Pre-race. I took note of the hilly second half of the course on the marathon website. Good driving directions from the National Airport, but a little confusion to reach Parking Lot 7, the site of the expo and race packet pickup. We and others initially went to Parking Lot 8. As others have said, there was a need for more toilets at the race start.

Race. The first half was more scenic, because of the public buildings and wide streets. I was told that the second half went through deprived areas. The houses looked in good condition and any social problems were not apparent. The fan support was few and enthusiastic, with the majority of the local population disengaged. There were large traffic jams for the second half. Several drivers were encouraging and I saw no hostility towards the runners. (I try to thank the police officers, volunteers and supporters as I run.) The water/Gatorade/GU and toilet stops were numerous and adequately spaced apart for me. I used the many mile indicators and relished the hilly slopes.

Post-race. The provided drinks and food (bananas and salty bagels), medal and T-shirt were satisfactory. Apart from the mentioned few toilets, the facilities were good.

Conclusion. Hearty congratulations to the organizers, volunteers, participants and everyone involved. This race will improve with popularity. I enjoyed the varying slope course and fully recommend the event. For the future, I suggest that the volunteers on bicycles are given a reference booklet with the toilet stops and hills marked to better answer the runners. Clothes banks could be provided for the first few miles, because the quantity of discarded clothing on the road was an embarrassment. My thanks to other MarathonGuide.com correspondents.

A few thoughts on this race:
1st: To all the complainers about how tough the course is, suck it up and run. If you want a flat course... run on a treadmill. (By the way, the male winner of the race had previously set the world record for running a marathon on a treadmill.)

2nd: The volunteers, cops, and what spectators were there were awesome, especially in staying positive with the traffic backups.

3rd: To the organizers... improvements for next year: More bathrooms both at the start and on the course, better post-race food (keep the beer truck for next year!), and run a bit more into downtown. But KEEP THE HILLS... they are a blast!

I ran the full and set a PR, so do not take this as sour grapes but, in short, the full course sucks. The first six miles are flat and nice if you are into scenery (capitol, Mall, etc.). Miles 6-11 are flat but tour some pretty tough neighborhoods. Miles 11-26 are hilly and also in pretty unsavory neighborhoods. The hills on miles 21-25 are brutal.

I would not run this race again unless I were local. The logisitics are too tough for travelers (no hotels close to the start or finish; no mass transit due to the early start).

But, on the good side, the few fans who were there cheered enthusiastically and the race organization (water stops, registration) was top-notch.

The on-course support and volunteers were great and the water stations well stocked with Gatorade. The gels were a nice touch. The last hilly miles need more water stations. One every 2 1/2 miles is not enough.

The map did not seem to reflect the severity of the hills from mile 20 to 25. In fact, I was expecting a descent!

The post-race refreshments and food were pathetic. After 4 hours, there was nothing left but bananas and two girls apologizing profusely for not having any more food to give me. How do you run out of bagels when pre-registration gives you a very good count of what to expect is beyond me.

Overall, I give a thumbs way up to the volunteers and the few spectators that came out to cheer but thumbs down to the non-existent expo, hilly course and the lack of food at the finish.

It was my first marathon, so I don't have another one to compare this race to. I enjoyed the course and thought it was well-organized. It would have been nice if more people were there to cheer us on, but I still had fun.

The race director's assessment of the course - which mixed flat, fast segments with hilly challenging ones - was absolutely accurate. The hills through the second half of the race made for a very challenging race. The course was well marked, volunteers were abundant, and the weather could not have been better; although the course took its toll on me, I had a great time. I hope the race can expand in the future. That might provide a bigger/better expo and improved refreshments at the finish.

I really enjoyed this marathon. To run through the city with so much history and current events was fantastic. The organization was not fancy but is was well done in all respects. It had all one could require for a marathon. The logistics were great. I could park within 50 yards of the start and finish. No problem. Aid on the course was as good as one could need. I am just sad that no more runners were there to enjoy this event. To the organizers - keep up the good work.

