This race was great.

The course was well designed. There were few hills, which is amazing considering the brutal hills in Pittsburgh. It was organized very well. Plenty of water stations, oranges, and Vaseline. Even people throughout the neighborhoods donated water and supplies. The crowd support was my favorite part. Around mile 20, I got a bottle of water from a little girl and her mother who were handing them out (not affiliated with the race). Local high school bands came out too.

The start and finish line may have been a little chaotic, but it's a race in the city. There isn't much extra space in which to put that many people. There could have been more volunteers at the finish line, though, and I could have used some more direction to the bag check since it had been moved from the beginning of the race. As for parking, it's always a mess in Pittsburgh. I can see how it may have been frustrating, especially for those from out of town.

Overall, the race was great. I loved it and can't wait to do it again.

This is a very fun run. The 2009 return of the marathon to Pittsburgh was not without organizational glitches, but it was well done and the crowd response was very motivating. The variety of neighborhoods made the race very special (the beer at mile 24 was outstanding!), although parts of the course were a bit empty (such as the last part of mile 24 and the first half of mile 25).
Overall, this was a great experience and the city did well.

It was a great time.

Living in Western PA, I've been waiting for the "return" of Pittsburgh for several years. After a wonderful experience this year, it was well worth the wait!

Organization: great! As recommended by the organizers, I got there early to park and had no problems. I parked in the garage for $5 at the convention center about 1 block from the start. The start itself was well-organized, with suggested pace signs posted. I lined up with the 3:10 crowd and had no issues at the start.

Course: Fantastic! It was a great tour of the city - we hit all of the neighborhoods. To get 26.2 miles in Pittsburgh that's relatively flat was amazing. Of course, there is the one significant hill after the half, but it's really not a big deal. I kept a steady pace, climbed right up, and resumed my regular pace for the rest of the race. The steep downhill around 22-24 was really nice. By the time I hit the 25 mile-mark, I felt great. It was easy to push the last mile (my fastest) with the cheering crowds. It would be cool to run closer to the stadiums and the river, but overall, a well-designed course.

Overall, a great mid-size race that I'd highly recommend!

For my first marathon, I was very happy to see how my home town cheered me on. My home town did a great job of organizing it, and it went off without a hitch. I will be running it next year.

One of the best marathons on the East Coast. There's only one negative: ugly medals, especially for the half-marathon. Very bad.

I was impressed by the city, the race, and the people of Pittsburgh. Great low-cost dining. The baseball stadium is a great place to spend the night before. It is an outstanding value for major league sports.

The expo was special, with Bill Rodgers taking the time to make everyone enjoy their experience in Pittsburgh. Thank you, Bill. The course was not the toughest; with all of the great hills there, it could have been a lot tougher. Well-run and thought-out. A very enjoyable event. Thanks!

The marathon course was challenging, but not overwhelming. The hills were not as bad as they could be. Some of the areas were not the most attractive. The weather was cloudy and cool with some rain - very good, in my opinion. The rain prevented some spectators from coming out, but those that did were great.

The expo was a little sparse but there were plenty of helpful volunteers.

The desire to be eco-friendly was admirable and mostly well-executed. As many have noted, the Styrofoam cups were tough to drink out of. I was glad to see that they were recycling the space blankets and almost everything else.

The race was very well done. I was expecting some snafus in the rebirth, but was very happy with how well the race went. The organization was very good, the crowds were excellent, and I was happy with the course modifications. Very proud of my home town and the friendly people of Pittsburgh.

Hearing where I was headed, friends and family all had the same reaction: "Pittsburgh? You're going voluntarily?" Yes, I was, and it was a good race!

The expo was reasonable, not enormous. I was glad to see plenty of running shoes available. And having Bill Rodgers there was impressive. We also took the opportunity to ride the incline and visit the Heinz Museum, both of which I recommend to visitors.

Race day: parking was awful. We wound up on the other side of the Sixteenth Street Bridge and had to hike a mile to the start. The start area was a bit odd for those of us lined up in the back, with two right-angle turns before we even crossed the starting line. (And the porta-potties, with signs saying, "Capacity: 10 persons" were good for a laugh!) The course itself was well laid out. I would have liked more bridges because I love "bridgey" runs; however, the course designer did a good job of avoiding the steeper hills that Pittsburgh has in abundance. I felt that we had a good tour of various Pittsburgh neighborhoods, both upscale and emerging.

The split between the full/half was easy to navigate, although it was difficult to figure out which way to go at the second relay station. By the way, volunteers directing traffic should not be on cell phones rather than assisting confused runners.

Especially appreciated were the church members who came out in force to staff aid stations and support the runners. I saw one church with a sign saying that services would be Saturday night so they could cheer for the marathon Sunday morning - what a wonderful idea! Aid stations were plentiful and well stocked, and having different flavors of PowerAde was a nice touch. Not all of us like lemon-lime. I'd have loved more oranges along the course, too.

The finish line was a little crowded and difficult to anticipate, due to turns just before the finish. I'm sure that the finish-line staff appreciated being undercover, but I had a hard time finding my friends after the race (had to scale a guardrail and hike back) and noted that there were a great many non-runners in the finish area and there were no bagels left. I don't think that was coincidence.

The shirt wasn't bad, the medal reasonable, and the socks in the goody bag were nice. The hike back to parking was not so good. And it would be great if the race could work out an agreement with a local gym to allow runners to shower post-race.

All in all, a good race, and one I would wholeheartedly recommend to other runners.