IN LOVE! This was my 1st marathon and I'm glad I made it Richmond. The course, volunteers & city of Richmond amazed me. A smile every mile made the 26.2 journey effortless. I'm looking forward to 2012!

wonderful volunteers
great organization
beautiful course

This race is a lot of fun. I have run it 4 times now, and each time has been great experience. It's well organized, well supported by both the volunteers and the people of Richmond. The junk food stops are excellent.

The course isn't flat, and there are a few hills, but if you're trained, you won't even notice most of them. The scenery makes it all worth it.

The downhill finish is totally made of win.

Great weather certainly started things well. Enjoyed the course as it was very nice. Slight elevation changes here and there added a little variety, but certainly not overly difficult even for a Midwestern flatlander. Crowd support was a bit sparse in some location, but there was good spirit from those that did show on the more attended spots. Expo was a bit light on variety.
Overall I would recommend this race as a good one for both beginners and regular runners.

Richmond is a great course. Slightly more hilly than I thought, but nothing major except at the end, and at least that goes down, not up! It is a perfect small-medium marathon, with good scenery (especially with the bright foliage), bridges, historic civil war landmarks, not too flat and not too hilly. It's billed as America's Friendliest Marathon, and the plentiful spectators certainly lived up to that. I ran the whole course wearing a SuperWoman outfit, and spectators love a Superhero anyway. The best part was the kids on the course. They would see me and their eyes would bug out, or they would smile and yell. I surprised a couple of boys who looked to be about 12, and the expressions I saw were priceless! One boy did a double take and yelled Whoa! SuperWoman! Too funny. I high- fived kids, winked at spectators, and just had a great time. I personally would like to thank the RD for serving blue Powerade on the course, because it matched my Super outfit perfectly.

For the more serious runners among us, this can be a PR course if you train on hills. The men's winner set a course record this year, and my friend who came to Richmond with me ran a personal best. The weather was gorgeous this year, typical of mid-November, with bright foliage, chilly temps at the start, and a high in the low 60's.

The volunteers were wonderful, the course was well marked, and the aid stations were well stocked. With the great course and weather, a marathoner could hardly ask for anything more. I'll be back!

Having run Richmond before I was expecting a solid race however this surpassed all my expectations. The expo was great, the shirt rocks (this race has had some bad shirts in the past). Pre-race organization was great and the pacers during the race were awesome. In addition the local training team provided great support before, during, and after. Fan support as always at Richmond is tremendous. The course is challenging but fair and the weather this year was perfect. I admit I'm a local and somewhat biased but I've never been more proud of my city.

Great weather and excellent course. This was my third marathon, the first two being Cincinnati and Philly, and I really enjoyed the slightly smaller crowd at Richmond. My sister and I passed the start only about 90 seconds after the gun went off (took us anywhere from 12-20 minutes in our previous races), and the beginning of the course was uncrowded, big bonus. We were able to get on pace almost immediately. Also, there was no line for the portajohns around mile 3, which was awesome.

Good fans, though the crowds were (expectedly) smaller than the other, bigger marathons. Really pretty scenery and no out-and-backs. The course was slightly more hilly than I expected, but I actually enjoyed it (I prefer a few ups and downs; call me crazy). All in all, a great race! I beat my PR by 19 minutes and almost broke 4 hours.

2nd year I raced this race. Spectators are live all over like a mini NYC. The course is not a fast course nor its slow its a fair course where you can race fast! The worst section is lee bridge over 1 mile up hill climb. this year we had a tailwind going up hill but last 4 miles you paid the price with the headwinds 10-15 mph causing a bit slow down. The downhill finish is a their signature but after running/racing 26 miles it's not a pleasant feeling but its cool downtown finish. the medals are the best this yr!! Better than NYC or Boston! Also, if a runner wants to BQ it can be done but remember Richmond is not flat it has rolling hills. Pizza at the finish, Mcdonalds coffee and smoothies, free massages, downtown finish and start, Alan Webb the mile American record holder the official starter of the Mcdonald's half marathon, the 8k race and the view of the river, and downtown Richmond going up Lee Bridge: priceless.

I liked the size of the marathon and thought the course was awesome. Fans were enthusiastic and spread out all over the course. The downhill finish was GREAT. The only complaint I have would be the traffic after the race. It was tough getting out of thereoh and book a hotel early!

This is an annual ritual for me..I think this was my 8th Richmond and 26th marathon. Great organization, great community support, and good course. No real complaints.