Small, first-time, unorganized, streets were UNSAFE in Anacostia, uncomfortable, too hilly, too much traffic, and a very small spectator crowd.

I never thought a town as flat as DC could have so many hills! And 75% come in the last 6 miles. If you're up for the challenge I hope they run this next year. For a first-year race, the events other than the run could have been better, but the course support was great and the fans/cops were very friendly.... I advise not driving the course at night however.

If there's one place in the United States where you aren't actually in a "state," it's Washington, D.C. And if there's one city in the United States that can't organize a decent marathon, it's.... Well, you get the picture.

Not surprisingly, security concerns and general city reluctance make a race in D.C. a difficult one to manage. But each race in the nation's capital seems to be centered around the fact that "Ooohh! It's the capitol!" or "Look! There's the Washington Monument!" while basic things like general race sensibilities take a back seat.

I know. I've dealt with the madhouse conditions of the Marine Corps Marathon multiple times, and ran the ill-fated inaugural Washington D.C. Marathon before the seams quickly burst. I live, run, and work in the area. I should have known this one would be no different.

The packet pickup was held under a tent in a stadium parking lot on the opposite side of the stadium from the mass transit station; it was an effort to get to a place that could have been held on a street corner. You don't need a stadium parking lot to have a table of bibs, a table for chips and some commemorative merchandise.

Trust me, things don't get any better once the race starts. With the race beginning before mass transit opens, and no hotels within safe distance, the only option to the start is in a gas-guzzler, and then you snake through parking lots or cross traffic. The start is a one-mile loop around the exterior of the stadium. The end is in the parking lot of the stadium. The race was clearly so strapped for cash that they cut back on port-a-potties, delaying the start while throngs waited their turn in line for the restroom. And in the words of Karen Carpenter, we've only just begun.

Taking you through some of the most depressing and desolate areas of any marathon course, the last 20 miles of the route don't offer inspiration close at hand. The monuments, the memorials, the cottony cherry blossoms? You'll be done with them in the first 10K. After that, you'll be treated to plenty of desolation, plenty of hills, and we're just getting started.

The race course, which happens to block several major thoroughfares, created backups rivaling those of Thanksgiving weekend. There was a two-mile backup, and another four-mile backup, with only a small grassy median separating you from angry drivers who wished you nothing but the worst. "Fall!," "Stop walking!" and "Stupid runners!" were only some of the things that were shouted from car windows, except I've left off the bitter four-letter words that accompanied nearly all of them.

The bigger backup came on a series of demoralizing hills, a painful dose of ups and downs for the last six miles. No sooner had you conquered a hill and headed down the opposite side than you saw the next rise coming straight at you. Meanwhile, you're breathing car exhaust and listening to drivers curse you out. It's a lethal combination.

Then there's the little issue with water stops, a potential calamity the race was spared because it was a surprisingly chilly spring day in Washington and not one of those early-spring scorchers. You might get through the 2-1/4 mile break between water stops from mile 4.2 to 6.5, and the even more dreadful 2-1/2 mile break between water stops from mile 12.75 to 15.4, but the best (?) is yet to come and you better pray the sun stays behind the clouds. The last five miles of the course had exactly two water stops - one at mile 23, the last at mile 25.

And when you're all said and done, in the parking lot, as I mentioned earlier, you get a surprisingly cheap medal, bananas and bagels, and age awards in 10-year increments. If the last 10 miles failed to leave a stinking taste in your mouth, this pathetic ending sure will.

The sparse crowds that were out do deserve some praise, and the police officers deserve hazard pay for keeping the runners safe while angry drivers peppered them with curses. The organizers, however, deserve no such commendation. I guess we should be happy that they didn't run off with the entry fees like the last D.C. Marathon organizers did. No bonus for being honest. They still deserve a rousing thumbs down.

If you want an enjoyable spring marathon, there are plenty to choose from. And if you still want to come to Washington, D.C. next March, you will have a much better time sitting by the tidal basin, taking in the cherry blossoms. Those are a national treasure. The National Marathon, however, is a languishing bud that deserves to wither on the vine.