The 2009 Snickers Marathon was my first full marathon and I've never been happier. Having never previously run 26.2, I was obviously apprehensive about race logistics and readiness, but the good people in Albany made everything easy and painless.

I stayed at a Comfort Suites hotel located about 2.5 miles from the course, but I had no problem with the logistics of driving to the expo packet pick-up or driving and parking at the starting line area. There were plenty of parking spaces for everyone alongside the starting area.

If I had to make one suggestion for future races, I'd recommend more stability with the portable toilets at the starting line so that they won't move about when people step in and out of them.

For the first ten miles of the race, we traversed a river park and then ran down a long straightaway, but the foggy morning helpfully obscured the distance view ahead on the straightaway and made this part of the marathon easier. A Marine Corps volunteer cheer section helped to get me fired up around mile 10 at the end of the straightaway. Miles 10-26, mainly through the residential areas, were wonderful, with remarkable volunteer spirit at every single turn. The section of the race goes through the inside of a building by the riverside (nice touch!) and there's a easy downhill in the final moment to the finish line.

There was plenty of water and Gatorade at each of the frequent aid stations. There were never any lines to the many portable toilets along the way, either. For the most part, I didn't indulge in any food at the aid stations and preferred my own energy jelly beans, but I did enjoy orange slices and fruit at the last few aid stations. Plenty of Snickers Energy Bars around at each aid station, that's for sure.

I finished my first marathon in 4:53, so no complaints here; and I was grateful to be able to finish my first one in less than five hours. For the first several miles, I stayed with a 5:00 Pace Team that really put me at ease and acquainted me with some great fellow runners. I gradually stretched ahead of them with my Galloway intervals, but was thrilled to see most of them cross the finish line a few minutes after I did.

The finish line logistics were quite good, with volunteers ensuring that everyone crossing the line was alright. There was a ready supply of water, Gatorade, and food along the riverwalk by the finish. The process of finding my vehicle and driving back to my hotel was easy and quick.

A couple of hours after the race, I returned to the Albany river walk area and spent several hours checking out the Albany Mardi Gras street festival, the Flint RiverQuarium, the Ray Charles Plaza, and the scenic river walk itself. It's definitely a pretty area of the town.

I'll give one more friendly tip of the hat to the amazing volunteers and police officers that controlled traffic and cheered everyone through the course. It's tough to run 26.2 miles, but there's also something to be said for the endurance of the volunteers and police officers to stand still in the middle of a street for hours direct traffic or cheer the runners that pass by. Thanks!

This was my 6th marathon and it was one of my best experiences. While the crowd support along the way was lacking (where were the people in the neighborhoods?), I can't say enough about the volunteers. They were so enthusiastic at every stop. The group at Mile 23 was particularly great and encouraging! The course was very flat! Being from the Atlanta area, I really don't even remember any hills! This is definitely the course to PR on. I will come back to eventually try for that! The pace team for 4:30 was right on and was fun to join. I hope this race stays around and so well organized. As someone said, the big races could learn from these race directors.

A great course, but the first 10 miles aren't very scenic. It was flat, with rolling hills throughout the course; there was fantastic course support from the spectators; and they had well organized water stops. The course was very clearly marked and there were volunteers at every turn - and I mean every turn or intersection. They do a great job on the course. The city really comes out to help.

This course is as advertised, fast and flat. The water stops and refreshment stations were well stocked with plenty of enthusiastic, friendly volunteers. This is not the race for you if you are relying on crowds lining the way to cheer you on to get you through those rough spots. This was my first small marathon and I discovered that I am one of those runners who likes crowds lining the street to keep me pumped up. I will not run this race again but would recommend it to those looking for a Boston qualifier and who don't need the external support of a large crowd.

The pace team really helped me to achieve a personal best with consistency - both running and encouragement.

The 2009 Snickers Marathon was my 13th marathon in the last year and it was one of the most enjoyable that I have attended. The course was as advertised (we in Florida understand that anyone not living in Florida doesn't really understand the true definition of flat), and certainly interesting enough to keep you entertained.

The volunteers were phenomenal all along the course. There were certainly more volunteers than runners, which was really neat. They were enthusiastic and energetic even for us five-hour finishers.

There was an abundance of food throughout the course and more porta-johns than needed - which is unusual. A lot of smaller-sized marathons (1500 - 2500 total) should use this marathon as a model of how to put on a marathon! The city is easy to navigate; everyone is friendly; and hotel accommodations, while not particularly close to the course, were very inexpensive. We had a terrific time and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to run a Georgia marathon.

The only negatives were that, while we arrived at packet pickup shortly after it opened, they were already out of some shirt sizes, the medals were pretty chintzy, and while two of our group won or placed in their age group, they were sent home thinking they hadn't come close. Still, these three things did not come close to ruining a great time.

Great small marathon. Staff was great, and fans were sparse, but there were course volunteers all over the course. Aid stations were great and very friendly. Several types of fruit made for a nice touch, mixed with the gels and marathon bars. Perfect day for a run with the early morning fog. Could have been a few more porta-potties in the first 10 miles, but they had an awesome set up. I really liked that they escort every finisher as they crossed the line, and they asked about any needs and got your water - nice touch!

I loved this marathon. The marathon was well organized, the course was great and the volunteers were the best!!!! The fog for the first 1/2 was a new twist and much better than full sun on such a beautiful day. The 4:15 pacer was right on track and very much appreciated.

If you just like to run (i.e., don't need big crowds or glitz), then this marathon is for you. The organization is superb, the volunteers were excellent... the course is just right. Most people just starting to run longer races think that flat marathons are perfect, but most runners would agree that rolling hills are the way to go and that is exactly what is offered at this marathon. Even though the course has lots of turns, there were plenty of volunteers at each turn to guide you on the course. The traffic control was excellent (except there was one point on the course where the runners were on the side of the road, with slow moving traffic near them - I am not sure if this was intentional, but the drivers were very cautious and respectful). Although there is a half-marathon going on at the same time (which I can understand since this generates more participation), there was almost no contact with these runners. The weather was outstanding - foggy, with a cool breeze occasionally - the kind of weather that you can recall having on a great weekend workout you may have had at some point. They had water, Gatorade at well positioned aid stops, porta-potties on the course and GU also in the right places at the right times. Packet pick up was a breeze and a small, friendly expo. Parking and leaving was easy as well. I can't say enough good things about this race. I only have a small regret in that I hope it remains this good, despite its obvious chance for explosive growth!

I ran this past weekend and had a great time. I look for smaller marathons these days that are still well-run and supported. This race featured about 600 in the marathon and 1500 overall with the half and fun run. It's just large enough to make it an event and small enough that it was never bothersome to run.

There were some quiet stretches, but for the most part there was good crowd support and volunteers at every crossroad. Great police presence as well.

Friendly volunteers and great weather made this a wonderful event that I can highly recommend.