This year, most of the spectators were at the finish line and festival. In the past, there were larger crowds at the National Mall. As a matter of fact, there were too many people at the finish line!!! Also, the wave start should be better organized. Baltimore, NYC and Disney have the corral concept down. There was plenty of water and PowerAde along the route. Plus there were lots of port-a-potties too.

I understand the constraints in dealing with DC government in regards to road closures, but there were lots of people bundled together, which made it a bit difficult to get into stride and run. A better wave start really is needed.

I highly recommend this marathon! It was a top-notch race in every way. Even though I did not achieve a PR, the overall experience kept me smiling and I'm so glad I ran this race.

I'd been warned about the hard of the course; "it's not a course for setting a PR," my friends said, and they were right.

The course has a mix of rural and city, and plenty of parks with colorful autumn leaves. Perfect weather conditions, with temps in the 50's. The hardest part doesn't involve the first uphills/downhills of Arlington and Georgetown; the hardest part is "the bridge" faced just getting out from Crystal City (mile 23.5). It's not a bridge. You run 1.5 miles of a highway with strong uphills/downhills that make your lungs and quads burn. I saw lot of buddies puking and dealing with cramps on that section.

The last mile is hard because of the steepest hill at the Iwo Jima Memorial: 250 meters at a 5º grade.

Once you finish, you have to walk a lot to get your bag. Get about 40 bucks to buy your finisher T-shirt. The best way to get out is walking; don't even think of taking a cab; try to cross Key Bridge to Gerorgetown and take a cab there.

Cool, clear weather. Flanked by marines at the start and finish lines, and they deliver you water at nearly every mile. Course goes from autumn trees to National Mall to river course. Perfect!

The course is beautiful and the tour of the monuments and sites is inspiring. Completing the hills by eight miles in is phenomenal, and with the exception of the bridge at 21 the rest is cruise control.

I understand the desire to end at the Iwo Jima Memorial but as the People's Marathon gets bigger and bigger the problems at the finish increase in a similar manner. The bottlenecks in the finish area have gone from being an unfortunate waste of time to a dangerous gridlock. There were injured and unconscious runners being moved by golf cart to the medical area that were delayed for extended periods by the mass of humanity that was squeezed into the tiny space. The effect of the small space also made the runners with last names further down in the alphabet walk over a mile to meet their supporters after the race. This led to people sprawled out over several square miles away from the eyesight of medical personel and not yet linked up with others who care about them, a dangerous combination. I love the course, and I am a military member, so I appreciate what it took to put on the race (not to mention the feelings behind the finish line location). However, if the space doesn't facilitate the safe and orderly movement of 20,000+ runners and their supporters, than either change the location of the finish or further limit the number of participants.

This was my first time running this race, and I ran it with my daughter for her 2nd marathon and my 18th overall. Great course, with nice views of the Washington DC area. Some mild hills in the first 7 or 8 miles, then mostly flat until the uphill charge at the finish. We had perfect weather for the race, with a cool start and warming up to the finish. The crowd support was awesome, and the race is well organized with plenty of water, etc. A bit too crowded after the finish and hard to get back to our hotel with a jammed Metro station. Would definitely recommend this race to others.

Great race, but huge bottleneck through the chutes at the end, and a long walk and a long time standing just to get to the bag pickup and family meeting point. Need more room to spread out immediately after the finish line in order to sit and rest.

Cannot imagine a better way to start my marathon career. I have run several "supersize" races before (Bay-to-Breakers x4, Disney x2, Gate River Run x7) so I knew what to expect as far as longs waits for porta-potties, transportation, medals, food, etc. But the Marines blew most of that out of the water. I never felt like I didn't belong with the "real" runners (5:33 finisher) and all the spectators deserved their own medal! Every Marine who handed me water acted like he or she had just started, as opposed to doing it for hours and being up since midnight. Some specific surprises: loved not seeing any 10K runners or having a course merge that messed things up. I knew the family meet-up would be a bit crowded (haha) but there were so many other places to meet, since the information received at the expo was so detailed. Friends remarked that day-of-race website "runner stalking" was like nothing they'd ever seen. Race fee was a bargain for the amount of support (pre-, during- and post-race). Afraid the upcoming Disney is going to be a letdown, haha.... OOOOHRAH!!!!!

This year makes number 10 for me - I have run the MCM 10 times, and this moves up my total number to 31 marathons completed. This is by far one of the best organized, if not the best, marathon events in the USA, or on this planet. The Marines are the best in the world - not only in defending our great country, but as leaders, and role models. From the EXPO to crossing the finish line, the MCM is a great marathon to run. For those who want to run this marathon - just do it. You will not be disappointed. Go, Marines!!!

Terrific organization - water stops ran smoothly, with plenty of Marines passing out water/PowerAde so that there were no bottlenecks. The bridge was dull, but traffic on the other side offered support and other runners were great. The crowds in Georgetown were very excited, even when we back-of-the-packers were coming through. Didn't like waiting almost 30 minutes to cross the starting line, but with 30,000 runners I guess that's to be expected. Handing out medals and goody bags at the finish also ran smoothly, but what else would you expect from the Marines? I definitely plan to do this one again.