This has been my favorite 1/2 marathon by far. Loved the volunteers, vendors and spectators. The view was the best of all. I look forward to next year!

We have run this half twice and the full once before, and this year was by far the best yet. The organizers nailed it this year with great volunteers and aid stations and the best after party of any like sized race. The weather was in the low 50s so all in all a great day for running. Congratulations Melbourne!

As a marathon maniac I felt the need to come in and squash some of the negative comments already posted.
THIS IS A GREAT REGIONAL RACE that is still going through some growth issues but is one of the best races of this size I have ever run.
PRO:
- Well organized and a very helpful staff and volunteer team.
- Medal, shirt and hat are better than you find at most national races.
- Expo is great!
- More cones on this course than I have ever seen at a race!
- Looping course with bridges provide nice scenery and a good challenge.
- The piano player at the top of one of the bridges reminded me of Big Sur Marathon.
- Plenty of water stations on the course.
- They recycled everything.
CONS:
- Weather was warm and humid.
- Early water stops need to be spread out more.
- A bit of a bottleneck for the first mile or so.

Other than the weather, I can't think of any issues that can't be easily corrected.
I will run this one again and encourage fellow Maniacs and 50 Staters to do the same.

First and last time I do this race. Organization was poor and that is being kind. The first two aid stations were SWAMPED with runners and not enough volunteers. The piano at the top of the causeway would have been nice...if it left room for the runners to get by. The majority of the bands or DJs were taking a break when I went by or were playing low key music...nothing up beak. At the finish there wasn't enough water and they ran our of food. It looked like there were plenty of homeless, spectators, and volunteers that had eaten before the race participants. I realize this race is still young...but this was the 3rd or 4th year of its existence. The race director should have these issues ironed out by now. I heard several similiar complaints from others around me.

Nice marathon, aid stations were adequate although a bit overwhelmed at the first two. Tough day weather wise but at least the sun stayed away. Love the medal and shirt.

This is my second trip to Melbourne first time for the Full Marathon.

Pro
1. The Medal, Shirt and Hat are nice and well done.
2. Music on the course - Grand Piano at the top of the bridge was great - very different collection of musicians was nice change of pace.
3. Easy parking near start and finish.
4. Yes you had to look out for the Hand Cyclist BUT what an inspiration - I have nothing to complain about with these veterns who have served our country cycling their hearts out.

Cons

1. No food at finish - I finished at 4:55 and got a banana and a water. There was no other food I felt bad for the slower runners behind me - I knew I had food in my car and was only one hour from home. They were shutting down and packing up when I finished.
2. Some water stops thinly supported - but the volunteers were great.

The expo is basic and easy to navigate.

I ran the 8k and the 5k on Saturday and enjoyed Saturday more as there was plenty of food and entertainment after the race.

Very good for a small marathon.

Course - Fully 'coned' and felt safe at all times. Plenty of room to run. Nice views from bridges and along the bay.

Crowd - Not a lot, small bunches along the route. About right for the size of the marathon.

Music - A lot of varied types, a couple bands, a couple DJ's, several different orchestra members, and a grand piano being played at the top of the causeway bridge! I also loved the group of accordian players.

Weather - 2012 Hot and very humid, can happen in Florida. Back it down and have fun. 2010 and 2011 weren't bad.

Water stations - crowded at the beginning, but no problems later in race. Volunteers were great.

Expo - About as good as it gets for a small marathon.

This is the 4th time I have ran this race and it keeps getting better each year. Great music along the route and plenty of portapotties along the course. They need more portalets at the start and I heard food ran out after the 5 plus hour folks finished but it was great for everyone before that time. This is probably one of the best half courses around and highly recommend!!

The Good

- Parking was a breeze and right next to the starti
- Nice Shirt, Hat, Medal
- Food at the finish was very good - but I only ran the half and do feel bad for those marathoners who didn't get anything
- Musicians along the course were great
- Volunteers were awesome
- Frequent Water/Gatorade stations - very important given the humidity
- Course was scenic and running the causeways added a little bit of a challenge to an overall flat course.

The Bad

- 1st 2 water stations were overwhelmed. I couldn't get to the 1st one and had to wait at the 2nd one because the volunteers couldn't keep up.
- Gels should be handed out at the 3rd or 4th station, not the 1st. I planned to pick one up at the 1st and eat it about mile 5, but I couldn't get to it and had to do without until mile 9 (which was the only other place to get gels)
- Spectators were sparse but I'm okay with that.

- Was given a bottle of water at the finish, but had a hard time finding any more water.

The Ugly

- Very humid this particular day - not normal for February and nothing anyone has any control over.
- Because the course is a double loop, not sure what can be done about the hand cyclists interfering with the runners. Letting them go 1st doesn't solve the problem since they will just impact runners on the 2nd time through. A wider course may alleviate the problem.

Overall, Everything is setup for a really good 1/2 marathon and I'd like to come back and do it again, but more though needs to be done to accommodate the issues encountered by the full marathoners.

I ran the half and my husband ran the full. Prepare for high humidity/warm conditions for this race. Thanks to mostly overcast skies, it made the conditions for the runners alittle more favorable, but still high humidity. Thanks to the volunteers and their support. Loved the orange half's, I took one at every aid station if available. The Gatorade was horrifically watered down and speaking of; found a piece of the plastic cup in the bottom of my Gatorade cup as I was drinking it; don't know how it got in there, but could of been ugly.
The course was nicely planned; crossing over the 'causeways' was interesting and having a piano player at the top of the south causeway was cool. I would suggest, opening up the course where there was cones; it was very narrow for runners and was hard to find a flat area to run on. The roads dipped to the right, probably for storm drainoff's. Great finish area with plenty of good food. Loved the pizza and orange juice. I loved the announcer at the finish, he's comical. Nice medal and tech tee. Thanks Melbourne!