I have to agree with LS that the course (particularly the first mile) was long by about .25 miles. I ran with a buddy and both our Garmin watches were off by .25 miles almost from the first mile - and they stayed that way consistently through the race. Overall, this is a good race. Fast and flat. Unfortunately, the wind didn't cooperate this year, but you never have perfect conditions. Another problem from an organizational standpoint was that they ran out of technical race shirts and printed backpacks at the race expo packet pick-up. It was disappointing to travel from Texas to Virginia for a race and not get to the expo in time to get a shirt. The organizers have promised to print more shirts and mail them out.

I can't add a lot to the other comments, other than to reiterate that the course is dead flat other than the bridge over the harbor entrance.

Despite the fact that the (relatively strong) wind in 2008 was from the north, it didn't have a negative effect on my race. There was about a mile and a half between the 10th and 12th mile markers that was a bit brutal as it was along the boardwalk and subject to the wind. But once we got onto the streets again, the wind wasn't as much a factor - plus we could draft behind other runners.

On the way south - miles 21 to 26 - the wind was at our backs, which was just what I needed.

The finish was well organized, although I should have set up a designated meeting spot for my wife in the (huge) finisher's tent (e.g. near the north-east beer dispensary) as we wandered around for about a half hour and never did find each other. Each runner gets 4 beer tickets, which was sufficient. Well, actually, I didn't use all of mine because I had to go find my wife, who had gone back to the hotel room!

Anyhow, I got my BQ at the Shamrock Marathon after two prior attempts at other marathons: one I missed because I succumbed to the heat, another because of a brutal headwind. The great course at Virginia Beach allowed me to get my BQ - and the beer at the end was a very welcome added bonus!

I'm going to have to disagree with L. S. from Southeast USA on a few points... but only a few. :)

I think that the clock was correct. I ran the full marathon. My watch and a friend's watch, who I ran with, were only a few seconds off of our posted chip time. Both my friend and I ran with a GPS watch. I didn't notice that the mile markers were 0.25 off. We were pretty much on target pace-wise for all of the early miles. I did notice that most (if not all) of the mileage markers were set on top of paint markers on the road. This means that the mileage markers were set where they were supposed to. Whether the paint job was off is debatable.

I think that this is a great small-town race. The course is completely flat except for one tiny bridge span. I've run Chicago, and Chicago is nowhere near as flat as Shamrock. I didn't have to fight the crowd at any point during the race. That's a wonderful thing compared to the major marathons. I love the free long-sleeve tech shirt as well as the tech hats that were handed out at the end of the race. The medal is pretty cool.

I thought that it was a pretty well run race. The water station volunteers were in abundance. I was in Vegas for the Vegas Marathon and some of their water stations only had 1 or 2 volunteers. The organizers and volunteers at Shamrock definitely stepped up to the plate. This is no small task since it's a two day racing event. Finding volunteers for one day is hard enough, let alone two.

The finish line was on the boardwalk, so if you had a hotel along the boardwalk, you were back to the hotel in no time. The finish line was not crowded. I found that to be quite pleasant. They gave us a food bag at the end with PowerBar, cookie, pretzel, and a bunch of other stuff. In some of the other marathons that I've run, your food wouldn't have been handed to you in a bag like that. I thought that that was a nice touch.

Porta-johns? Who cares? I'm a man. The world is my porta-john. :) Overall, it was a nice race with good people and great organization.

This was a good, fast course, with no major complaints except for the wind (though, it's on the beach, so it was destined to be).
PROS:
-Flat, fast course
-Nice people. I had a lot of good conversations along the course.
-Running on the base brought out my patriotic side. :)
-Appreciated the hat that was given to us at the finish.

CONS:
-Not enough porta-potties.
-Stew and beer only in the tent? Really? The two were not at the top of my list on things to eat after a marathon. The only fruit I saw were the bananas being handed out by a man immediately after I crossed the finish line. The food bags were nice but I felt, overall, the food offered was lacking. Maybe I'm just spoiled....
-I went to this race with a friend of mine and both of our watches were over a minute and a half off of what the official times were - meaning that the offical time was over what we had. I can understand anything within 30 seconds but almost 2 minutes? Something was off.
-Mile markers were off by about a quarter-mile. No big deal in the beginning, but very disheartening when you're towards the end.

