race morning, but it really wasn't that bad at all. I would definitely do this race again and recommend it to others.

The expo this year was 10 times better than last year. A little chilly at the starting line, but that's to be expected from a spring marathon. An awesome finish to a challenging course. The finisher party was a little weak. No carb sources when I went through and no bottles of drinks, just very small cups.

Good: Organizers energetic; average expo; good selection of merchandise; early start.

Poor: No finisher's shirt; the post-race "party" was meager and about 1/3 of a mile away; virtually zero spectators.

This race met and exceeded any expectation I've had for all the races I've run. The weather was perfect. Throughout the registration, expo, & course you can definitely see that each component was designed and managed by runners. The layout, support, and overall management were fabulous! I would definitely recommend this run to others. I generally don't repeat races, but this one will be an exception. I will be back next year.

Who says you can't have a PR on a tough and hilly course? I couldn't believe it, but I actually qualified for Boston with this race and going into it I didn't think I would even come close with the hills on the course, but we got great weather and things just worked out....

Very well organized, one of the better races that I have been to. I also like the fact that the start of the race is right next to the convention center and although it wasn't that cold it was still nice to be able to relax and stretch inside with a number of bathrooms available in the convention center. It was also nice to walk out and have 100 feet to the starting line.

Overall its a good race and will hopefully be doing it again next year....