I had an amazing experience and more. Our running group has never had crowd support like we had in New York. I didn't hit the wall and never felt tired during whole race. Hats off to ING and the organizers, and my heartfelt thanks to all of the New Yorkers. They are really the heart and pulse of our country.

This was my fourth time running NY. There have been some changes, most of them positive. On the plus side, they have removed some turns. A few blocks were added to the Bronx - nothing exciting - but some of the twists in Manhattan were removed. If not for a park on 5th Avenue, which they zig-zag around, the stretch from about 140th to 89th would be totally straight. A turn or two in Queens were removed as well. Also on the plus side, spectators were only allowed on the left side of Central Park's East Drive. This made it much wider for the runners. On the negative side, another few thousand participants were added and the start area is totally maxed out. It was very difficult and hectic to find the proper corral. The corral at the finish is very slow, and for some reason they once again set up professional photo ops only a few yards after the finish - bad idea. Overall notes: The course is not easy. Getting to the start is not easy. It's a long day, but it's incredibly rewarding - have fun with it. The crowds get better all the time. A third of the participants are European, creating an international flavor. About 3,000 each are French, Italian and German.

It's a tough course with steady inclines along the way. Nothing too steep, but the inclines are definitely there and there's lots of wind. Probably will not PR here. It took me longer than I had anticipated. No food at the finish. My husband showed up with a candy bar, and it was a lifesaver. And he bummed a bottle of water off of a cop. Having no food really is unacceptable considering how far people had to travel to get back to their/homes or hotels. Overall, the experience is great, and the New Yorkers gave me thumbs up and congrats all along the way - even for days after the race. Skip the pasta party; it required spending too much time in line on one's feet. And there are lots of great places to eat around town. Overall, it is amazing how they coordinate the race and how smoothly things go. I will do this marathon again for the NYC experience.

This was my second NYC Marathon, and 11th overall marathon. Amazing to see how they organize this: 44,000 runners, different languages, bridge closures, port-a-johns, volunteers, water stops, medical aid, etc. I agree that the funeral procession at the end is tough, but I'm not sure how to fix it either, since you have bag pick-up needed for all of these different runners. My best guess is UPS trucks on Central Park West rather than in the park. Concrete and bridges took a toll on my legs - which to me makes the course so tough. But crowds, volunteer support, choirs, bands, the site of NYC from the Verrazano Bridge and 59th Street Bridge all combine to motivate, however. This year I took a disposable camera and took some great shots. I recommend not trying so much for time on this one - tough start with the crowds and then the hills (bridges) - and enjoy the crowds and sights. Only downside: they changed the car drop-off location coming from the NJ side of Staten Island, and the traffic backed up and you had to walk farther to get to Ft. Wadsworth. Cars used to be able to approach closer and drop off better, but there was a big bottleneck where the cars had to turn this year.

I loved almost everything about my first NYC Marathon. The course was amazing and the spectators kept me going all the way to the finish. The commute to starting the race was really long - I was walking, standing, riding the ferry and buses, sitting around for about four hours prior to my start. And sprinting to the finish was awesome, but finding out there was NO FOOD left was a real letdown. Running out of food is really unacceptable. Thanks for everything else.

A high entry fee, and average or below organization.

Great course and fan support, unrivaled by any other race. But the start was a mess. I was locked out of my wave 1 corral by 9:00 a.m., and I missed wave 2 too. Also, the water stops at every mile clogged up the course. If they can improve the corral system, it would be a perfect race even with that hill on 5th Ave.

First, it's a GREAT event, and I'd love to do it again. The weather was good for a marathon, with the rain ending at the right time.

Fans, tops; excitement, great; running through New York, excellent; transportation, very good.

It's not shoulder-to-shoulder, but you do have to fade, speed up, and shift around traffic, at least for my pace in the middle of the pack. Harder to get a PB, but not too bad.

The food and entertainment at the end was minimal, so I thought that meant the party at the Hammerstein was going to make up for it; it didn't, so I didn't stick around.

I'm sure for a race of this size, it's very difficult to do it all.

This was my first NYC Marathon, and it was unbelievable. The course, the crowds, the sights... all were just awesome. The only tough part is that you will be transported to the starting line three or four hours before the race starts. If you run marathons, you need to do this one at least once in your life if it's at all possible.

First the GREAT: the crowds. Most were vocal and animated. I had gloves on, which started to get wet from sweat. But I high-fived everyone anyway. Can't believe I'm the only one with sweaty high-fives.

Don't know if this is possible, but would have loved to run by Yankee Stadium and leave out some of the less interesting parts of the course. I have run nicer courses like Mount Desert (Maine) and Big Sur. Chicago has somewhat nicer scenery for a large urban race.

Only Boston compares with the unfathomable organization skills and execution to get this many people to the start of a point-to-point course and keep them safe and hydrated. Volunteers were the best and most numerous I have ever seen.

Can't believe people found this course grueling. It's about as flat as you'll find anywhere.

This is clearly a "top 10" destination marathon. Thank you, New York City!