Pittsburgh is a great city to visit for the marathon; bring your family, for the old, dirty, steel town of the 70's is no more.

The expo was well set up, providing you a nice backpack with the race logo; and the medal and t-shirt are well done.

The course was well designed, and you cross three rivers and bridges. Running through the neighborhoods was excellent; most residents were out to cheer you on. There's one short, steep hill, and some mini rollers in the second half. Mile 24 was downhill, and it hurt the quads. It's not a super PR course, but it is fast.

The people of Pittsburgh are very friendly, from guiding me on the bus from the airport to my hotel, to the awesome hotel staff at the Holiday Inn, who gave me directions and tips about what to see in the city. The volunteers on the course really showed some spirit and embraced the runners

If you were in the 3:30 pace group, you all rock and were strong!! Great job; this one is worth the flight from the west coast.

I live in Pittsburgh, and this was my first marathon. What a great experience! The weather was perfect, the course was great (no bad hills whatsoever, and a wonderful downhill at the end). Though the crowds were sparse in some parts, there was always SOMEBODY cheering and smiling, and the crowds overall were amazing. Even the water and aid station people were cheering as they handed out supplies - many of them yelled my name out (and we got high fives from police and firefighters and kids along the way)! People handed out orange slices and gummy bears. There were great bands and dancers. This marathon really showcases the City of Pittsburgh, the wonderful neighborhoods, and the great people we have here! Overall, very well organized! Can't wait to do it again!

I've run this course six other times. The course is challenging with lots of great crowd support. I also enjoy the City of Pittsburgh... it makes for a fun weekend getaway. Kudos to the organizers, as they did a nice job bringing this race back to life. Can't wait until next year.

The race was nice, and the fans were great. The only problem I had with the race was after I finished. I had just run my 26.2, and instead of being able to walk back to see my family, I had to walk through the expo. I don't know if Dick's realized it, but they made me come to their expo the day before to pick up the packet. Don't make me walk all of the way though it again after just running the race. After the race was over, all I wanted to do was get to my family. It was not easy to do. Again, I enjoyed the race and the course.

I am so happy and proud that this race got back on track. It was a fabulous turn-out by the runners and the organizers deserve tremendous credit for raising the dead (marathon).

Hopefully in the future the race will return to either a Point Park or Heinz Field finish, as this could eliminate some of the run through the Strip (the first part) or Manchester (unappealing). I also look forward to even greater crowds as tradition builds and race weather improves.

Beyond that, a great job to everyone. To have no real problems in their first time out of the gate is a testament to the organizers. This marathon should only grow from here.

Excellent spectator support! There was an unbelievable number of fans - at every mile. It was really awesome.

My main issues were that the half-marathoners and those who ran the relay marathon (7 miles each) all got the same medal as I did for running the entire 26.2. That's seems kind of cheap to me.

Additionally, they had the relay marathon runners end at the same spot as the marathoners. That stunk.

An after-party would have been nice as well - something besides a PowerAde, banana, and smiley cookie.

All in all, though, it was a good race that I will run again.

I was very impressed with the return edition of this race. The organization, the marketing, the website, the grassroots organizing, and the response from the community were nearly flawless in what essentially was a first-time effort after a six-year absence.

The course itself was very reasonable. The first 11 miles are run downtown near the rivers and were almost entirely flat (the first 11 miles are easier, but less scenic). There is one long gradual uphill around the 12-mile mark when you head into the university district, but it certainly is not anywhere nearly as difficult as the Newton Hills in Boston and it comes earlier in the race. The second half of the race has more of a rolling terrain and passes through some nice neighborhoods where the crowd support is very good. There is a nice gradual downhill about mile 23 that lasts almost a mile and provides you a nice boost before the final flat two-mile straightway to the finish. Note: They started the relay and the half-marathon at the same time and place as the full; however, it seemed like traffic flowed pretty well.

The good:

* The website was generally good, with lots of information.
* The expo was good - not as big as Boston or the other big races, but well-organized and very nice. I got to meet Bill Rodgers.
* The support on the course was very good in terms of water stations and porta-potties.
* The RF ID tags on the shoes worked well - no chip collection after the race.
* The fan support along the course was very good with lots of bands.
* Athlete tracker with text message/email updates worked.
* There were pace group leaders for lots of different time goals.

A few minor suggestions for next year:
* The bag drop: It needs to be mentioned on the website. It also needs more trucks, with fewer bags per truck and better organization of bags within the truck. There were some lines after the race.
* Finish line organization: They had enough volunteers but they need to direct the runners better and tell the runners where stuff is - the medals, the foil, the food, the bag drops, etc. They should have the medals and the foil wraps prior to the food and water.
* I would prefer to have timing mats at more regular intervals (e.g., 10K, half, 20K) rather than at the relay exchange zones. At the very least, a mat at the halfway point for the full marathon would be good.
* I heard isolated complaints about some of the pacers being inconsistent in their approach - e.g., some went out too fast and banked time, causing some runners to burn out in the second half.

Overall, for those people in the Midwest or in the East who are looking for a good, mid-sized spring marathon, this race is a nice option.

Pittsburgh did an outstanding job. Thank you to the spectators, volunteers and marathon staff for making this race memorable. I can't wait to do this again next year.

The course in Pittsburgh was okay but the "slight" downhill grade to the finish was anything but slight. The hill into Oakland did not bother me; the section around 22-24 miles was brutal. As far as organization, where do I start: giving the medals out at the end of the chute was a bad idea, the finish line area was poorly selected, there was a lack of professionalism and knowledge of the staff (especially at finish), and there was a shortage of goody bags (some racers got nice drawstring bags or over-the-shoulder bags while others got a plastic shopping bags). I will not return to Pittsburgh for this marathon. This being said, I would like to thank the people of Pittsburgh. The spectators were awesome!!

What a great marathon!! The organization was outstanding. Plenty of aid/fluid stations. The municipal support was amazing: police everywhere, sanitation workers spread throughout the course, plenty of ambulances. The crowds were a little bit sparse at times, but overall they were great: very enthusiastic, friendly and engaged. The volunteers manning the aid stations were incredible: supportive and LOTS of them!! Thank you!! The local high school bands sounded great too!! The finish line area flowed very nicely: LOTS of recovery food/fluid (I didn't get there until 4:10:12 (gun time 4:13:29) and it was still fully stocked). I love the start/finish being the same: very easy to get to your hotel, which there are plenty of. I stayed at the Westin, which is right at the start/finish, perfect! There were several hills, and one kind of tough one. This was my 10th marathon, and while it was my first Pittsburgh Marathon, it will definitely not be my last! I'm looking forward to running it in 2010!!