The Good:
The marathon race course was beautiful. The first 15 miles were run through the older, elegant, tree-lined neighborhoods of Atlanta - parts most visitors never get to to see. This course was far and above superior to the Atlanta Marathon. The fans along the course were true to Southern hospitality, soffering fruit, hose-downs and a massive amount of cheerful support. The fans get 5 stars.

The Bad:
The water stops were really poor. There were signs for stops that never came. Coca-Cola was a sponsor and I never saw a drop of PowerAde... but did see signs for PowerAde stations. This will be mentioned a lot, as the hydration planning was poor, poor, poor... 0 stars.

The course was brutally hilly. Hey, if you are planning to run a marathon, don't cry about hills - so I won't - but I was then. This race is more difficult than the Atlanta Marathon.

The heat was brutal. If you ran slower than a 3:00 marathon, you were treated to some nasty heat - especially on Freedom Parkway. From mile 18 on, it was a fry-fest.

In Summary:
I will definitely run it again. It was beautiful and for the most part a really enjoyable day. I think the RD will get the kinks out next year and 2008 will be better.

Overall the course was nice, winding and climbing through many of the unique neighborhoods near downtown. The fans along the course were plentiful, enthusiastic and encouraging. This is Atlanta, so the non-stop hills were expected. One drawback: the course winds a lot at the beginnning, making it tougher to spread the field.

In terms of organization, this marathon hit with the flash, but missed with the substance. The shirt, medal, expo and names on the race numbers were nice. The volunteers and police support were top-notch. However, one of the most critical components, the fluid support, was extremely poor. Water stations were spaced two miles apart. The stations at mile 6 and near Emory were missing, despite signs that indicated that they were just ahead. This meant stretches of 4 miles with no water in hot temperatures. After mile 8, none of the stations had Gatorade or PowerAde. There was also no Gatorade/PowerAde at the finish. I ended up walking to the nearby Coke museum to buy some from a vending machine. Until I hear that the fluid issue is fixed, I would not run this again.

The start was difficult, with all 15,000 runners starting together (no wave start). Aid stations were poor. No station between miles 4 and 8, and most stations had only water. On a hot day, more PowerAde was needed. The course was difficult, with lots of inclines. That would have been okay if it had been cooler. Organization of the race needs to improve a lot for this to be a great race.

I know there are going to be a lot of people slamming this marathon for one problem. I for one really enjoyed it, though. To keep it short and sweet, here are the positives:
Great expo. First-class tech shirt and nice medal. Very nice/scenic, somewhat challenging course. Top-notch organization (albeit with one slip up). Volunteers were plentiful and friendly. Easy access - parking was no problem - which is unusual for Atlanta. Porta-pots were all over the place.

OK. There was one problem - and I suppose it is major. No PowerAde. I think there might have been one spot on the course that had it. None at the finish area. I too am disapointed with this. It is Atlanta - home of Coke. It shouldn't have been too difficult to get some there. I'm sure they'll get this corrected for next year.

If there are 100 things to judge a marathon on, they get an A+ on 99. The 1 thing people are going to crucify them for is not having any replenishment drinks.

This was still a great marathon!

Worst organized race ever. Almost got run over by the traffic, and there was NO water between miles 4 and 9. NO PowerAde, and they were a sponsor! Hilly... very hilly. The homeless ate better than I did at the finish. Thanks to the citizens along the course for their kindness. I expected more out of ING. Go to Rock and Roll school and learn how to do it.

While I loved the city of Atlanta, ING failed to provide proper water stops for the full marathon. With tempatures in the 80's, I was surprised to see that more people didn't have to be hauled off on stretchers. False signs advertising water and PowerAde stops were disheartening.

First of all I want to say what a beautiful course the Georgia Marathon was. It was so nice to see everything in bloom in Georgia. Also, the fan support the entire race was terrific, especially for a first-time marathon.

