As a native Western Pennsylvanian, I was very excited to have an opportunity to finally run the Pittsburgh Marathon. It did not disappoint.

Course: The course is challenging. There is a moderate climb leading to an extended plateau around mile 12. The good news is that you come down off of the plateau around miles 23-24 and finish on level ground. So if you are still feeling good around mile 21, you should be able to make your goal.

Organization: I have no major complaints about the race organization. There were more than enough water stations along the way, and the volunteers were great. I was feeling a bit light-headed when I finished and several volunteers were very helpful.
One minor gripe that, in general, seems to be repeated many times in marathon reviews was the medal handout at the finish. This seems like such a simple concept: place a medal around the runner's neck when they finish. Instead, runners had to seek out the medal holding volunteers towards the back of the post-race area. At least they weren't still in plastic bags!

Spectators: The crowd support was great! The fans really embraced this race and there was a lot of enthusiastic support even in the areas where the crowds were smaller.

Conclusion: If you haven't run this one, add it to your list. You won't regret it. Let's just hope the race is back for 2010! Thanks to all of those who made it happen in 2009.

Positives:

Relatively level course: A true achievement given Pittsburgh's topography. I know some people complained about the "hills," but seriously, if you're tough enough to take on a 26.2-mile run, surely 200 feet of elevation shouldn't be an issue. Unless you're from south Florida, or the Arizona desert, I don't see the hills in this race being an issue for anyone trying to run a PR or BQ.

Crowd support: Great support on the course. People who were out were very enthusiastic. Lots of kids!

Nice shirt: I like the Nike tech shirt.

Friendly and helpful volunteers - Everyone I talked to had a smile on their face and were extremely willing to help.

Areas for improvement:

No-show shuttle buses: I ran the final leg of the relay. The shuttle bus to the relay exchange point was 1 hour late (the Relay Handbook stated the shuttles would run every half hour starting at the beginning of the race). NO EXCUSE FOR THIS. By the time the bus did show up, some of us who would be at the front of the pack were nervous that we would miss our teammates. Then, the police wouldn't let the shuttle buses through roadblocks. At that point we should have had a police escort. Anyway, once we were off the designated route, the bus driver didn't know how to get exchange zone. Fortunately, locals on the bus knew an alternative, yet longer route. As it was, the shuttle got us to the relay exchange zone with about 10 minutes to spare. I'm sure there's an explanation for this, but this was a pretty major screw up.

Congestion at the finish: There simply wasn't enough room for all of the finishers to disperse. Add to that all of the family members and friends mingling around, and the finish area was mobbed. The convention center overhang gave the finish area a very claustrophobic feel.

Finish line eats: People finishing a marathon deserve more than a banana, cookie and water.

Medals: Sponsor "billboards" on the medals are tacky, and cheapen the accomplishment of those who completed the marathon. Save the advertising for other areas of the race. I'm not saying sponsors shouldn't be recognized, but do you see a McDonald's emblem on an Olympic medal?

I want to thank all of the volunteers. Your time, energy and efforts are greatly appreciated.

I am glad Pittsburgh hosts a marathon, I just wish it was not the same weekend as the Flying Pig.

I have mixed emotions about this race. I have run a number of marathons, so if I had the authority to change a few things, this would be my list: First, the medal should be handed out immediately when one crosses the finish line. I felt like I had to go find the medal. Also, the medal design was okay. If this was the 20th anniversary, why didn't they indicate that on the medal? Second, when I went to pick up my bib and chip, I discovered that the poster would be available after the race. They should have just included the poster in the bag with the t-shirt. Finally, the City of Pittsburgh needs to embrace the marathon and recognize the overall economic potential it can have for the city.

Everything was good on the course and at the start. The finish area needs work. There should've been more refreshments outside the runners' area, and the location of the bag-drop trucks should have been more clearly communicated before and after the race. Volunteers were awesome and the route was fantastic.

I smiled from start to finish in this race. The start was on time and not overly crowded. The hills on the course, with the exception of the one at mile 12, were gentle, with gentle downhills - just enough so that the legs weren't exhausted from either going up or going down. The race committee went out of its way to make this a great event.

Glad to see the city of Pittsburgh has a marathon again. I look forward to the race in 2010. There are many positives and a few negatives about the race:

Positives:
1) Course that touches all of the city
2) Technical race shirt
3) Number of marathon runners
4) Weather
5) Volunteer support
6) Crowds

Negatives:
1) Styrofoam cups
2) Information about race food and drink
3) Finish festival

I traveled from Phoenix to run this race in the 'Burgh because I heard so many great things about how amazing the marathon used to be - the tremendous organization, the terrific spectators and how "flat" it was. It lived up to every expectation and then some. I also discovered what the Natives consider flat! I would say that it was a very hilly course, but they were rolling hills with every uphill followed by an equally generous downhill. There was a major climb around Mile 11 that wasn't balanced out until the gravity free-for-all around Mile 24.

All in all, a GREAT race. The perfect size, an awesome layout that takes you through a variety of interesting towns and plenty of bridges, and supportive fans throughout the course. There were no parking issues, you were able to run right from the get go, and it was a pleasure to finish a block from the start. It made for very easy logistics.

Well done, Pittsburgh!

And by the way, the "Styrofoam" cups were actually biodegradable and kept with the Green theme.

The Pittsburgh Marathon was a great experience for me. The volunteer staff was both superb and plentiful. The race organizers did a great job after a 5-year absence. The only exception in my mind was the lack of a staggered start time for the marathon, half-marathon and relay marathon events. Due to a small staging area and congested start to the race, the full-marathoners should have been able to start alone and unimpeded.

Instead the runners had to combat the relay teams and half-marathon runners to find their groove. For those of us trying to run a Boston time, this was challenging.

We also had to contend with passing the walkers around mile 4 as they started one hour in advance - this only added to the congestion early in the race.

Other than that, it was a fantastic event and experience.

The Pittsburgh Marathon course was wonderful. The spectators were encouraging and provided a lot of motivation all throughout the course. I felt the excitement throughout the entire 26.2 miles. The volunteers were always friendly. The free shirt was great and I loved the Panera bagels and eat 'n park smiley face cookies at the finish line. It was a lot of fun... I can't wait to run it again next year!

This was my first marathon and I was a bit nervous that a 6 year hiatus would make for a few bumps in the marathon organization. However, this was not the case at all. This marathon was super organized, and while I was running, I couldn't think of anything I needed that wasn't provided. Water/Gatorade were plentiful, as were Vaseline, GU, and fruit.

The course was beautiful. I'd never been to Pittsburgh and it showed off the city beautifully.

The spectators were not always plentiful, but those that were there, were enthusiastic.

Great job, Pittsburgh.

(My only suggestion for next year is to switch to paper cups from Styrophone cups, as styrophone cups are very difficult to drink with while running.)