Overall, had a good time and met some awesome people. I would recommend this race for others.

I love this course! Many interesting sights along the way including the ocean, a tree-lined road and a huge lighthouse.

Great pace team too! I was wondering how one of the guys pacing the 3:50 group kept getting more energized with each mile! Great motivation and team spirit.

Great organization. And, the community seems to know about and support fully this event. Thanks too to the police who were very helpful.

This one is the total package and worth consideration for an early-season run.

This race was my second, and it was a great experience. I shaved 17 minutes off of my time! The course was totally flat (except for one elevated bridge), the weather nearly perfect besides a little wind, and the shamrock spirit was infectious! Thanks to all of the volunteers; the aid stations were very well run. Just need some porta-potties at the starting line (they were all at the half-marathon start, 10 blocks away!!). Running through the army barracks was a treat, though Fort Story was disappointing. All in all, a great race. I'll be back.

I entered this race because I teach and it fell on my spring break. I wanted to run a marathon for a long time and decided this would be my first.

Positives were:
-Fun course with only one boring spot - and they tried to remedy that with interesting signs to read.
-Great on-course support.
-Great marking of the course.
-Outstanding medal, shirt, hat, bag, etc. (as give-aways).

Negatives:
-My results were lost at first but they turned this into a positive by getting it straightened out really quickly.
-Ran out of food at the tent (I went and showered before feeling like eating, and it was gone). Maybe soup tickets like beer tickets would be a good idea.

I was extremely excited because I made it a whacky goal to Boston Qualify, and I was able to do so. This makes the race just that much more special for me. I was told I picked a tough race to do this in so that made me feel pretty good. It was pretty windy after all.

This was my 3rd Shamrock Marathon and my 20th marathon. The Shamrock Marathon continues to be my overall favorite. The enthusiasm is great. The course is great. The registration process is a breeze. Although I like to run along the ocean and tend to seek out seaside marathons, my favorite part of this course actually is the trek through the woods along Shore Drive and and through Fort Story (miles 16-22.5). After all of the hustle and bustle and crowd support during the first 16 miles, it is nice to have some peace and quiet, especially through those tough middle miles. Then the crowd picks up again for the final four miles.

The shirt is among the best. I wear the hats all year long and in other races. The best thing about Virginia Beach, though, is the hotels. Many large, reasonably-priced, oceanfront hotels within a short walk of the start and finish. Traveling with four kids, we have stayed in comfortable and affordable suites all three years, and I can roll out of bed and walk to the start.

Two negatives this year bring the score down a bit: the expo was congested and less interesting than in the past, and, as noted below, there was no food for the late finishers. The Irish stew is one of the perks we paid for, and it was gone. Still, this remains my overall favorite.

What a spectacular marathon and one you should consider doing! I've never been to Virginia Beach, VA but came to appreciate the tremendous hospitality there. All the volunteers and aid station workers had happy attitudes - you could just tell they were into it and that means so much to the runners. Kudos to the race committee for stressing that attitude and leading a well organized event.

Will somebody pat the police officers on the back for a job well done? The traffic control was excellent. Way to go!

My timing chip worked great even though I see others' didn't - bummer to run 26.2 for no post time! Prefer the bombproof competitors brand over the "wannabe" systems.

Loved the way the finish line was set up - at every station you ended up getting something (medal, goody bag, hat, water, fruit, space blanket). Felt good. Never made it to the tent on the ocean but sounded like everyone was having a blast!

Thanks for a wonderful experience.

This was my first 1/2 and I loved it. Even though the course did get a little quiet through the trees and Ft. Story the changing scenery, the waves crashing on the beach and the lighthouses made up for it. The volunteers were absolutely amazing and the really make a difference. Would like to see different-colored markers on each mile as well. Thought I was daydreaming and missed the 9 flag when I went from Mile 8 to 10. I did like the neoprene chip bands - very comfortable. Quite a few locals come out as well to cheer everyone on all along the course. I swear I smiled for the first 12 miles! The last I laughed all the way through. Really great finish line and nice technical shirts and hats coupled with a warm finish party made this first one really memorable. Great job to everyone who put this together and thank you for a great first 1/2. See you next year.