I ran this race last year and came back hoping there would not be a sophmore jinx. They didn't disappoint; this year's full marathon course run completely in DC was a blast. The city seems to be getting more supportive of this spring marathon (the mayor ran the full marathon!) and hopefully they can continue to grow the event next year.

Problems? Sure, there are some at every race. They seemed to have addressed two of the larger problems from last year that runners had concerns about - they revised the course and got rid of miles of rolling hills at the end of the race in Prince George's County, and there were a lot more portable toilets at the start. While the water stops and mile markers were well tended, there could have been more portable toilets on the course. The food after the race was a disappointment - very minimalist... water, bagels, bananas, and that's it. Oh, and beer! The city should work harder with RFK Stadium and their sports team tenants to open the stadium for the race - there is nowhere for spectators to hang out at the finish and the addition of a sports or health festival or an additional shorter running race would make for a fuller experience for those waiting for the half and full marathon runners to come in.

Running the race on a Saturday? Nice having the Sunday after free but it makes it hard for out-of-town runners to get in and pick up their packet on Friday. For as "low key" as the expo is, the extra day off from work to get here on a Friday isn't really worth it.

There are always ways to enhance a race, but I hope they also don't take their eye off of continuing to get the basics right. It's a slightly more competitive race since they have a 5-hour qualifying time requirement, and capping the entries at 5,000 keeps it from getting too oversized. They are going to get complaints from the locals for the road closings, but I hope enough runners give the race the support to be able to bring this same course back next year.

Two years, two new PR's - can't ask for more than that!

This was a beautiful course. Very scenic with the tourist sites, as well as the riverfront and the neighborhoods. Easy parking at the start. The best part was the number of water and Gatorade stations - and there were around 4 GU stations! What a help. Mile 19 - Calvert Climb - was brutal. Gives the race an identity, but that hill was tough. Loved the beer at the end, though I didn't feel like drinking. An okay number of spectators. A lot even knew who Mark Grace is! Great volunteers. Good job, organizers.

Yeah, the course was tough with the Calvert Climb at mile 20, but every course has or needs a challenge. I loved running through the city.

No race day instructions for the runners, small expo, no indicators for pace groups at the start, NO MUSIC anywhere, and less food than at most 10K's at the end. Seemed kind of rinky-dink for a race put on by a for-profit company. The shirt and the medals both have the sponsor's name much larger than the race name and no graphics of the city on either... so if I wore the shirt (which I won't) I'm sure everyone would ask what the heck Wirefly is. This is not exactly why I ran the race.

But everything went well. Lots of GU! I loved that part of it. Water stops were all very well populated and plenty of fluid. Weather held out this year.

I guess all in all it will get better with each year - this being the 2nd annual. But some basics were not done well.

Right up front I want to say that I liked this race. I really liked this race a lot. It may be because it was a well-run event, or it may be because I felt good for every mile of the course. Either way, I think this race has a bright future. I recommend it highly and I'll definitely be back another year to run it again.

Positives:
Challenging course without being a killer. Huge decline by the capitol at mile 2; rolling hills from miles 8 through 12 (I only ran the half) - 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 - runners mostly knowledgeable.
Fun atmosphere.
Support from the DC Mayor (who ran it) is a big plus!
Free beer!

Negatives:
Ugly, white, see-through t-shirt, although technical fabric.
Few exhibitors at expo.
Somewhat disorganized, corral-free, seeding-free start.
Some aid stations were light on volunteers.
Unpredictable weather at this time of year.
Minimal food selection at finish area (bagels and bananas), although ample.
Leading marathoners had to run through half-marathoners at the finish - could have been prevented with better coning in last mile.
Half-marathon course is probably long.
Proprietary timing chips with ankle straps.
Few spectators; relatively little support from local residents.
Incorrect timing data on the website after the race, and no email contact provided for corrections.

Overall, though, a promising race.

I am a flat-lander, so the hills were very challenging, especially late in the race. But who could ask for a more beautiful place to run than our nation's capital?!?!

Pros:
The race organization was great.
It was very easy to get to the race on the metro or by auto.
The course was very scenic and traveled through all parts of the city. There were no really boring points but there were MANY interesting sights.
The hills presented a formidable but fair challenge to one's running ability. (See the elevation chart on the website).
The volunteers, though not great in numbers, were very enthusiastic.
The police were also enthusiastic and some actually cheered the runners (never saw that before at any of my 10 marathons).
There were an ample number of porto-johns at the start/finish

Cons:
There is in need of a few more porto-johns along the course.
I hope the expo will grow (it was VERY small).

I would definitely recommend this marathon to anyone looking for a good mid-sized event. But be forewarned. Train for hills.

I was really looking forward to this marathon as a great opportunity to view the capitol. I was not disappointed in that regard. The only disappointing things were the lack of porta-johns (first one was not until mile 7.5 with a long line) and specators (there were not many places for spectators). However, the spectators that were there were excellent! Great people to brace the rain! Also, something unexpected: having a guy come up to me begging for money! Oh well! I would run this again. It made a big jump in from the 1st to the 2nd race, from what I understand. Kudos to the organizers, as I cannot imagine what a difficult thing it is to organize something like this in the middle of DC.

Year #2, 2007. Keith Dowling and the DC Sports Alliance, you all ROCK!!! What a difference a year makes. You all did it. Wow!!! And the Mayor of DC running too. That is support. Where else can you see all of DC in 4 hours, or so? This is a great race.

Everything about the half marathon has the makings of becoming a great race - however, marking the course exactly is critical and I was downright crushed to find out the last mile of the half was off by 1/4 of a mile when I traveled from Texas to run this course for a potential PR. What a total letdown.... I am still waiting to hear from the race director to find out how this possibly could have happened.

Normally my girlfriend and I would have done the Marine Corps Marathon, but my girlfriend and I do the NYC Marathon each fall, so we decided to do this as a spring DC marathon, and we had a great time. You can sense the organizers are trying hard being that this was the second year. The course was nice, and while there weren't many spectactors, they were really great in spirit. The cherry on the cake, though, was at the end when we needed to get a cab to get back to our hotel; the head of the Greater Washington Sports Alliance insisted on driving us there himself - now that's Southern hospitality. :)

National Marathon race organizers took note of their inaugural year glitches and can be proud of their 2007 event.

A better start/finish, amenities and improved course route (all in D.C.) made for a much better race - with about twice as many entrants as 2006.

The steep "Calvert Climb" in beautiful Rock Creek Park, while advertised, was nonetheless most unwelcome between miles 19-20. Any way to work out this hill would be much appreciated. This said, the final few miles are generally downhill, which is nice.

The medal and T-shirt feature the new sponsor a bit too prominently, but that's the price of having a sponsor for a race that deserves to continue.

I'll be back next year!