This was my second marathon. I went from running in a race with 1500 starters to 15,000 starters. The whole experience was exciting for me. I drove from Toronto Canada which was very interesting and worth while. I thought the crowds were extremely supportive and I felt a great warmth from the people of Washington. My only negative was the amount of time spent running around the Pentagon parking lot. I would have liked to have spent more time running around the monuments and the Capital area as it was much more interesting. I applaud the Marines for continuing with the race and I feel proud I ran and finished.

This is a terrific marathon. First, you have the Washington D.C. area itself, with about a million things to do. You can't get bored and it makes for a great sightseeing after the race.

The race itself is well organized and the course is terrific. I found it to be extremely flat and very scenic. Running past landmarks like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and Capitol Hill were thrilling. I also liked the Rock Creek portion, very shady and pretty (couldn't run Hains Point this year because of construction). The Pentagon area was really sad this year because runners passed by the devastation from 9/11. I did not like the Pentagon portion of the race as I found it really monotonous.

There was plenty of water and the spectators were plentiful and boisterous. The Marines were polite and helpful and ran a superb event.

Finishing at the Iwo Jima Memorial was inspiring. I liked just about everything about this race, my 12th marathon.

As for improvements, the bag dropoff was distressing. It took a long time, due to security concerns, which is understandable. But it just about made a lot of people late for the start.

The corral start seemed to work well as I was able to run my intended race pace right from the start.

The finish area was really crowded, but with 17,000 finishers, it is to be expected.

I would highly recommend this race to anybody. It was fantastic!

Very fun race. A lot of crowd support.

I couldn't have dreamed up a better first marathon. The course was relatively flat, and had plenty of sights to take the mind off of the act of pounding pavement. Despite some of the other first time runners who found a few things regarding organization to complain about, I thought things were great considering all that has happened to our country in the last few months. There were many other races that cancelled, but the Marines held fast and put on one hell of a show. I don't know if the patriotism was just extra special this year, but if this race carries that kind of atmosphere every year, I am there regardless of small snafu's which are bound to occur. Great job Marines, and great job runners for one heck of an event.

This was my second marathon and by far the best of the 2. Great course and great crowd support. It was my first time to DC and can't wait to get back.
Expo needs to be held in a larger venue. The expo had long lines and was too crowded! Bag drop off need to be improved. Tightened security was obvious and greatly appriciated. Thanks to all the volunteers and marines.

The spectators were great as they cheered us on through much of the scenic course, including the new segment in Rock Creek Park. In agreement with other comments, the course can get 5 stars by eliminating the Pentagon parking lot loops. The Marines did a great job in all areas, including the Expo, aid stations, and start/finish. The Marines can get those 5 stars in organization with a little tweaking. Consolidate packet/t-shirt pick-up, chip verification, trouble shooting, and the Marine Marathon Store, while segregating from the Expo vendors. The Marines handled the masses at the finish line most efficiently, but traffic flow needs improvement. As runner traffic flow was one-way, one could not go back for more food or water. It was also difficult to maneuver around the spectators. Finish area layout map not withstanding, the tents need to be clearly marked. Much time was wasted looking for the baggage tent. Race results were comprehensive and posted in real time. The race program indicated that the results of the top 2,500 men and 2,500 women would appear in the Washington Post, but only 1,225 male and 1,264 female results were actually posted. (And there were nearly 50% more male than female finishers.) Take these comments into consideration, earn those 5 stars, and next time I hope to enjoy a nearly perfect Marine Corps Marathon! Great job, Marines, you did us proud!!

I ran this marathon in 2001. Had high expectations - heard good things and figured there would be extra meaning in 2001. It was a good race, not a great race which led to my disappointment. Problems started with packet pick-up at the Hyatt Regency. Why is that marathon HQ? It's not near the metro, it's not near the race course, it's not in central DC and it definitely does not have large enough expo facilities. Had to wait over an hour outside in chilly temps to get to packet pickup. Terrible expo - it was in what seemed like a series of boiler rooms for the hotel. At one point you find yourself in the parking garage - not kidding. I found later packet did not include either saftey pins or the clothes bag.

Race start was well done. I was brought to tears by the Navy Chaplin and the singing of the Anthem. Course was only ok because we spent so much time in the Pentagon parking lots. Over a quarter of the race is run over, under, around, between and through Pentagon access roads. Didn't really ever see much of the monuments on the mall.

Improve packet pick-up with a new and larger expo location and try to do only one loop of the Pentagon instead of three and this could be a fine race.

This was my 9th MCM and I believe that each year it gets a little better. I liked the fact that Rock Creek Park replaced Haines Point but I understand that it might go back next year. Everyone can be proud of our Marines who treat everyone with such respect. Course was great, shirt was great and keeping the Pentagon on the course really brought everything into perspective. Will be back next year and years to come!

I didn't think the spectators would help that much but I ran with a smile for much of the race, I enjoyed it so much. Next time I'll put my name on my shirt and it will be even better! If I needed a boost all I had to do was raise my hands and I got a great response. I'm still on a high about the race. I hit a comfortable stride early and was able to maintain it the whole way. I'm glad I ran a lot of hills in training so the final hill wasn't an issue for me, but it was there. I didn't like the finish on the loop as you couldn't see the finish line until you were almost right there, but I understand the Iwo Jima attraction.

I can see how the first few miles would be boring except that going by the Pentagon crash site was pretty emotional. Georgetown was a blast. Rock Creek was scenic. By the time I hit the monuments I was focused on the running and didn't pay that much attention to them.

Maybe I got lucky on organization. I also have nothing to compare it to as my last organized race was as a high school soph over 20 years ago. I couldn't get to the packet pickup until 6pm Sat and the lines were almost nil, but the expo looked poorly laid out. At the race, I found a map to the baggage tent, so getting there an hour early was easily enough time. Short john lines, and nearby bushes for right before the race. Good water stops, though one caught me by surprise (unmarked?). I finished under 4 hours so there was plenty left, I'd have hated to have missed one even though the weather was cool (perfect for me). A couple times they had someone calling out times but not at mile markers...about 1/8 mile before 25, for example, which was disconcerting especially at that point.

Post-race was smooth too, though a little crowded coming out of the food tent. They should have flipped the baggage tent entrance as there was some crowd-fighting to get around to it. I don't know how people were able to find friends/family afterwards, I heard the meeting areas didn't exist. I was on my own so after I ate, drank and recovered, I just hung around and got some pictures and cheered some other finishers on.

The course was great and had a good cross section of Washington. Weather was perfect for running!!! Seeing the Pentegon brought chills and tears. There was too much chaos at the start and finish areas---not well marked. Tents for bags were poorly organized and chaotic. The finish was way too crowded for runners to grab water and get out of the crowd. Keep spectators at a further distance so runners can make their way through. Weren't as many spectators as I had thought there would be.