I really enjoyed this marathon. In addition to running past the National Mall, we toured several areas off the beaten path, plus several miles through Rock Creek Park. Several weeks ago I ran the Myrtle Beach Marathon, and found that course a bit boring. I was never bored during this race.
I have a few suggestions that would make this race even better: The volunteers were attentive at most of the intersections, but there were times when on-course markings would have been helpful. There were no porta potties until miles into the race and nowhere to sneak off into the bushes. Though I finished the race within the cut off time, I had to play leap frog with the street sweeper crews for the last 13 miles. These machines were not only noisy, but rather intimidating as they drove up behind me. (Myrtle Beach also had to open the roads as soon as their race was finished, and they had a much better system for handling their rolling clean-up.)
The technical race shirt is soft and comfortable. I am proud I was able to do a marathon in our nation's capital and think the shirt's design could be improved to better reflect the race's location.
If you are looking for a marathon in our nation's capital, this is the one to choose. The volunteers were great, the police helpful in traffic control,and the city was well showcased. Yes there were some hills, but they only added to the challenge of this race.

This marathon was awesome! The first half was pretty easy, and while the second half was considerably more difficult, it was much better than the first half. I ran this race just to have fun, take pictures, talk to people, and screw around. I ACCIDENTLY got my PR at this race. I would love to do this one again. Any errors I saw were always for the better; there seemed to be more water stops than was reported in advance, and all of them had Gatorade. Gu was everywhere in the second half. The spectators ROCKED! One of them ran with me and sang the LSU fight song with me (an LSU alum). The only problem was that I listened to them say, "This is the last hill, I promise" - and I believed them every time.

Anyway this marathon rocked. DO IT!

Very well organized race. I can only imagine that it was no small feat to successfully coordinate a race through DC. What better way to tour the city? Kudos to the volunteers and cops who helped make the race safe and enjoyable. The fans who came out were also great, even though the runners probably liked the cool/misty weather more.

I cribbed this from a friend's blog but with editing reflects my views too - I ran the Half:
Positives:
Challenging course without being a killer. Huge downhill by the Capitol at mile 2; rolling hills from miles 8 through 12; but all runnable, nothing too brutal.
Excellent course layout through interesting neighborhoods and through the Mall
Several occasions to see front-runners on other side of road
Fantastic road closures, well-monitored
Plenty of room to run after the first mile
Frequent, well-stocked aid stations, including gel at Mile 9 of the half
Lots of parking close to the start
Ample bathrooms (and shelter from rain!) at start
Nice medals and finish area
One of few races requiring qualifying times - knowledgeable runners
Good support by DC Mayor Fenty, who ran the marathon
Fun atmosphere
Free beer!

Negatives:
Ugly white see-through t-shirt, although technical fabric
Few exhibitors at expo (and having to go there on a Friday)
Somewhat disorganized corral-free, seeding-free start
(I really hated this and it made my first mile very slow.)
Some aid stations were light on volunteers
Some broken city pavement after the winter
Unpredictable weather (rainy at the start this year, then drizzle for most of the race)
Minimal food selection at finish area (bagels and bananas) although ample
Leading marathoners had to run through half-marathoners at finish - could have been prevented with better coning to split road in last mile
Half marathon course was long (almost .4)
Few spectators, relatively little support from local residents

I have read several fellow half-marathon runners that noticed the same predicament I did: we run an extra 1/3 of a mile. My Garmin showed that I pounded 13.48 miles, rather than the 13.11 I had expected. That put a toll on my lactic acid intake and forced me to slow down at 13.11 miles after I had initiated my kick at 12.61 miles (according to my Garmin) and I still had - go figure - about 500 meters to go. It may not be recommendable to trust a Garmin to gauge your kick, BUT that would be reasonable if it was off by 0.1 or 0.15 miles, but by George, not by 0.37 miles (that is a brutal addition to a body cramping due to over-exertion). I would recommend the organizers focus more in double-checking this sort of distances for future races. Most of us train hard to break our PR's or get us a qualifying shot on another race.

Ps. I give the course a "4" for its beauty - not for its accuracy. The organization gets a "1" for forgetting how to measure the distance for a race. A "5" to the few guys and gals who endured the rain and for being there at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday just to make us feel good.

