I'd never been to Tacoma so wasn't sure what to expect. I really like the variety of the scenery throughout. We ran through downtown, along the river, through beautiful Defiance Park, neighborhoods, and along a super smooth bike path to finish. Great! Kept my mind busy since there wasn't much crowd support. However, I liked the more peaceful journey without all the hubbub.

Small race made it super easy run your pace right from the beginning. No starting line chaos.

Parked on the street nearby so I could walk to and from the start/finish with ease. Awesome!

Volunteers at the aid stations were wonderful! Great to have 3 different GU stations along the way so that I didn't have to carry any nutrition. Love that!

Only 2 suggestions for improvement: the race packets for the morning of were not at the expo site, as advertised. Since we parked near the expo, we had to walk all the way to the start line to get our numbers and then back to our car and back to start line to run. So better pre-race communication on that would've been good. Also, the awards for the women's race were improperly distributed and still haven't been sorted out (two weeks later). Most people could care less though, I'm sure! :)

I would definitely recommend this race to others with fair warning that the hills are very, very challenging. It reminded me of Boston - my quads were sore for a week after!

I loved this course; it was a bit difficult, but the day was perfect and the scenery and atmosphere just seemed right. The maniacs were out in full force and had pacers for those wanting a certain time, which was a nice touch. There are many marathons in Washington state, but I have to put this one at or near the top of my favorites.

The volunteers were wonderful and they gave out Gu, as advertised. Just showing up with running shorts, shirt and shoes is all you need to do, as they take care of you completely from beginning to end!

Listen up!! If Grannie Annie, at age 64 1/2, can do these hills, so can you. The Marathon Maniacs put on one good, challenging race. Thank you for the one-hour early start for us slow pokes. Great medal; great, black, tech, short-sleeve shirt; great directions throughout the course; great traffic control. There's one killer hill just to get your heart rate up, and there are other hills to challenge the muscles. Expo, wonderful: even better. After-race expo is open; baggage pickup, bathrooms, medals - all indoors. This is my 47th state in 50-states quest, and I am very proud to say I came through it just dandy. Tacoma City is a wonderful place to visit.

This is my third half-marathon (the first two being Seattle and Vancouver). The primary reason I chose Tacoma was the proximity to my own home in Port Orchard and the fact that it was on a Saturday. I loved running this course. The hills in downtown were not that bad, especially since they were at the beginning. I enjoyed the historic downtown area and am impressed with how they have cleaned it up. I loved running by Stadium High School and Stadium Bowl. Running down Ruston Way was OK - it would have been nicer on a clear day. I enjoyed the last mile - it was a great challenge. The finish was a bit tight (I squeezed through in an effort to get the best time possible). I don't need big crowds, music at every mile, or some of the other things the bigger city runs have had. My young family was able to get a GREAT spot to watch me round the corner and finish.
I thoroughly enjoyed running in Tacoma and there is nothing like that first mile, with so many people of like mind and purpose.
I look forward to making this an annual tradition.

Tacoma's Marathon will become a destination for all marathon runners. It is a beautiful course, challenging and fun! It runs along the water, through Point Defiance Park and past the Narrows Bridge... with a great noise distraction between miles 20-23 (Highway 16), and a final mile with a gentle downward slope (with a slight upward hill at the very end). All it needs is to recruit a few more spectators, which will happen in the years to come. Great job, Tacoma... see you next year!

The day was perfect - cool and overcast. Great scenery along Puget Sound and Fort Defiance Park, with flowers and views everywhere. The hills were a challenge, but actually good for the legs and mostly gradual. Most complaints in last year's "comments" were fixed. This was worth traveling up for.

So it was my first-ever half marathon run, and I've never done any type of race before, and it was awesome. I loved the staff - they even had encouraging police. There are several hills, but I loved them; they added to the challenge next year. I would love to try for the full.

This was my first marathon and I really enjoyed it - I am doing it again in 2008. The hills are tough, but if you are a Tacoman you're used to them!

This was the first time I have ever stopped to visit Tacoma and it was a very nice town. Easy packet pickup the morning of race and parking near the finish. With my key tied on my shoe I could finish the race, grab a water, hop in the car, and head back to Portland. Small field made some of the would-be organizational errors small (e.g. bathrooms in front of start line?).

Course was lovely, especially miles 1-18 out around Point Defiance. I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoyed discovering some great parts of Tacoma. I could only complain about a very tough stretch mentally between 20-23 (tough miles anyway). It was straight along a bike path near the freeway... very little scenery and endless pavement visible to the front. A long downhill finish partially made up for this and gave me some momentum back.

Overall, a fun race, great town, and I would say just the right amount of support. I appreciated the fact that I could run alone (no runners or support staff) for a few miles of the race.

I ran the Tacoma City Marathon as my third marathon. I had a great run and highly recommend this event. The middle third of the course is quite hilly and the runner needs to be prepared.

Things I liked:
The diverse scenery along the course
The many, enthusiastic volunteers
Nice shirt

Things I did not like:

Very little selection of food at the finish line
No space blankets at the finish
Few spectators along the course
The fact that the race was held on Mother's Day (changed for 2008)