The rain in 2011 definitely helped keep me cool on the hills. Not an easy course by any stretch of the imagination, but the finish is one of the easiest I've ever experienced. The organization this year was also excellent. Lots of very long aid stations with energy gels, food and drink. My wife thought that the new finish was not as friendly to spectators, but for the runners, it was easy and organized. Lots of bands along the course made it fun. Spectator were great, especially considering the rain. I still wish that the race could take advantage of at least one of the spectacular city parks that Pittsburgh has to offer, but the course is still nicely representative of this great city.

They ran out of free posters, but otherwise, a great race - especially after mile 21.

This was my first marathon and it was a great experience. The fans and volunteers are fantastic. The views of the city are spectacular and you really appreciate Pittsburgh.

Love the course. Great fan support. Lots of bands playing along the way. I wish we could have had a stadium finish and not just a parking lot finish but it was cool how the finish line was right after crossing the last bridge. Not much direction at the end of the race to find food, water or shuttles back to hotel. Looking forward to running again next year.

Of the four marathons I've run, this was by far the best organized and centered around making the runner's experience great. Terrific in-race support, great course markers, and very solid logistics.

Having run both the 2010 and 2011 Pittsburgh Marathons, it is clear that the race director, and the city itself, are jointly making all of the needed changes to put put this race on the map. The expo was fantastic, there was a great goody bag, and the friendly volunteers made the pre-race easy. Parking was rough on race day and the start line was far from the parking. The new course offers a great start, although waves (like Disney) would be preferred. The volunteers and spectators are great along the course, and the finish in 2011 is amazing compared to 2010. The medal at the end is fantastic! Come run the City of Bridges in 2012 - it will only get better, I'm sure!

I feel compelled to write a review for this marathon. I have run 18 marathons and this is the first review I've ever posted.

I signed up for this race knowing it wasn't an easy course. There were no negative surprises in the course; the second half is pretty hilly. That being said, the course was never congested (at least not at my pace), it went through really fun areas, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The spectators are lively & fantastic as well!

The organization was top notch. The communication was timely, thorough, and their Facebook posts generated tons of enthusiasm for me and others.

I highly recommend this race and think people contemplating running this will not be disappointed.

The Pittsburgh Marathon is not for the faint of heart but it is one of the most unique courses I have run. You get to see quite the neighborhoods throughout the journey (although I only did the half). I am pumped to run it again this year.

Growing up watching runners come over the bridge and enter Point State Park, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. For a race like Pittsburgh to now have its finish line in some random place near the convention center just sucks. Fortunately that's my only complaint: expo was great, medal was excellent, and crowd support was decent given the nasty weather.

I've run this marathon both years since it resumed. The course is challenging - a big uphill stretch between mile 11 and 13 - but it also ends with a nice, long downhill followed by a flat mile.

The crowd support is great throughout, especially on the north side, where the mayor lives, in the south side, where you pass all the pubs, and Oakland, where the University of Pittsburgh is located. But the highlight is Bloomfield, at mile 23. This is the Italian neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and they show up in HUGE numbers to cheer you on before the big downhill. Just down the street, you pass Church Brew Works, a former church turned into a brewery, where they hand out small cups of beer. My first year on this course, I was really struggling at this point and that swig of beer helped me remember that running is fun, and got me through to the finish line.

Don't expect a PR, but this is a great race experience.