Amazing the comments on this marathon in such a short-time. I am especially surprised at such runners that already state, "Would not run it again."

Do you remember the first time you ran your first marathon? How many mistakes or oversights did you commit? How much more organized are you now than in your first attempt? I am willing to wager than if your first marathon effort as a walker/runner was judged by peers/friends/family, everyone would say, "Heck, don't support so-and-so, he/she was a complete mess and did a poor job.... My recommendation is for so-and-so is to NEVER attempt another marathon again."

A1A was solid for a first-time marathon. Not great, but good. My key issues were 1) crown on road, 2) was not notified at the finish at the award's ceremony was a mile away, 3) returning to starting line for parked vehicles and traffic was ridiculous.

However, the best part about the course was 1) Birch State Park, 2) the scenery of the ocean, 3) the ocean immediately at the finish line so you could soak/ice bath after the finish in the cool Atlantic.

Bottom line is that I would definitely run this race again if it fits in my schedule. It's tough to run because you have Palm Beach in Nov., Disney and Miami in Jan., and now Ft. Lauderdale in Feb., so it takes a backseat as far as weather is concerned.

However, I expect this race to grow quite a bit and become a great race. Great job, A1A and keep your heads up.

I ran the half marathon and had a great time. I live in Florida so I am used to running in the heat and I didn't find the heat a problem at all.

From my experience I had no problems with water stations, toilets, shuttles, packet pick-up. As for the medals, big deal if you don't get one the minute the race ends. You are still going to get one, just later than expected. I think most people here are focusing on the wrong thing. Focus on the race itself and how the experience was... not whether you received a COMPLEMENTARY medal at the finish.

I stayed at a hotel near the finish and didn't have to worry about a shuttle back to the start, but the shuttles to the start line in the morning ran fine. No line, just got on the shuttle and went.

Overall, I had a great time. I love running near the beach. I will be back for sure. As for those who are upset... it was an inaugural marathon. It will be better next year. No doubt in my mind.

There were many good things about this inaugural marathon and I did enjoy my overall experience. It's a shame that the shortage of medals and some other avoidable issues detracted from the overall success of the race. If the race organizers take the comments and suggestions of runners seriously, these problems are correctable and the race can become an outstanding event next year.

First, good things: The course itself was very good, with good ocean views, neighborhoods and Birch Park. I thought that there were plenty of water/PowerAde tables and portable toilets along the course. Before the race, I was concerned that there may be a lack of these amenities after the half-marathon turn-around point, but this was not the case. The volunteers at the expo, along the course and at the finish line were very supportive and helpful. With respect to spectators, there weren't many but those that were along the course were supportive and had very positive attitudes. I also thought that the expo, the start area, the start of the race and the finish area (including amenities) were well set up and organized.

Unfortunately, there were some problems with the way the race was organized. The single biggest issue for me, and apparently for other runners based on the other comments that have been posted, was the shortage of medals. There was no justifiable reason for this. There were about 1,700 half-marathon and 330 marathon finishers for a total of about 2,030 finishers. The race organizers initially had been planning on 4,000 runners. Also, the Sun-Sentinel reported on February 9 that with 10 days left until the inaugural A1A Marathon, race entries surpassed the 2,000 mark. According to race organizers, there are 2,230 runners and walkers entered - 1,690 in the half-marathon and 540 in the marathon for the Feb. 19 event. With that much advance notice, in particular for the marathon that according to the article had 540 registered runners as of February 9, but only had 330 finishers, there was no excuse for not having enough medals. The explanation on the A1A Marathon website that there was a shortage because a lot of runners signed up on Saturday just doesn't gel with the cited pre-registration numbers. Other problems I saw or read about that didn't significantly affect me were a) the paucity of water stations between mile 22 and the finish, b) the inadequate transportation from the finish line back to the start area, c) the distance from the finish to the awards ceremony, and d) that some runners short circuited the course apparently by not going through Birch Park.

All of these problems are easily correctable to make a truly great race next year. First of all, I would suggest that finishers medals are sent ASAP to all of the half-marathon and marathon finishers that didn't get one. And by the way, because it's funny how one screw-up can lead to another, I'd recommend that they be real careful to send half-marathon medals to the half-marathon finishers and marathon medals to the marathon finishers. Secondly, I'd recommend that the race organizers carefully read all of the comments that have been made and seriously consider the suggestions to correct these problems. For example, a chip reading mat could be put at mile 23 in Birch Park to make sure that every finisher in fact went through the park.

My morning started off with a bang - I never thought I would make it up that high overpass, but I did. Just watching the other runners gave me the confidence I needed to complete the race! Although I walked most of it, I was still able to finish around 3 hours. Congratulations to the organizers, despite that fact that some have said that there was not sufficient water stations, they did a great job! Show me a perfect event and I will show you one made in heaven! I am looking forward to your Grand Bahama event and I hope you will call on some of the local runners to give you a hand. Perhaps you can also present us with our medals since we did not get them while we were in Ft. Lauderdale last week.

I had a ball!

While it was not perfect, these guys did an awesome job for a first marathon. The start was fabulous. There were hotel bathrooms, porto-potties, lots of places to park and lots of room to stretch out.

The problems came toward the end. Yes, the sun made it hot, and there was no shade during the last 13 miles, but the big problem was that there was no water from mile 24 to mile 26. That meant the last water station was at mile 23, and there was finally a water stop at mile 25.8, just before the end.

