I had a great experience with not a single complaint at all. Course is tougher early in the race than I thought, but the crowds made up for it. Organization was outstanding!

Overall, a great marathon. Two complaints: there could be more hydration stations and the long, long, long walk from the Pentagon to the start of the race. Who wants to walk a mile to the start?

I just ran this race yesterday and I am absolutely still on cloud nine. Yes, an 18-minute PR could be part of this euphoric haze, but this was the best marathon I've done yet. So much to say, but in a nutshell:

The Course
Very fair, exactly as advertised. A little hilly for the first 8 miles, but scenic. And once you hit Georgetown, the crowd is so enthusiastic (almost TOO enthusiastic - they crowded onto the course and narrowed the road for runners!) that you just coast the next few miles. The famed Bridge (as in "Beat the Bridge") is a bit hilly too, and windy, but it's nice to know you have 4 miles to go after you cross it! Lovely views of the monuments, changing scenery, lots of crowd support everywhere, especially at the charge up the hill to the finish.

The Technical Support
Perfection, with the exception of the start and finish. Every water station was stocked with water, every course volunteer was helpful and polite, and many were enthusiastic. The start lines need better-policed corrals. I am a mid-pack runner and am happy that there are people much faster and much slower than I participating in this race. However, the lack of official corrals, and the lack of official race bibs that assigned corrals meant that I spent the first 6-8 miles dodging walkers. The course is very narrow, so this resulted in many near-collisions, suddenly stopping short, etc. This wastes a lot of energy, and while I fully support walkers and slower joggers at marathons, I firmly believe they need to start behind those who will be (trying to) run the entire race. The finish line was also a bit tedious. There simply wasn't enough physical space for hundreds of runners to be filtering through every minute. One simple fix: keep out friends, family, etc. until AFTER the main exit. The huge crowds of families with strollers, little children, etc. all walking in different directions made for an impossibly slow walk through the finish area. I found the post-race transportation to be remarkably easy: 10-minute wait for a shuttle bus, 15-minute ride to Crystal City, and a 5-minute walk to the train station.

Everything Else
I loved this marathon. Others have spoken about the emotional, inspirational tone of this marathon above all and I agree. Seeing so many people running in honor of those overseas, currently or formerly serving, killed in action, or injured was so emotional. Seeing so many former servicemen and women running with flags, with full gear, or with other mementos was also inspirational. I was truly inspired the whole way and almost forgot the hit the Wall!

I have not yet repeated a marathon, but I will be very tempted to return next year for this one. Bravo!

This is my first mega-marathon, so I don't know how it compares to Chicago, NY, etc. In full disclosure, I knew this race would be very challenging for me because I am not a fan of huge crowds. Also, I had a rough race due to illness and barely finished. With that said:

Pros
-Beautiful and inspiring first 20 miles. I can't say enough about how cool it is to see the sights of DC in a race. The portions in Georgetown and the National Mall stick out in particular.
-Very cool long-sleeve shirt given at the expo, which was a well-organized event.
-It was truly inspiring to see so many competitors wearing shirts honoring loved ones lost defending our country. Also, there were a number of wounded soldiers competing their hearts out.
-The crowd support was great in most parts of the course.
-The course is not overly demanding. There are some minor hills in the beginning, but after mile 8 it is pretty flat (except the short hill at the end).

Cons
-Unless you are right up front you are pretty packed in for the first 8 miles. I was able to maintain my pace pretty well with some minor dodging and weaving. However, I heard others had much more trouble in the middle and back of the pack.
-The bridge spanning miles 20-22 (I think) is completely exposed and devoid of much crowd support. It is a pretty tough mental test that late in the race.
-Miles 22-26.2 are in northern Virginia and aren't very attractive - but the crowd support is awesome!
-The finish festival is awful. You have to walk through a long, packed maze to get a paltry goody bag, your medal and to get to your family. I should say that it was a great honor to receive my medal from a marine.
-It was very difficult to get a taxi at the taxi stand set up by the race organizers - the taxis came in at a trickle. The metro was also packed. I should say that transportation problems were well-advertised, but I had no idea how bad it was going to be.

I wouldn't do this race again, but it was incredibly inspiring in many ways. The marines were wonderful; I am grateful for their hard work and service.

First, the expo - conflicting signage made it rather difficult to find the right hall. This is a huge center and not all personnel were aware of the expo or its location. Also, why was there any need to have UPS packet sticker as a separate step of the pick up? Why not just include it with either the bib or the goody bag?

Getting there: lots of communication regarding Metro, but not a word about bus system. It turned out that the buses were NOT going to Pentagon station at all. They were all rerouted to Pentagon City station. Thankfully, the stations are not far apart, but it creates unnecessary anxiety when you need it least.

Corrals: people,  if you plan to start off walking, do not get in front of the pack! Be realistic - you will not finish in 2:45. I know it is a pain, but it may be a good idea to use a previous marathon as a qualified for any corral under 4 hours. This is a large event and it would help faster runners.

Not all miles are marked. I had a GPS, but I know that many runners rely on this for pacing.

