I ran the half marathon, which was very scenic and very hilly, going through several beautiful neighborhoods. As mentioned, there were no mile markers after mile 4!! This was the biggest problem for me, because oddly enough, I lucked out and there was water at most of the stations I went to. The end of the race was disorganized with no way to find your party such as a reunion area.

I guess they have a few kinks to work out but that would be expected in a new marathon. Live and learn.

When you see the signs that say powerade up ahead,you are kind of expecting it! Not only did the full marathon course have NO POWERADE anywhere to be found, I had to get my own water and they had no cups. I was trying to drink out of the gallon jugs that were just lyng on the side of the road. But I had to go 4 miles with no water and only signs promising water AND POWERADE up ahead to get there and have nothing at all. I was very dizzy from the heat and sweating and only had water, which did not help with any replacement that I needed from the hot temps. I almost quit at mile 21 due to the heat and lack of PowerAde. If it would not have been for the homeowners outside giving us drinks, I don't know what I would have done. Thanks to the homeowners of Atlanta. They deserve more credit than the race itself.

I got to the 20-mile marker at 5:22:42 and the chip pads for times were already gone.

The course was very hilly, which I know the race cannot help, but this made for slower pace for me. I got to the finish at 7:13:38, and the pads were already off and being picked up.

I don't have an official time and the race website has me as not finishing the race. Thanks, ING Atlanta.
Thank God for my Garmin device to give me my finish time.

The hills killed me, but I know that if I would have had some sort of replacement from PowerAde, maybe I would have not been dizzy and could have actually run and got in before the 7-hour cut-off.

I will never do another ING race if this same crew is organizing. They still hung a medal around my neck, so I finished, and that's good enough for me. The medical crew in the tents at the finish was awesome and thank God they were, because a lot of us came in in a bad state. Medical team: A+.

The beauty of the race course unfortunately did not make up for the unbelievably unprofessional organization of this race. While every single runner of this race was prepared for hot weather and knew about it at least a week in advance by following the weather forecast, the race organization must have been too busy piling up Coke cans at the finish line. There is NO excuse for the lack of sports fluids along the course - in particular given the lengthy article about de-hydration and over-hydration in the race booklet that was given out with our race package. It emphasized the need of electrolyte replacement during endurance sports events in hot weather and warns about the danger of replenishing lost body fluids with water only. Perhaps the race director should not measure the temperatures of the city a year before the race, but perhaps a day or two before, in case she does not have access to weather forecasts using the internet. And even without the hot weather, there should always be an excess of sports fluids available to ALL runners, not only the first 300. Poor planning and hopefully a learning experience for future races to come (certainly without me or any of my running friends among the participants).

The course is a lovely tour of great neighborhoods, and interesting sights in Atlanta. It passes the MLK Center, the Carter Center, beautiful neighborhoods, and the downtown area. It is a little hilly - but that's Atlanta.

The locals were very nice, with many people turning out to support the competitors. For spectators, it was a beautiful spring day. Many of them seemed pleased to have a crowd of runnners passing by their front doors, and they set out chairs or blankets and brought their kids and dogs out to wave and cheer.

Having first names on the race bibs was a nice touch - the spectators could and did personalize their support by using your name.

As others have mentioned, it was unseasonably hot on race day. In fact, a record high for that date. Hopefully next year will be a little cooler.

I did find a little PowerAde at one of the stations - but it wasn't marked at all. Just happened upon it.

Water (lack of) was a problem.

MARTA didn't seem quite up to the challenge of getting so many people transported to the area where the race started. They should try to add more service in the morning for next time. Also, future runners using MARTA will definitely want to add lots of extra time to allow for unexpected delays.

I didn't notice any after-race activities. In fact, other than a bottle of water, I didn't even see any of the normal post-race snacks.

Atlanta has the makings of a great marathon venue.

The course was excellent! There were lots and lots of rolling hills (so be prepared) through some beautiful neighborhoods.

Crowd support was great! Many individuals came out along the course to cheer the various runners on - not just in the dedicated cheer zones. Many went above and beyond, providing encouragement, water, food, beer, etc... to those in need (thanks!). These individuals truly had that Southern charm.

Organization at start was fine, however, things went decidely downhill from there.... After mile #2 there was no PowerAde available on the course. In fact, I don't recall a drink station being set-up between Miles 2 and 8, despite seeing the signs for Publix water and PowerAde ahead. This was especially problematic given that a record temperature (for that day) was reached/surpassed in Atlanta. Other than that, everything else seemed to go rather smoothly.

Atlanta has the makings of a great marathon venue. I recommend this race!

While one would expect that a marathon whose primary sponsor is ING would be a well-organized marathon from the very start, one might be a bit disappointed.

There were many things about this race that were well-organized:

1. Packet pick up and expo
2. Bag check
3. Two Clif Shot stations on the course that we still well stocked when I went through.
4. Finish area (unlike one of the previous reviewers, I actually had access to plenty of food and beverage after the race)

There were items that definitely need improvement:

1. The start area was an absolute mess. Even though I planned to run between a 4:15 and 4:30 marathon, I started behind the 7:00 pace group because I couldn't get any closer to the start. I bobbed and weaved around people for the entire race.

2. As you've read, there were serious issues with the fluid stations. The one supposed to be around mile 6 was missing, and only two of the fluid stations had any PowerAde at all. And that was severely watered down.

