First and foremost I am grateful to have had the opportunity to run this marathon and thankful to the marines for what they do.
After missing the starting ceremonies thanks to waiting in line for a toilet (they had enough space to triple to amount of port-o-potties they had and should have used it) I finally got on my way.

Along the way I kept thinking to myself that the course is so pretty and the crowd is so wonderful that this may replace Philly as my favorite marathon so far. That was until I got to the end. You go off the roadway onto a much narrower path and cross the finish line right into a huge bottleneck. Me, personally, I need to keep walking to catch my breath so that was tough. After waiting in a line for a medal and then blowing off the finish line photo op I got stuck trying to get out of the park. Finally made it to what I hoped was the line for the shuttle bus. There were no signs and some people on the line thought it was for the metro. The line actually ended in a circle spiraling into itself. Someone ought to have been there to create order and they should have at least 5 buses loading at once to alleviate the wait and crowds. I am not an expert at logistics I just see what may have made things better. By looking at the MCM's facebook page today I also see that I missed out on shirts being handed out at the finish line. Why were there no signs about this?
The course is beautiful (except for that long bridge you have to beat) and the crowds really are terrific. There are hiccups at every major event so as long as you can go with the flow I do recommend MCM. Overall I really enjoyed the experience.
Oh and getting home before Hurricane Sandy passed through made it even more thrilling :)

I ran this one in 2004 and it keeps getting better. Runners Village, port-a-potty availability, bib pickup all improved and the event is now 3 times the size.

The only suggestion is to post signs on the course for the distance to port-a-potty spots the first 6 miles. I knew where they would be and waited and found empty port-a-potties. Many did not wait and went into the woods just short of the restroom locations.

Best spectator sign I saw on the course: 'Not even Chuck Norris would attempt to run a marathon in the face of a hurricane.'

The negatives first are the expo and finisher's village.

This is my second full marathon and I've done about 6 halves.
Expo was pretty small. Not much to it. I'd say it was average, I expected more. It was however efficient.
The finisher's area was large and not cohesive. The area before spectators are allowed around you was however incredible. Efficient and effective.

The course is GREAT! You start with a few hills to stretch out the legs, then some quite areas along the river back to a neighborhood then all the great DC sights. I really enjoyed the variety of large amounts of spectators then no spectators. The only boring part was Haines Park.

The Dunkin Donuts at mile 23 sounded a little ridiculous when I was training. During the race I had seconds. It was awesome!

Overall my favorite run of all races this year (I've done 6/ 2 were fulls).

This was my 4th marathon and it was right prior to Hurricane Sandy hitting the D.C. area. I was pleasantly suprised that a lot of spectators came out in bad weather to cheer us on. The USMS did a smashing job as expected. I will run this race again.

I went into this race hoping for a better experience than my first marathon, and it delivered. Race day was well organized and shuttles appreciated(minus the security check, which locals will be used to). Despite the incoming hurricane, loads of people turned out to cheer on participants in costumes, with music, and hilarious signs. The Marines really made this race fantastic... they gave out plenty of motivation and high fives, and it carried me through the race. The miles flew by most of time, which is the most important thing for a slow runner like me.

Just a few low points - the expo takes forever to get into.. I'm used to security checks everywhere, but there must be a better way. Haines point is a little boring, but I appreciated whoever put out the signs to read the whole way to make it less boring. Getting out of the finish line area was a bit of a pain, although given the location I appreciate their efforts. Not much you can do about that without moving the finish to a different place, which wouldn't make sense (away from Iwo Jima).

This was my third marathon and by far the best organized, the best scenery to run through, so very patriotic and the most fun and supportive spectators. It was a truly inspiring time. Thank you MCM!

I've run 10 marathons including Chicago earlier this month. Expo. was a challenge with no way in to the parking and then the security check point. The start needs to have several waves, especially given that no one monitored the corrals and it seemed like you could put down any projected time and get a low number - again with no proof provided.
The finish was a mess - way too crowded. At the finish, we basically had to stop almost immediately and stand (ouch) for a few minutes or walk very slowly through a huge crowd. Bag check was very far from the finish and it was cold and slow to get there.

For as big a marathon as this one is. I think they did a great job and the swag is awesome too!

The access route to the athletes village by car was not mentioned in any official publication. So I was pleasantly surprised that I could be dropped off from the I-395 at exit 10A (Westbound). I assume the same would apply to Eastbound. The driver was able to access the ramp back to the highway without a problem. Then, my daughter parked the car about a mile from the finish and watched the marathon. I enjoyed walking that extra distance after I picked up my bag from the truck.

There are so many good things to say about this marathon! The Marine presence gives you a boost of patriotic pride that keeps you going when/if you feel like quitting. The crowd support is awesome, too. Being so close to Halloween every year, there are always a few runners that are dressed up. I even dressed up as Supergirl in 2007! The course is very scenic (with the exception of Haynes' Point) and fairly fast. This is the marathon that I will make a point to run every year, which is why I consider it to be my 'home' marathon.

There are a few things that I would like to see change, though. The expo, like many others have said, needs work. For such a huge race, there should be more vendors in a larger area. Also, I was a little surprised by the lack of vendor samples! What's up with that?? Don't they want us to sample before we buy? The finisher's area is totally chaotic, and I agree with others that spectators should not be allowed there. And I would LOVE if this race would start in waves!! The corrals mean nothing if you don't start in waves...a lot of runners of this race get into a faster-paced corral just to try to beat the crowd.

This is a great race for a first-timer or a veteran marathoner! I will definitely run this one as many years as I can!