I didn't run the first race in 2006 after I saw the course. When I saw the 2007 course, I knew that I wanted to do it. The course itself was terrific for about 20 miles. The last 5 miles were in neighborhoods that have seen better days. But to its credit the good parts of the course were great- hitting most of the high points of DC. The rain was a little bit of a downer but at least it was reasonably warm and not like the previous weekend (Ice/snow/ flight cancellations up and down the East Coast). Packet pick up was easy but I could hardly call it an expo- there were probably 12 vendors at it tops. The start area was great and had everything you need- water, port-o's and coffee. One problem was that there were no port-o's on the course until 7.5 miles (for alot of runners, that is 50-80 minutes w/o a toilet) . As a guy, it is a little easier to find a place to go, but in Downtown DC there are not many bushes/trees to hide behind. I felt sorry for the fairer sex. This should be fixed for the next race.
The spectators that were out were great- thank you to you all. I think this race has the poential to be a great spring race. When you think about it, there are so few good spring races out there, and this could really fill a niche in the schedule. I hope DC and the DC government cooperate with the race organizers to bring this race back even better next year. Since the Mayor participated in the Marathon, you know you have at least one supporter in the halls of government. I will run it again.

Did the half in 2006 and a full in 2007. A big THANK YOU to Keith Dowling and his entire team! Awesome volunteers and police officers. You guys are the best!

Calvert Climb and the rolling hills after were a challenge.

Thanks to the woman who provided encouraging cheers: "Four more blocks til the end!"

A big kudos to the spectators (between mile 1 and mile 2) who delivered my favorite running jacket to the bag check truck. Never thought I was going to see it again. You go, girls!!!

-#775

This year's course is a 100% improvement over last year's! This is a runner's marathon. It's fast, fun, and as scenic as they come. We forgot we were running at times as we toured the District of Columbia. I thought I knew the area well, but we went to spots I've never been to before. We ran by the White House three times and we used the Washington Monument to get our bearings as we circled around the District. I got a big kick out of seeing the US Capitol looking inspiring in the fog and mist as we ran downhill toward it on the fast miles 22 and 23. I'm usually good at hitting my watch to mark every mile, but I was so taken by the views that I missed a lot of them.

The race is well organized and they take care of the runners on the course. I don't worry about the food after a race; it's the fuel that is given out during the race that counts. There was enough GU, Clif Shots, and Gatorade to run you through an ultra.

Our team had absolutely nothing but good things to say about this race. We enjoyed that little hill coming out of Rock Creek Park as it stretched out the legs and allowed you rest a bit as you used another set of muscles. The last 10K were mainly downhill and let us finish fast. It was a great workout for Boston! The 7 a.m. start was perfect! We were able to shower and go over to Clyde's in Georgetown in time for lunch and a little celebration before driving home.

This was my first marathon, though I'd attended one before, and I could not have asked for more!

Everything went smoothly, there are lots of water/Gu/power gel stops, and I thought the course was great! There are a few hills, with one big one, and most of the last few miles are downhill or flat. It was GREAT to see different parts of DC and I thought the spectators were motivating too! I thought the weather was perfect (once the rain stopped a few minutes before the start of the race). Even the DC mayor ran it!

I had the best experience with this marathon! I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Despite having such a great experience, I will say that as someone else posted, there didn't seem to be many port-a-potties on the course. The other thing that might make things easier is to have people start the race by their expected pace instead of in a free-for-all.

I came to D.C. to run this young race with my brother, who has yet to run a marathon. As I prepared him for what to expect, I must admit I was disappointed in several items.

First of all, the expo really has some room for improvement. The goodie bag held only flyers and one coupon for a fashion watch; where were the GU or other run-related items?

Second of all, the porta-pottie situation was terrible. For a newbie running his first marathon, my brother really struggled when he had to run over 7 miles before seeing a porta-john - and even then, the wait at the john was almost two minutes! The amount of time we spent waiting for toilets and making up "lost ground" proved to really be frustrating for both of us.

Thirdly, the post-race nourishment was truly LACKING. The bagels, bananas and water were not satisfying, nor were they what a runner really needed after grinding out 26.2 in the drizzle and cold weather, complete with decent inclines. A little bit of fruit or sugar whould have been really appreciated.

However, I will say that the race volunteers were helpful and the medical tent was stellar.

I must say that overall I was really disapointed, as was my brother - which is unfortunate, as this was his first marathon.