However, I think there is absolutely no excuse for there to be no PowerAde on the course. I made the decision before the race not to carry a Gatorade pouch because I knew there were be PowerAde every two or so miles on the course like the course map showed. The one station that had something resembling an electrolyte replacement drink was mixing there very own, SELF SUPPLIED little container of GATORADE (even though the sponsor was PowerAde) into a cooler. However it was so diluted since they were using the one container sparingly that the sodium in it was non-existent. I am not sure if the race staff was even aware that there was no PowerAde because at the start of the race, the announcer told us not to drink anymore water after mile 16. Surely he could not know there was no PowerAde on the course and still make that comment. On the hottest 80+ day in Georgia of the season when all of the runners have trained through the cold winter, it is imperative to have sports drinks available. I am highly disappointed in this aspect of the race, and I know others are more angry based on the comments I heard throughout the race. Thank goodness Publix water showed up to play yesterday.

Also, I have one more gripe. At mile 6 there was a power station ahead sign and there was not a WATER station until after mile 8. That was the start of making everyone really mad. If there had only been one missed water station, I think the runners could have dealt with it.

...Pepsi is looking pretty good, and so is Gatorade.

As a runner in the new ING Georgia Marathon, I encountered only one water station with sports drinks on the 26.2-mile course. Doctors strongly recommend that when exercising for more than one hour, which is obviously the case in a four-hour marathon or two-hour half-marathon, that runners drink sports drinks, not water, to replenish their systems. With temperatures approaching record highs, the lack of sports drinks on the course was more than just an inconvenience; it compromised the health and safety of all runners. I trained for this event for over five months, always drinking sports drinks during long runs (it makes a big difference). To have the runners' "big day" spoiled by poor planning is very unsettling. Maybe race director Victoria Seahorn should check a weather forecast in order to prevent from being unable to "foresee the extremely warm weather." (AJC 3.26.2007) The 10-day forecast had "foreseen" the weather ten days in advance. Even if temperatures had been in the 40s, sports drinks still would have been a necessity. I think all runners are owed an explanation and a formal apology. It is a shame that such an easy-to-correct issue detracted from a day with good local fan support along the scenic course.

I found this to be a more challenging course than I expected. The above average temperatures made everything seem a little tougher than expected.

Course: I did like the course overall and the enjoyed the views along the way. I live outside of Atlanta and had never seen many of the sites along the course. I liked the layout. The hills seemed a little longer and more frequent than the elevation map showed.

Organization: This was the inaugural race so you would expect some "learning curve," but this race was hosted by ING, which has experience with marathons in other major cities, so my issues could have been prevented. My major concern was that the water stops ran out of sports drink early on. I finished in under four hours and there was no sports drink left after mile ten. This really bugged me since the sports drink manufacturer is a major, Atlanta-based bottler that should've been more than happy to provide the sports drink. They did make sure there was enough of their soft drinks at the finish though, but I'm not a fan of sodas after running 26.2 miles. The high temperatures also did not help out at water stops and the water was too warm for me (this is not the race director's fault, just a general statement). Because this was the first ING Georgia Marathon, I will give them some forgiveness, but please work on adding more water stops along the course and increase the amount of sports drinks at these stops in future years.

Spectators: I felt the crowd support was much better than the Thanksgiving Day Marathon in Atlanta and was impressed overall. I was really happy with the encouraging words from the crowds in the final few miles as I started dragging. I really liked the number of families offering water, ice, pretzels, oranges, and water hoses along the way. Thank you!!

Overall: I liked the race and am glad to have a spring marathon in downtown Atlanta. I just wish the race directors would do something about the heat. Haha.

The course, winding through Atlanta and its surrounding areas, up and down many hills, was very scenic and enjoyable. Spectators, while not nearly as numerous as at a larger race like Chicago, were enthusiastic and helpful - several families were handing out ice cubes, orange peels, etc. outside of their homes.

This was an inaugural marathon, so some speed bumps were expected. The start and finish areas were well-manned, but the aid stations along the course were lacking. Namely, they were lacking PowerAde. Only three stations had PowerAde when I hit them, and I finished well over two hours prior to the course limit. Please ensure that all stations have sports drink in the future! Preferably, use the superior Gatorade in place of PowerAde, as well.

I'm sure the kinks will be worked out next year, and the course is definitely worth running!