Also, I walked a mile and half to my car since there were no advertised bus shuttles to be found.

I did get a medal but I can understand those people being upset who didn't.

Overall, this was my 16th marathon, and I ran a PR time. I was down visiting my parents, so this was great preparation - a marathon before the family.

I loved the run along the ocean. There was a lot of encouragement along the course. Birch Park was great (though no shade).

Overall, the plusses clearly outweigh any minuses, and any problems they had are easily solvable to make this an even better event.

This was a great marathon. The organizers, volunteers, traffic patrol and few spectators are all to be congratulated! The event was well planned, the course (AMAZING, but NO SHADE), the water tables and PowerAde were plentiful (but the volunteers were clueless if it was PowerAde or Gatorade). The port-a-potties were well spaced and there was plenty of food at the finish line.

Usually a marathon will feature a specific flavor of PowerAde/Gatorade, but they actually had different flavors along the course. It actually helped me to pass the time: hmmmm... what color will be at the next station?

The course description was exactly correct. Only one hill, the causeway very early in the race. I was a bit disappointed when I entered the park at mile 22 however, because I was expecting a tree-lined park to have shade - IT DID NOT (it was probably 10:30 a.m. when I entered that area - I'm slow).

My only criticism is very fixable but difficult to understand. As mentioned in other comments, they ran out of medals! I think the organizers were also struggling with it since I heard several different versions of what happened. "Either we didn't order enough, or a box was sitting in someone's car." Regardless, it is a major disappointment. After I am out there for 5:15 I truly look forward to finishing and getting the medal draped around my neck, and then... the finish photo. (They did have a medal for us slowpokes to borrow for the photo!).

I believe I've taken the disappointment in a mature manner, but it just doesn't feel "real" without that medal. I've already sent in my yellow order form so I'll be standing by my mailbox daily waiting to receive it.

This was a great experience. I would recommend it and consider running it again. It will only improve with time.

Nice course but many glitches for a first-time marathon, Drove all the way to Ft. Lauderdale (90 miles) on Saturday only to find that we could pick up the number and chip at the starting line on race morning. No medium and small T-shirts were available. Start line was 2 miles from the finish, hated having to walk back to my car 2 miles away, no shuttle bus. Really, really disappointed not to get my medal at the finish; do not take registrations over medal amount. Some water stops ran out of cups, and the finish line ran out of bottled water. Loved the water stop from the Stork Cafe with cookies - great idea!!!!

Won't do this marathon again, too many disappointments, especially the medal issue.

I coach a group of runners and walkers in Miami. I was VERY upset that some of my runners who were running their first marathon at the A1A crossed the finish line only to find out they had run out of medals. There were only around 300 full marathon runners. If the race was open to 4,000 people how could you run out of medals? Our half marathon runners and walkers who finished after 2:15 or so didn't get a medal either. You would think with a three-month delay they'd have time to anticipate and order the exact number of medals they needed. I would think it'd be better to have ordered too many medals than to risk losing registrants for 2007 because of this race's apparent lack of organization.

We loved the course, but they need to do a better job for next year in planning the number of medals to pre-order.

This marathon was a complete mess, the lowlights follow:

Registration was very confusing, packets were not prepared, and they ran out of the chips.

At registration I registered my personal Champion Chip, but they didn't enter it correctly! They gave the chip that was assigned to me to a person who ran the half marathon. When I tried to correct the mistake, they changed the name on the chip, moved it to the full marathon, but kept the original time. Hence, I am currently the 3rd place overall in the marathon with a time of 3:28! RIGHT! I wish! That 3:28 belongs to whoever ran with that chip in the half marathon, not the full.

The course was open to rollerbladers, bikers, strollers, walkers, runners, joggers, basically anyone who wandered into the course. Several cars also crossed the cones, and in fact one runner was hit by a car. (A triathlete was hit by a car in an event organized by the same company a few years back.)

The course had nutritional suppliments in the form of GU at mile 13 and cookies at mile 20, and that was it! Way too few for a full marathon.

The medical tents had no Biofreeze and no painkillers.
I was among the several people who did not get a medal on finishing because they ran out, although I am not so sure that is a bad thing, as those who did get the medals saw that the date on them is Nov. 12, 2005, not Feb 19, 2006 - when the race was actually run.

I have contacted the company regarding the mistake in the time and have yet to receive a response!

I would NOT recommend this race to anyone; run Miami or Tampa, as they are far better organized.

Great race. Organization was top-notch. The course was beautiful and there were a decent number of spectators. Only one hill and that was the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway about a 1/2-mile into the race. The rest was pancake-flat. The beer at mile 20 was great. You need the carbs - right?

My complaints are minor. Courtesy corraling does not work. Lots of slow people thought they needed to be at the front of the pack and the corral was wider than the start line, which added to the initial congestion. The water station at mile 24 in the park only had one volunteer, so it was basically stop and help yourself.

It was unfortunate that there were not enough medals for all the finishers but I have to take up for the race director, Steven Tebon. If you go to the results page of the A1A website you can read his explanation that basically says the decision was made to allow late registration on the day before the race. The alternative would have been to turn away runners. I think he made the right call. The refreshments at the end were fine. The weather was hot but that is uncontrollable and the week before the race it was in the upper 30's. I'll be back next year.