I didn't read user comments here regarding 2008 until after I had signed up for 2009, so I was a bit nervous going into the beginning of the race. These fears were largely unfounded. If I could I would give organization 3.5 stars, with points getting knocked off for not having corrals or time markers at the beginning or clear directions or signs for runners at the end. The course itself shows off Providence's varying sights well, with a fair portion of the course winding down a wooded bike path. Good course support with lots of Gatorade and water.

This year, everything from the expo to the water stops to the course were hugely improved. The course was awesome and well organized. Having done nearly 20 marathons, this was one of my favorites. The first water stop was 1.5 miles into the run and not staffed well enough, but I didn't mind because it was so early in the race that I didn't need water yet. After that, they seemed to be well staffed. I really enjoyed the bike path after some rolling hills along the first half of the course. The live band, pizza, and beer at the end of the race were cool. Much better sponsorship this year also. Overall, I think this will be a super spring marathon for years to come. I hope they keep the course as it is!

I was wary about running this race, based on the comments from 2008. The 2009 version seemed to be much improved from '08 based on those comments. Providence is a nice city, and the people were all extremely hospitable and accommodating. Great Italian food on Federal Hill. Every policeman I encountered had a great sense of humor and was very polite. The expo was decent - not great, but certainly not tiny. I did chuckle about the basement finishing booth. The course started and ended right in front of my hotel, so certainly no complaints there. The majority was run on a bike path through woods and past water (into residential neighborhoods where the folks were really friendly and encouraging). There were lots of turns and switchbacks, but it was not a bad route.

Now, the downside. Granted I'm no speedster; I finished around 4:20. But there was ZERO food left!! For the last mile, everyone was cheering, "Just a little farther for pizza and beer!" Well, guess what? No pizza, no bananas, no nothing. Zippo. I guess I have to run faster if I want post-race food. The course could be supported with more water stations I thought. A few times, they seemed sparse. I debated about wearing my water belt, chose not to, and paid for it. I've run 7 half-marathons, and this was my 2nd marathon. The others had better on-course support and tons of post-race food. I'm not sure about the green race part either. There were tons of wasted full Gatorade bottles dumped in the trash.

All in all, it was a nice race and I'd run it again. I liked Providence.

I had some concerns based on comments posted about last year's inaugural race. So, before I signed up, I emailed the race director to get his take on what was said. And he got back to me the same day! (Try that at a major marathon.) I was comfortable with his answers and I'm glad that I ran this race.

It's not going to have a huge expo or major crowd support (hardly any), but it's a nice, low-key marathon with easy-to-manage logistics. The host hotel was a block away from the start (and cheap, at $149). Definitely worth staying there - and the Starbucks across the street helped.

This was my first smaller marathon (after 3 large ones). They're not for everyone, especially if you really feed off of the crowd support. It's tough in those last few miles when you could really use some motivation - at least it was for me. But I did shave 10 minutes off of my PR, so I was thrilled with the result.

The course was moderately hilly - actually it seemed a lot gentler than the online elevation chart indicated - with some water views and time spent on a paved bike path. And you certainly can't blame crowds for slowing you down.

Some possible improvements: there seemed to be a couple of mile markers missing late in the race (or maybe I was delirious) - though the mileage was spray-painted on the pavement. A few extra water stops would have been nice.

Thanks for a nice, small-town race-feel. Everyone I encountered at the expo and on the course was friendly and helpful. And it was great to be able to greet my family immediately after crossing the finish line (even if they refused to hug me in my post-marathon state).

I read a lot of complaints about the previous year so I was a little nervous about this year, but the race director really did a fantastic job! The entire marathon had cones for traffic control as well as a slew of voulunteers and police. The water stations were fully staffed and stocked, and the course was very nice. My only negative was that there was no food tent at the end, but apart from that it was a great race.

