I was excited to do this race after all of the hype, but it was disappointing for me. I had high expectations about the fans and they were sparse at times, and dead quiet others. Plus the course was very challenging. I thought Austin and Boston were easier. This was my eighth marathon and second worse time only to my first one. Pretty upsetting, but I'm glad I did it. Some aspects were great.

Now, this being the 40th running of this thing, why is the organization still such a chaotic mess?? The complete chaos of the wave start was just crazy. The space that is available to cram the thousands of runners into at the start (the corrals - I'm not talking about the waiting area) is just inadequate. The finish in Central Park is beautiful, but the narrow road that must accommodate the thousands of finishers is also astonishingly inadequate. Open up the park to allow runners to go onto the grass (torn up grass does recover)!

The course is the most enjoyable and interesting of any marathon I've run. The fans were fantastic, very enthusiastic, and endless.

This was a great experience, but I'm not sure I would do it again. The difficulties in getting to and from the expo, the prolonged wait at the start area, and the unnecessary herding of innumerable runners into relatively small areas kind of neutralized the experience for me.

Great marathon, city and spectators!

Running the Big Apple was a fantastic experience. The crowds and sights in Brooklyn, the views from the bridges, and running up 1st Ave. were the highlights for me. Plenty of water stations. The NYC people did a great job.

Thanks to all who worked the marathon for the runners!

I've run this race three times, and it's been well organized with great fan support each time. The course isn't easy, especially because of the bridges and some hills (so, check the elevation chart). This year, with the 40,000-plus runners, I found it crowded for two-thirds of the distance.

Still, I want to do it again and again....

As person who lives in NYC, it was my dream to run this marathon.

Pros: THE CROWD WAS GREAT. What else is there to say? The people by Central Park and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn were especially amazing. The crowd really carries you at the end.

The expo was awesome, and I wish I had had the time to stay longer.

CONS: You can train and train for this marathon for months, and at the end of the day, you are squashed like a sardine the whole time - especially on the Queensboro Bridge, and Fifth Avenue, which does not allow you to run as fast as you wish. For the whole race, you are darting around people and getting SHOVED by the water stations. The NYCRR allows WAY too many people run this race, but hey, this is their bread and butter. What's up with all of the people from France and Holland?

Be prepared to stand for a good 20 minutes at the end of the race before leaving Central Park. They must get a better system.

VERY unimpressed with the medal; this medal is fitting more for a small marathon than NYC.

At the end, it was a great ONE-TIME experience that I will never forget.

Overall this was a great marathon experience. This was a tough course, but the spectators helped push me through some tough parts of the race. Running over five bridges (plus steep inclines) throughout the course made this race tougher than the San Francisco Marathon, in my opinion. Definitely train on hills to prep for the race, and review the course strategy on the NYRR website. Harlem was my favorite part, mainly due to the awesome fan support.

Best fans on the planet! Admittedly a pain in the butt waiting in Staten Island, and the 20-minute walk after the finish through Central Park is a hassle, but it's still an awesome experience.

I first ran the NYC marathon in 1978. I ran it four more times by '82 and didn't run it again until 2004. This will be my third time in the past four years. It keeps getting better and better. Back in the late 70's and early 80's, with fewer than half of the participants and a quarter of the crowd, there were places, especially in the Bronx, where there were very few spectators. Nowadays it is five- or six-people deep along the whole course, and it is such a high that it will carry you all the way to the finish. I love this race. The organization has always been good and now, considering the enormity of the crowd and logistics, it is an amazing feat of organization. Kudos to the NYRRC and Mary for putting on such a spectacle. If you were only to run one marathon in your life, this should be the one. By the way, I have run Boston three times and 17 marathons all told. I have been running for 40 years and still love it now as I did when I started (although now I'm a little slower). Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

It was a painfully enjoyable experience running through all five boroughs. Future runners, be careful of the bridges. Good luck!!