Fantastic marathon! Fans were great, and the course was perfect! I did my personal best and qualified for Boston! Excellent job. I will be back next year.

I want to thank all of the cheering fans and volunteers. Without you I may not have made it through... especially the woman on the last stretch; she started to talk to me when I was at my worst. She was running on the side along with me and her words of encouragement meant everything to me. I thanked her for talking to me and she responded, "Well, I tried to talk to my husband and he told me to get away from him, haha." I wish I knew her name; I would send a special "thank you" note to her!!

I would like to commend the organizers, volunteers and spectators for making this race an incredible experience overall!

The expo was nicely laid out and fun to browse. I had hoped to see Meb's presentation, but did not see any directions to it. We still had a good time anyway.

I thought the gift bag was a little thin for a race of this scale. We received a gray gym bag and a neon blue tech shirt (not my favorite color, so I bought a white one at Dick's Sporting Goods). A $10 gift card from Dick's (we got $20 last year) and some sneaker balls.

The spaghetti dinner was a near disaster for us, unfortunately. While in line around 6 p.m., we were told it would be a long wait to be seated. Our guess is that they were simply overwhelmed by last-minute ticket buyers. We were given a prompt refund. Other restaurants in town were just as packed, and we finally went to a relative's house in town. Organizers may need to consider a larger venue next year to handle the crowds.

The course itself was challenging, but that is one reason I chose Pittsburgh. There are a lot of inclines of varying grades and lengths, especially from Mile 12 on. Nothing horrible that will stop you in your tracks, but you do have to be prepared.

The neighborhoods were great, and there were spectators and music the entire way. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

There were plenty of water stops, with a lot of friendly volunteers. I passed on Vaseline, oranges, etc., but they were available for those who did want them.

I would definitely run the Pittsburgh Marathon again. Next time, I will own the hills!

First off, the course was great - it showcases the city and the climbs really aren't that bad, especially considering the location. There was a lot of crowd support despite the horrible weather and lots of on-course support too. The expo was great and we got a lot of nice stuff for the entry fee.

However, they really need some help in organization of the start/finish areas. The start was a zoo, and I was weaving through walkers for the first 5 miles. If you are going to walk, stay to the side, or better yet, use the walker start (one hour earlier). And don't walk 5-people across! So, next year, use corrals and a wave start. Also, the finish area: where was the food? I think it was farther down the road, but, I saw the chance to turn left and escape the crowd, so I did that. The only other complaint is about the road closures. Not all of this is the race's fault or anything they can control - Pittsburgh, especially downtown, is really a mess with tons of construction closures (even on ramps to the highways) and detours. It was very difficult for people to try to follow me on the course because of this, and the fact that when they would block off a street (for the race) they would block it off several blocks away, and then again right before the actual course. SO, if you are from out of town, trying to follow runners is almost impossible.

Overall, a great course, and great support from the city and its residents, but I think this year it was a case of growing too fast, too soon. A wave start and better directions for spectators from out of town would do tons to improve the experience!

Race organizers did another wonderful job. Thank you. I started running this marathon when the start line was at the zoo; there have been many changes and significant improvements since then. Thanks too for the crowd support despite the rain.

Pittsburgh has now stepped into the second tier in terms of size. Granted, it's not New York- or Chicago-big, but it's much larger than most. Over 16,000 people run all of the different races put together, with 4,011 for 26.2. That's a problem of sorts when you have half, relay, and full all in a three-block area to start the race. I understand the photo-op, but the start was too congested. The course is hilly, and you do cross four bridges. The weather was tough - very humid, and rain for most of the day. The medical staff was awesome! They were all over the place. The water stops were so numerous that there were too many! The finishing chute was far too congested as well. The planners should consider re-routing to Point State Park. The food after the race was in good supply. The sponsors were well represented and should be proud. The finishing medals are nice and very solid. The expo was very informative and large. The spectators were sparse on such a poor weather day, but the ones who showed up were great. Oranges in Shadyside, water in Homewood from two cute little kids, candy, etc... the people of Pittsburgh were very nice. Overall, well done Pittsburgh!

The fans at this marathon could not have been better. There were so many bands, DJs, cheering squads, marching bands, and even volunteers handing out water who weren't associated with the marathon. It was pouring rain, but there were still so many people out all offering support.

I was pretty impressed with the course as well. It was a very good tour of a lot of Pittsburgh, and it managed to avoid a lot of the steep grades that are all over Pittsburgh. That being said... it is still a very hilly marathon, and you must come prepared. The only part of the course I would complain about were the relay exchanges... they took up a lot of space and were very chaotic, which was distracting.

Although the organizers made a huge effort, I believe there are many things that could be improved. First, 16,000 runners were way too many... the crowd was really tight until the half marathon split off. Second, I think the relay should be eliminated... it really detracted from my experience between the exchanges, and people around me constantly not running at a similar pace. Third, there were nowhere nearly enough porta potties at the start. Fourth, a lot of things - like packer pickup and gear check - were not clearly marked, and none of the volunteers we asked had any idea where these things were either.

There is a reason why Pittsburgh is known as the City of Champion: it is their spirit. It is obvious that the race organizers take pride in their work, as this was a first-class event. They mobilize a team of volunteers that is second to none. Race day was a great experience due to the fans, bands, and cheerleaders; and it was raining! There were water stops, music and fans for 26.2 miles. The expo was big-city. A sincere thank you to the volunteers and sponsors.

I ran the five-person relay in 2010. The course was great, but the timing system somehow malfunctioned, as it didn't register our last runner finishing. Due to that, none of us can view our times. Also, there were shuttle buses from the relay points back to the starting line, but there was an hour or more of a wait at every point. It took less time for me to walk the 3 miles back to the start than it would have taken to wait and ride. Overall, the fans were amazing though - there were plenty of people even though there was a steady rain for the entire race.

Having been from western PA, I knew it could be a challenging first marathon, but I was very impressed with the route and it was challenging - mostly Forbes Ave., the rest being pretty flat. Miles 22-24 were downhill- a blessing!!! It was awesome to see the different parts of Pittsburgh close up and crowd support was incredible, especially since it rained from miles 2-23!! The water/Gatorade stands were plentiful and overall it was a great first marathon! Also, I must add that the free technical T's and medals were awesome, considering many participants from the previous year said they were rough-looking! I would recommend this race!