3. There wasn't enough room to run. I often found myself having to run on the outside of the cones. Perhaps I wouldn't have had an issue with this if I had been able to start in an appropriate spot.

Hopefully, the race organizers will learn and improve.

Although I am pleased to have another 26.2 finish, this was definitely not the ideal experience, especially considering it is a HUGE name event, being sponsored by ING.

My primary concern is with the water/aid stations, or lack thereof. The website and race guide specifically indicated there would be water & PowerAde every other mile. There were signs reading, "Water or PowerAde Station Ahead"; then there would be nothing, or even the signs where the station should have been but nothing else. From mile 4 to 8, there were no fluids available - big problem on a hot day when early hydration is important. Not only were water stations missing, but there were only a small handful with PowerAde (I believe specifically at miles 4, 15, then 23, 24, and maybe 25?). The hot weather was in the forecast for weeks, so if anything, there should have been additional aid stations. I actually had to borrow a spectator's cell phone and have my family bring PowerAde to me on the course; for those of us who can't tolerate Gu, gels, etc., having some kind of calorie/sugar/electrolyte replacement is vital!

Another problem with the aid stations was them being located only on one side of the road, which caused MAJOR traffic jams. Even small races have aid stations on both sides of the road.

Finally, the finish area was lacking heavily in organization. Chip removal was extremely difficult to find; several volunteers could not even direct me in the right direction for chip removal or baggage check. Plenty of water (although it was hot) and Coke products at the finish, but NO PowerAde.

It is understandable to have kinks in an inaugural race, but Atlanta has experience with other large races, and certainly floating a name like ING should ensure at the very least proper organization. Hopefully with feedback from participants, things will change and this can continue to be a successful premier event.

One more thing... "hilly" does not even begin to describe the course!

Clearly we've covered the PowerAde issue, so I won't waste my time confirming what others have already written about. For an inaugural event, particularly one of this size, I thought it was well done. There will ALWAYS be glitches with first-time events - you just really hope that it doesn't involve hydration issues. Unfortunately this one did, but I would be totally shocked if the same mistake is made ever again. Believe me, the RD is hearing about it from angry runners and it will be fixed for next year.

There were SO MANY good things about this race that you should also know about. 1. IT STARTED ON TIME. This is also a hydration issue that was well handled. We all knew going in to race day that it was going to get really warm and that a prompt start was crucial to getting in as many miles as possible prior to the sunrise/rising temps. 2. BEAUTIFUL COURSE. Great neighborhoods, gorgeous spring scenery. 3. SIMPLE, CLASSY SHIRT/MEDAL. A big plus for a lot of us. Technical Mizuno short-sleeved shirt with a great, simple design. Not a lot of stupid junk printed on it to fill the space (like dumb running fish - sorry Sarasota!). 4. WELL RUN EXPO. Smooth packet pickup, lots of good booths, fun to browse - lots of running specific exhibitors. 5. GOOD LOOT IN PACKETS. Lots of good freebies - we love that! Mini cliff bar, sports hair ties for the girls, coupon for Big Peach running company, massage thing.... 6. ACCURATE AND WELL PLACED MILE MARKERS. I was wearing a Polar RS800 and the markers were right on - I never even came close to missing one.

The layout of the post-race situation needs to be tweaked a little - chip removal was quite a distance from the finish line and the bag drop/pick up was practically in another state. However, all of these things will be analyzed for next year and I'm sure adjustments will be made. I would highly recommend this race, it's going to get good!

Ps. Did I mention that the course is super tough? Beautiful, but not really PR material. TONS of hills, and some of them are really long and steep. Don't be afraid; just come prepared.

One of the core basics of a marathon is to provide runners electrolyte/fluid replacement at approx every 2 miles. EVERYONE knows this and ING HAD to have known of this pending disaster prior to race day and chose NOT to resolve it. It was too important to have been overlooked, etc. Isn't PowerAde a division of Coke, with headquarters in Atlanta? Way to go guys! I planned, trained and traveled assuming ING did the same. What a phyiscal and mental disappointment. Other than my fellow dying and dehydrated runners, I truly felt sorry for the Publix water volunteers who had to deal with desperate SHOUTS of "WHERE is the PowerAde?" Of course, they had no clue. ING owes each and every runner an apology, a refund and an EXPLANATION of how a ball THAT large could be dropped. What should have been a challenging run on a rolling hills course with heat was made miserable without proper fluids. Why?

Atlanta was great! The expo was very nice we enjoyed it. The Omni Hotel very nice, but the fact that there was no PowerAde just blew me away. Every time I got to a station I would ask, "Where's the PowerAde." And the workers would say that there is none. I knew before the race that it was hilly and knew I would have to train for it. It was a nice course besides the hills, but what I didn't know was that there would not be any PowerAde - and I never drink water during a run. I can't; it makes me sick to my stomach. So needless to say, by mile 7 I was so sick to my stomach that it took every thing I had to make it to the end. It was not the hills that got me down, I'm proud to say it was the fact that in 15 years of running I can't drink just water, and that was all they had, so the hotter I got, the more water I drank - and, of course, thirstier I got. NOT GOOD AT ALL. I was so furious at every station. How did this happen that there was no PowerAde? I don't know, but it's a shame because it's really the only bad thing about the first year's race and it could not have been a worse thing to have happened. Please correct that if you do anything. Good luck; next year you'll need it.