I was worried about this marathon because of the two passes over the high bridges and the uncertainty of the weather. Previous Stockholms had been run both in the 80s (deg. F) and in the 40s with hailstones. And the morning of the race it was quite rainy.

Weather.Com said 100% chance of rain for 2PM (start of race), 3PM, 4PM, 5PM... you get the idea.

Well, just after noon the rain stopped. It stayed overcast with a bit of sun and blue sky near the end, and at 58-60 deg. F, the conditions were absolutely fabulous for running. I'm surprised a course record was not set.

This race was my first with pacers, and boy did that make a difference. I upped my PR by 20 minutes, and my wife upped hers by 57 minutes! Also the course has many Sponge stops, water and sports drink aplenty, two passes through a Red Bull stand, grape sugar, chocolate, and salted gherkins! Imagine a roadway covered with squashed pickles!!

And the best part of the race is just the sheer beauty of Stockholm. Plus, maybe the Scandinavian crowd isn't the loudest, but they sure are friendly.

The pacers, though, did have one oddity, although maybe this is normal for all paced races. I was running with the 5-hour pacer (I finished at 4:57). But I found out, from talking to him, that he would be running a 'clock' 5 hours, not a 'chip' 5 hours. The pacer (John) told me by 10KM he would be caught up with the clock. This turned out to be great for me, because after keeping up with him for about 35 KM, I finally lost him, but since he was about 6-7 minutes ahead of my chip pace, I still managed to break 5 hours, which was my goal.

Also great is the number of chip sensors - splits for every 5KM are posted online - as you are racing! Your finish appears on a webpage before the rest of the runners are in!

Another thing, for a USA runner, having the markers be in kilometers is a great change. Psychologically it just seems like the race goes by sooner!

My only complaint was the end of this race. We got the medal, then were directed to a large very muddy field where T-shirts and a few meager food booths were set up. If it HAD rained as expected, it would have just been a terrible mess. Why the organizers didn't have post-race set-up on the Olympic stadium infield, which was beautiful and grassy, instead of this other field, which was barren and muddy, is beyond me. True, there was free massage, but the food was inappropriate. Instead of hot soup or bagels (e.g., the end of Napa Valley) there was only sweet drinks and candy available free. I don't know about you, but I don't want sweets after running that long. Also, there was NO bottled water. Just a very unsanitary tub full of water with cups thrown in and everybody's dirty hands reaching in to get a full cup. So I would rate the post-race organization very, very low. But everything else about this race was 5 stars!

(One other note. The medal was kind of weird. Very beautiful, but no hole, so impossible to hang anywhere. Also, my medal was beautiful bronze with a silver patina. My wife's was the same design, but painted very poorly with silver paint. They must have run out of medals and ordered more from a different supplier -- I don't know.

Anyway, thank you Stockholm, for an overall superb experience! I hope to come back.

No discussion that this is one of the best courses in the world with a finish in the Olympic stadium and a lot of food and water stops. But all these resources could be better managed; water stops should be placed on both sides of the street to avoid the crossing mess, they should be spaced out, they should be advertized 100M ahead of time on the course, and it also must be easier to distinguish between water and other fluids.

There were a lot of spectators, but they were pretty cold and did not show much enthusiasm. I guess nothing we can do about it...

But the biggest problem has been the expo; very small, not many vendors, and held in too small of a space. Instead of being the warming-up event, where you spend most of the evening, it has instead been a very fast pass-through experience.

The finish in the stadium is amazing but cannot be the only attraction.

I live in Loughborough in the UK and decided to do the Stockholm Marathon after being rejected yet again for London.

The expo was small but well organised with the usual mix of products for sale and advertising for other races.

The course is scenic and fairly flat and reasonably well supported along the route with ample drinking stops.

The start was reasonably congested due to the 15-17K people taking part and the surrounding runners didn't thin out til about 5 KM or so.

This year (2005) was cooler than previous years and very conducive to running a good time. Previous reviews I had read made me think it was going to be very warm because of the 2 PM start.

The two-lap course means that you need to be mentally strong on the first lap.