Course was beautiful. Lots of spectators. Water/Gatorade stations were well attended. Question: where were the medical stations? I was looking for since about Mile 12 and could not find it. I'm not saying they were not there, but they were not well marked, that's for sure. This is one thing that could be easily improved - just take Chicago Marathon as an example.

Finally, the finish line: Huge room for improvement. One thing you expect upon finish line is getting a medal. Not at MCM - you need to walk quite a bit to finally get to that point. Then walk some more to even get a bottle of water...  come on! And then comes the worst:  getting out of the runners' area. The crowd is unbelievable - and no, it's not the runners; it's the spectators who try to get IN. This should be one-way traffic only, enforced, and for runners only.

Medal is great.

This was the second time I ran the MCM, and I wanted to add my positive thoughts for anyone considering it. The course isn't totally flat but the hills are pretty much over by mile 8, so you get time to relax and enjoy the scenery. And it's got great scenery: you go from there through Georgetown, past the Kennedy Center, monuments, and the Mall before winding through some Virginia suburbs and getting to the Pentagon. OK, I think to myself that the Marines were being show-offs by making the very last bit of the course uphill, but it is a fairly short hill and by then your adrenaline carries you up, so it's ok.

The crowds are outstanding, whether local residents, the massive, extraordinarily friendly and helpful Marine and other service contingents all along the way, or the local bands scattered through the course to give you an occasional burst of energy.

This is the only marathon I've run so I don't have a point of comparison; you'll have to take my comments with that in mind. And I'll say I'm by no means competitive, so I don't know how the race stacks up for those with that mindset. But for my type of runner, it's a great event, I think. I'll be back.

Great job, Marines and volunteers! Great overall experince in DC. A bit of a difficult course, but plenty of support and water/PowerAde. Thanks to the two fellow runners who helped me up after falling down around MM 19. I shall return to this one someday.

Okay, Ill let you in on some info: the Marine Corps Marathon is a BIG event (the 4th largest in the US, I think). If you don't like crowds, need some open space when you run, don't like arriving 2 hours prior to the start, like getting out of the finish area quickly, and, oh yeah, don't like crowded or busy expos, then do not run this marathon.

If you like great organization, lots of marathoners, great medals, incredibly inspiring route, and tons of fanfare, then put this on your list! See you again next year! Bonus: my bib was signed by Ryan Hall after the marathon!

Just finished the 2010 race (3:27) and overall, it was a good experience. I think everyone would enjoy doing this at least once, but I'll throw out a few negatives as a heads up.

My main gripe, like most people's, is the finish festival. Very poorly setup. There is absolutely no reason for spectators to be in the area between the finish line and the UPS trucks. It is a small area, confined by fences, and 30,000 runners were trying to get out, while what seemed like about half that number of spectators/kids/dogs/bicycles were trying to get in. The marines were yelling at the spectators to not walk towards the finish line, but they were not actually stopping anyone from doing it. People were dropping like flies in the heat and masses of people, while calls of "Medic!" were being shouted out. Of course the medics could barely squeeze through either.

They had what seemed like a thousand port-o-lets at the Pentagon, but six - yes, six - at the finish line. Let's balance that out a little bit shall we?

The post-race food was pathetic. I would have rather gotten an MRE. At least it would have had some protein. Instead we got 10 dried mango-yogurt nuggets, a small cup of canned mixed fruit, a plain bagel, a banana, and an airplane sized bag of pretzels. Knowing this ahead of time, we loaded our UPS bags with protein shakes, recovery bars, muffins, and fresh fruit. Unfortunately, by the time the slowest runner in our group finished (4:40), and we then made the 30-minute death march to the UPS trucks, it was way past the cutoff to get nutrients in our bodies.

The Rosslyn metro station was scary at first sight, but the crowd actually moved fairly well. I think we were on a train within 30 - 40 minutes of getting in line.

Overall, it was worth doing. My opinion, though, is that if you want to do a military marathon, the Air Force (done in 2009) is much better experience, especially post-race. If you want to experience a giant marathon, then Chicago (done in 2000 and 2004) is better organized, has better fans, and has plenty of hotels within walking distance of the start/finish line. If the Marine Corps Marathon gets the spectators out of the immediate finish area and moves the UPS trucks closer, my opinion would be very different.

Great race... lived up to its reputation. It's not a flat course (the first half is pretty hilly), but its VERY scenic. It's a great mix of winding, tree-lined roads, river views, beautiful neighborhoods and national landmarks.

The spectators are not present for the entire course, but when they are around they were LOUD and enthusiastic. My buddy and I running the race had to really make sure we didn't run too hard through the stretches where the spectators were present as they were really pumping us up.

The race was not without drawbacks: Parts of the course were narrow, which made passing difficult and congestion prevalent. There was also a long walk from the Pentagon metro stop to the runner's village, and an even longer walk after the race to the post-party in Rosslyn. The metro was really jammed up after the race, making the trip back to our hotel in DC difficult.

These things were easily overshadowed by the quality of the rest of the race. The weather was also perfect for running and having the marines there handing you your medal right in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial added an emotional touch that is unique to this race.

Highly recommended!