New Orleans is a fun place to visit at any time, with great food wherever you go. The marathon was well-organized, except for the bathroom situation at the start. As I walked out of the Superdome to the starting line, the line at the women's restroom looked to be about 30 minutes long, 5 minutes before the start.

The weather was warmer than predicted because the sun came out from the clouds. It hit 74 deg, and with the humidity and sun, the last half of the race was hard for me.

The course is flat, one bridge done twice is the only hill of any kind. The road surface is ok for most of the race but watch the expansion joints on the bridge - big holes. One short stretch near Audubon Park was very rough, but nothing to worry about.

New Orleans looked very pretty with the flowering pink tulip magnolias frequently along the route. The out-n-back through Audubon park was hard - you are in a pretty park but runners keep coming at you and you wonder when do you ever turn around. You end up circling the entire park and u-turning where you came in. That is tough at the 20-mile mark! Now all the way back around to the same spot again.

Few spectators other than the great support from AIDS Foundation crew cheering at many spots.

I found this to be a most excellent race. The Superdome is the perfect venue to start and end a race. The best part about starting the race there is that it provides ample parking and restrooms. I would say previous comments about there not being enough restrooms to be completely unfounded. True there was lines at the porta-potties outside and restroom closest to entrance, but the entire Superdome was open. About 10 minutes before before the race started I found a restroom on the 2nd level that was completely empty.

The race organization was excellent, everything ran perfectly on time. The course was interesting, though it would be nice if they could find away to work part of the lakefront into the course, especaily since the course comes so close to it already. Finally, I think the comments about the crowd support being a little sparse are unfair. Coming so close after the end of Mardi Gras, it's unlikely that there will ever be much excitement in the greater community at large for the race.

Flat course, great support, costumed volunteers, and even a beer stop and martinis at one water stop. Does it get any better? Seven hours of open course allowed me to finish my first ever marathon. It also allowed two eleven-year old boys to compete, and finish strong. The boys were trained by one's physician father, an ultra-marathoner, and they both finished strong. The seven-hour limit also allowed a bed-bound racer with cerebral palsy to finish as well. He was pushed in a special stretcher by a friend who had already taken him out on 5K and 10K races. This time they did the marathon. Asked if it was tough pushing the stretcher for 26.2 miles, the pusher said, 'No, not at all. What's tough is my friend, having to live his entire life in a wheelchair or hospital bed; now that's tough.'

Thanks to the MGM staff, the New Oreans residents who lined the course and let us use their streets for a few hours, the volunteers and to my fellow racers. I'll be back, and I'll bring friends.

First the positives. Yes, a world-class destination city to visit and enjoy. I gave myself the luxury of two full days before and two after to enjoy the city. Go along Royal St. for the best shopping, Cafe Dumonde for Coffee and Beignets (pillow doughnuts), the Cabildo and St. Louis Basilica for history. They are on Jackson Square.

As for the race, I'm not a strong runner with my asthma, but the potholes were negligible to me. The race started out in the low 60's and finished in the 70's and as a Northwesterner was way too hot. I was on track until mile 17 when the heat and 80 percent humidity got to me. The days before the race were in the 50's and 60's, so weather is the luck of the draw as anywhere. The medals were placed on our necks this year as opposed to previous years. Post-race food was still skimpy, and as mentioned in previous years, beer and Pepsi are not replenishment drinks. Overall, a great race.

This is my first time running in New Orleans. Generally, it was a good experience. The good points: 1) good expo, 2) great start/finish area-well organized, 3) very scenic route for the marathon, 4) good post-race refreshments.

The bad: 1) lack of spectators in most of the race except for downtown, 2) some of the splits were abandoned thus no one was calling out the times... this happened at about 5 places, and 3) total disorganization of the race results. The pages were scattered on a table with a crowd bumping into each other to try and look at the results. I saw some people received their awards, but I was told mine was to be mailed since they really 'weren't sure' if the results were accurate! Also, I asked about 5 volunteers where the results were going to be posted and all I got were blank stares!!

However, I will be back. I found it mostly enjoyable. I just hope they organize the results better next year.

This was my 15th marathon. I came to have fun and there was plenty to be had. All of the comments posted so far are accurate and well described.

The only unfortunate twist occurred with the awards that were to be handed out at the end. Due to no fault of the race committee, the computer caused miserable problems at the end. The race director was quick to recognize the inaccuracies and made a good decision to send the awards to the recipients after all of the finishes could be analized. I'm sure there were some negative comments made, but all in all, she was being very fair.

Thank you New Orleans! You know how to turn 26.2 miles into a memorable party. The scenery was great. I was impressed with the renovation of the old homes between City Park and the Superdome. The city is preserving its culture!

I was not very pleased with the bathroom situation at the start of the MGM. There were 6 port-a-potties outside of the dome for the marathoners and 1/2 marathoners (who started at the same time). Yes, ONE of the bathrooms in the dome was open, but when you have several thousand runners and a whole stadium at your disposal, you should open up all of the restrooms. The Twin Cities Marathon also starts at a dome, and they open all of their bathrooms up and they also have numerous portable toilets outside.

The course was very flat and scenic (you have to love the old architecture of New Orleans), but I guess I am not a big fan of out-and-back courses. Fans were scarce but the water stops were well manned and the volunteers very friendly.

Overall it was a decent race, but I don't think I will run it again next year.

The course was great, the sites are wonderful, but I was STILL standing in line to use the porta-potty when the race started because there were not enough. This was my second time to do this race and I would recommend it even though you have TWO out-and-backs! The finish in the Superdome was great!

Registration on Saturday was very easy. The whole event went well. I am not sure if our chip times were recorded correctly. I had about a three minute difference between chip and watch.

The street conditions were fine, despite other's concerns. There are not many spectators. The post-race event was great. Plenty of food and beer. The people that put on the race were great.

I can't say I'm proud of my time this year. But that was no fault of yours. All the race criteria were there, from registration, to splits, to aid stations, to traffic control, to spectators, to scenic course, to finishing inside the Superdome... that has got to be the best finish I have ever experienced! Thanks to all involved with the organization of this race. Look forward to seeing you all next year! JOB WELL DONE!