I have to say, I wasn't expecting much. It is a first-year, smaller race. I loved it!! I enjoyed the route (hills are good), and the volunteers at water stops and intersections were great. The police on the course were even encouraging runners! Great time; highly recommended.

I've run in over 200 races and count this race as one of my top favorites for many reasons. 1) So many happy volunteers along the course. 2) Excellent police presence on the roads. 3) Plenty of aid stations along the course. 4) Good food and music at the finish line. 5) Tons of crowd support, especially considering the weather. 6) Loved finishing in downtown Providence. 7) Race packet pick-up was well organized, quick and easy. With the changes the race director mentioned in his comments, this should be an outstanding race next year!

This was the first year for the event and it had a few bugs at the start. It did not help that it was raining. Race started 10 minutes late - waiting for buses to arrive. Probably would not have noticed if the weather were better. Their website says that they are moving the start and finish to downtown Providence, near the Weston. Course had a few hills, but if you live in New England, races have hills. I live in RI and run hills all of the time. Plenty of food and refreshments at finish. If you have not been to RI, you will love Providence and Newport: great restaurants, beautiful ocean. I'll be back again.

I heard about the lambasting here in the comments and had to come take a look. I can see where most of the commenters are coming from, although I basically never expect huge support or all the amenities and just treat them as a bonus when I get them.

I had heard about the mean cop, but the one that I interacted with was very polite and apologetic. They were trying to hold classes and runners can be a noisy lot.

I am going to try to plan on going back. I expect that there will be improvements and it will be cool to see the differences from years 1 to 2.

I have never had to organize a marathon before, so I don't know how difficult it can be. But I have run them before and this one definitely left out some of the basics. I don't know how well you can judge the future of this marathon based on this one inaugural disaster. Hopefully they have learned from their mistakes and next year will be better. Things to watch out for though:

1. Expo: Sad and little. Don't go expecting to check out apparel, shoes, running gadgets, GU, et cetera, because it's just not there. There were six tents including the packet pick-up area.

2. Race start: I parked at the state house and was bused to the start. I made sure to get there early, since there were only a limited number of free parking spaces. This was unnecessary. Most people did not arrive until much closer to the start of the race. It was a chilly rainy morning (granted not the race director's fault) but we were kicked out of two campus buildings by an overly righteous security guard who made it clear he was not happy to be there. Everyone was lined up about 15 minutes before the race was supposed to start and had to stand there in the rain getting cold and losing motivation. Then the race was delayed about 10 min. because people were still arriving in buses. The beginning of the course was tough; it was crowded and the roads were in bad shape. One girl who looked to be boxed in stepped in a pothole and blew out her ankle in the first mile.

3. Course: The course was difficult. Streets were not adequately blocked and I saw a group of runners almost get taken out by an impatient SUV trying to turn left. One of the aid stations ran out of water and only had grape Gatorade left. Providence is a very scenic and beautiful city; you would not be able to tell that from the views from the course. The half and full both started together; then the halfers split off. The race went quickly downhill after this split. (I mean that proverbially of course; the race course seemed to have twice as many uphills as downhills.) After that, spectators were few and far between, but so were other marathoners for that matter. Some by-standers even seemed confused by what was going on and where people were running to.

4. Finish: The food at the finish was good. There were bananas, Vitamin Waters, crackers, SoyJoy, DD bagels and cookies, and Willowtree chicken salad. There were also massages. And also very few people. It almost seemed deserted. The worst part of the race as a whole was the organization at the finish. There were no buses available to take you back to where your car was parked. I had to ask a cop how to get back to my car. He told me it was about a 20 minutes walk (up the huge hill in front of Prov. Place Mall). I grabbed another cookie for the long haul and began the shuffle back to my car. I like to think of it as a nice cool down and character-building exercise. It also gave me a chance to "bond" with other marathoners who were making the same trek.

With a few adjustments, this has the potential to be a decent race. However, as is, it is sort of a disaster marathon.