It was good to finish in the Olympic stadium but disappointing that they had removed the track prior to renewal.

The post-race organization was good, with plenty of refreshments available afterwards. Everybody was very helpful and polite.

I have run London, Berlin and Zurich races previous to this and would recommend Stockholm to others.

Even if the race doesn't go well, it is still a beautiful place to stay for a few days.

In summary - definitely worth doing but you need to apply early as the race reaches capacity around early March.

This marathon was outstanding. Every 2 or 3 kilometers they were handing out water, pickles, chocolate, fruit, and of course water and recovery drink. The crowds were amazing and the finish in stadium was great! This was my favorite marathon so far and one I would recommend to anyone! Stockholm is a beautiful city!

I ran this on my birthday last year, and it was the toughest of the four marathons I've run to date, but still very enjoyable. Early afternoon in June inevitably brings hot weather, but if you can find some shade and some camaraderie amongst the cosmopolitan field, the finish in the Olympic Stadium is breathtaking. Definitely worth running!

I ran this in 2003 as my first marathon and loved it. The course being twice around the loop was a good way to go. Finishing into the Olympic stadium was obviously a rush. Great fans who got into it; very well organized. Ready to do it again.

The course was absolutely beautiful - I wish I had studied it prior to running so that I knew the significance of some of the buildings I was passing/some neighborhoods I went through. Even when there were spectators, I found them very reserved, not at all like the over-enthusiastic NYC crowds. The race was well organized... sponges great, showers great! I thought that the pre-marathon pasta party could have been better organized with speedier service and that the expo should have had offered a better selection of merchandise. All in all though, the marathon experience and the experience of Stockholm and its people was wonderful. Definitely use the marathon as an excuse to visit this city!

This was my first marathon outside the USA, and I sure picked a good one. Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The course was a two-loop course that went through the most scenic parts of Stockholm. There were plenty of fluids along the course as well as sugar tablets, chocolate wafers, and pickles. Also, at every fluid station, there were cold water sponges for the runners to help keep cool. The weather was partly sunny and around 65 degrees farenheit with a cool breeze off the sea.

Due to the 13,000-14,000 runners who started the race, the course was very crowded for the first 20K due to the narrow streets and paths. The crowds were amazing! They were cheering all the runners as they past throughout the whole course. All the outdoor cafes, restaurants, and pubs along the course were filled with cheering spectators. One of the most special moments for me during the race was entering into the 1912 Olympic stadium to finish my final 300 meters. I recommend staying in a hotel near the start and finish such as the Slavic Park Hotel. I highly recommend this race to all levels of marathon runners.

I was told the Swedish Marathon was one of the best for first-timers like myself and this proved to be correct; great organization, crackin' course and friendly spectators all contributed to an amazing experience. One criticism, and it may have been our own fault was that we couldn't find the pace setters at the start - but in the end it didn't matter. I cant speak highly enough of the experience and can't wait to get back next year.

It is hard to imagine a better organized race than this. Registration took less than 30 seconds! There was a tent at the end which allowed you to view your time and position throughout the race measured at 10KM intervals. Free massages (including footcare), and free coffee pastries and sweets pre- and post-race. Also free travel for runners anywhere in Stockholm on race day.

The compact course (two laps) means that it is an ideal spectator event and there was plenty of crowd support. If you travel to the marathon with your family, it is perfectly possible for them to cheer you on at a couple of points before walking up to the stadium to watch your glorious finish. Like many people, I missed the first drink stop because all stops are on one side of the road. However, the signs are clear when you realize you have to look for them and the stops (every 3KM rather than every 3 miles) are plentiful - I didn't miss any others. The Pripps sport drink tastes of nothing but seems to work. Salt-gurka (gherkins pickled in salt-brine) are an unusual marathon refreshment, but they made a lot of sense in the surprising heat.

And for a cold-blooded Anglo-Irish runner, the heat was surprising. The course was beautiful and felt quite flat but there wasn't much shade and I was glad of the frequent water sprays set up to cool us down. Even with that and the frequent drink stops, my time suffered. But then you get to finish in the Olympic stadium and life doesn't get any better than that!