This was my 24th marathon and my first in Virginia Beach. It is definitely one to remember.

The weather was gorgeous, and it was a real treat to finish on the boardwalk.

The only negative was that there was no post-race photographer.

However, the free beer and live music made up for that!!

This was the perfect day... great temps, virtually no wind, and the usual, nice, flat, fast course. I have run it before and will run it again.

As for the lack of goody bags after 5 p.m., don't worry about it. I got one at about 2 p.m. and it was nothing but ads and such... no goodies at all (really, not one). Nice shirt and hat though.

This was my first Shamrock and my 16th marathon overall. With that in mind, here are the my thoughts.

Course: It was flat, which led to my second best time overall. But I thought that the stretch in Ft. Story was never-ending. It might have been in my head, but those were my thoughts. Also, the stretch between 10-12 - when we were running on the concrete boardwalk - was tough when there was a paved bike path just next to us.

Spectators: Awesome. Lots of cheering fans. I can't criticize any thing here. And coming down the chute it was loud, which helps!

Expo: Great; and like I said, lots of freebies, a great shirt, an ok gym bag, a lunch bag and a a sweet hat (plus medal). The best deal in running!

Course Support: water/Gatorade seemed like it was everywhere... extra special thanks for that. The signs with the corny jokes during the flat empty stretch (16-20) helped pass the time. My only complaint here was that the energy gel was supposed to be available at 16 and at 24 but I only saw it at 24. (By the way, that's way too late for energy gel. If you need it to finish at 24, you probably shouldn't be running marathons.)

Overall, a really fun race (nothing like taking off your shoes and socks and walking on the beach after!) and I'll be back to do it again!

Highly recommend this marathon. Very well organized and an awesome crowd. Only suggestion I would make would be that if you are traveling, don't attempt to leave after the race. Stay and enjoy the after party. Traffic was an absolute nightmare! Two thumbs up!!! Great time!!

First my apprehension. I drove from Michigan for this, my 15th marathon state. It's just a gimmick to fill some hotel rooms in the off season, I thought; how dedicated could this organization/community really be?

Well, first... off-season meant some reasonably priced hotel rooms right on the beach, and less crowded local Virginia attractions (i.e. Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg). The expo was at the modern Convention Center, and was decked out in the whole Shamrock theme. At least 60 vendors, a good selection of Shamrock Marathon apparel (including silly hats, glasses, beads, etc.), and an entertaining show of Irish reel dancing. I'm not partial to the disposable timing chips yet, as my adhesive didn't work so I ended up wrapping it up in scotch tape, and I saw more than a few runners wearing the wrong (instruction) half of the chip. The half and full marathons had different starts to alleviate the running crowd and the walkers were lined up in the rear. The pace groups really clotted up the course at times though, and were difficult to circumvent (so the lesson is to line up in your appropriate pace!). The course itself ran South down "hotel row" (Atlantic Ave.), by the Virginia Aquarium, through Camp Pendleton, north along the boardwalk, up around Fort Story and by the historic Cape Henry lighthouse and back south to finish on the boardwalk. This is a flat, enjoyable and mostly closed course. There were pockets of spectator and volunteer support throughout but mostly the cheering was along the beach and in front of the hotels. Weather was perfect - a little brisk at the start, but sunny, mild and only a light breeze off the water (I heard we were lucky with the wind this year). The finish was a great atmosphere on the beach!

There was a big tent with live music, plenty of beer and, although we were limited in the big top to Irish stew or fruit, runners were also given a snack lunch bag at the finish (along with a finisher's hat). If you were physically unable to dance, well... you could just lie on the sand with your Mylar beach blanket and enjoy the spectacle. Many runners were into the theme of green... green Elvis, green Batman and Robin, funny wigs, face paint, etc. To me, though, the discerning characteristic of this run was the rallying support of the organization down to the the last people to cross the finish out beyond 7 hours when most runners had long gone home. I watched the trailing walkers, a valiant wheeler, a heart-transplant recipient and then a parade of green inching down the boardwalk. Massing over the last portions of the course, cheering volunteers escorted and encouraged the last man as he limped across the finish under a tremendous outpouring of acclaim, and there was still some stew and beer waiting for him!

Perfect weather (if not a bit too sunny), great course, great schwag, well organized, enthusiastic crowds, fun finish...

This was my second marathon and I couldn't have picked a better one.

Expo was crowded but well organized. Packet pick-up was a breeze. Schwag was great: long-sleeve tech shirt, tech hat, goody bag, medal.

This one is worth the money.

My first Shamrock Half, and it was fantastic. Smooth and well run expo, with plenty to gawk at and spend money on. Easy drop-off near the start area, and plenty of porta-potties. Corrals were well marked and regulated. Beautiful, easy, flat course, which runs along the water and culminates with a dash along the boardwalk to the finish. All of the goodies were great, and the volunteer and fan support were first-rate. Most importantly, kudos to the event organizers for ordering up perfect conditions!

Only negative (and I'm stretching here) was that I missed some mile markers, due to the wind blowing them down, or for whatever reason.

Otherwise, absolutely wonderful event and I will be returning next year.

This was a great marathon! It was a lot fun for me - and for my husband, who was a spectator. We had a blast the entire weekend. The expo was great as well. I loved the first half of the course especially. The best part was being able to run on the boardwalk. The weather was great with very little wind. I want to send a special thanks to Tim. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have gotten my BQ. You were awesome! I still need to study my turns and get a clearer idea of what you were talking about!

Virginia Beach is a great place to run. The course initially takes you through the beachfront area for a very short time, but then takes you along a couple of shore roads and through two military bases. One of the bases contains historic Cape Henry Lighthouse. I will admit that some of the best cheering of fans came from some soldiers at one of the bases. The running lanes seemed a bit narrow at times for the number of people running. Many times I had to get out of the way for wheelchair athletes who took up a large portion of the lane. Even though it is against the rules, it seemed that a ton of people were wearing headphones. I almost wish I had worn my iPod, as well (now that I know there isn't any enforcement of that rule). The ending was fantastic. There were hot food and refreshments waiting at the end. There was a beach party in a large tent and the sun was bright and warm. Overall, a worthwhile marathon.

The Shamrock Marathon is absolutely the best! The course is gentle enough for a first-timer, and fast enough for the best of the best and a Boston Qualifier to boot! The course is scenic, shady, sunny, and filled with water, Gatorade, energy packs stops and bathroom stops, and encouraging volunteers. Plus, music at the perfect mile markers to keep you "O.P." - on pace. Did I mention that there are also designated pacers for different finish times? My pacers were Marie Bartoletti and Mark. We were the 4:30 group. At every mile marker, Marie would sing ' "Do you see what I see?? It's mile marker 15! One, two, three...." and then we would all shout, "4:30 ROCKS!" AND WE DID ALL 26.2 MILES TO KING NEPTUNE, where we were handed a medal, bottled water, a banana, goody bag, and warm silver wrap! Then it was off to a huge tent with beer, hot, hearty soup, and music! What an amazing race! Can you tell that I had fun?