Greetings to all. Shamrock '07 was #35 in my ongoing quest for 50 states (+DC) - 43 total. First off, I must thank all of your WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS for standing in the near-freezing weather to selflessly attend to my needs! Yours is a fabulous course and the atmosphere is downright exciting! Our party of 5 (2 marathoners, 2 8Ker's, and 1 Kid's 26.2-runner) enjoyed 3 of the sponsor restaurants (Hot Tuna, Shore Break, Murphy's) and the HISTORIC Cavalier Hotel.... And I mean ENJOYED! Keep up the great work; we nevered considered doing any other VA marathon just on your reputation. Now we can add our recommendation to all of the others! Thank you so very much!

The expo was on Friday and until 6 p.m. Saturday, but they ran out of shirts by 4 p.m. on Saturday! It was nice of them to offer me a half-marathon shirt that said "half-marathon" instead, but I was running twice that distance (it sounds superficial but most marathoners understand what I mean...). However, they took my name and address and promised to mail the correct shirt "eventually," so I hope that will happen. I don't really blame them; they can't anticipate the hundreds of runners who sign up in the week before the race (runners, register earlier than March - I registered in December).

Course: The first half is through Virginia Beach and Camp Pendleton (very interesting seeing Army barracks and young soldiers in formation, shining their boots). You end up on Cape Henry on Shore Drive, very spectator-free for about 6 miles, which I personally enjoy for a break, but some people find unbearable - depends on who you are. We also went through a Marine base of sorts. Allegedly the course goes by the Cape lighthouse but I swear I didn't see that thing! Course also runs on the hard, windy concrete boardwalk for blocks and blocks and blocks, which is tough, but that's what you get for a marathon where you can see the ocean.

The last five miles are ever-so-slightly downhill back into Virginia Beach, providing a good finish right by the King Neptune statue.

Goodies: As I said, no marathon shirt, but at the end I was given a very spiffy medal of silver with a green shamrock in the medal (much better than the tiny medals from Baltimore in October '06, although those were apparently a fluke and the Baltimore organizers didn't realize they would be so small). Also given a VERY nice non-dorky green and white hat that says "26.2 Finisher" in tastefully-sized letters on the back and "Yuengling" on the side. They took off your chip for you and handed you a bottle of water; and there were bananas and Snickers Marathon bars.

At that point, you have to walk on the beach for 100 feet or so to get into a huge tent with stew on one side and beer on the other. I'm 19 so I can't speak for the beer. The stew line was so long that I didn't bother getting any. But it was a nice, warm tent. Overall, very festive, and you could tell they tried their best. I really hope they get me that shirt, though. ;)

Also nice: the start and finish line are close to a number of hotels (2 Holiday Inns, an Econo Lodge, the nice old Cavalier, a Hilton, a Courtyard).... You can walk to the start and walk back to your room from the finish, which saves a LOT of confusion and hassle.

Virtually no spectators, a strong headwind for six miles, and a boring, less-than-scenic course. Skip this race. Add to it the fact that our car was towed from an empty hotel overflow lot behind a race recommended restaurant. VA beach is more concerned with car towing than in hospitality. Lousy service at local hotels and restaurants. The town didn't seem the least bit interested in supporting runners on the course. I was glad I had my own fan club with me. There were no oranges or bananas on the course and at some points there was no one out there to hand out water to slower runners. A flat, boring course through some really ugly parts (FT. STORY) of VA Beach. No military guys out there cheering. The finish on the boardwalk was great, but where were the fans? DJs along the way provided music but live bands would have been so much better. A lousy course in an unwelcoming town. I'd skip this one. Tiny expo with few quality vendors.

Had a great time running the Shamrock yesterday. The weather was perfect, even with the wind, which was not as brisk as last year. Cheers to the spectators who were colder than the runners. The course is fast, I PR'd, and the whole event, including the expo, was well put together. Got a great shirt, which I saw all over the course, a great finisher's hat and a great medal. I waited for my wife so I didn't hit the beer tent until well into hour 5, and there was still beer and stew available.

Good job to all.

This marathon was great for the most part. It started off with a five-mile race on Saturday, which I voluntered to work the finish line. It was exciting to be up close and personal with the winners. I was so pumped and excited to run the race on Sunday after helping on Sat. I really don't have too many complaints about the race itself. There were only two things that made this marathon tough. First the wind was a factor... but the directors cannot change that. Second, between the miles of 16 and 22 you are out in the middle of nowhere and there are no spectators, bands, or anything. Up to this point I was having a blast. Once I hit this stretch, my mind started to wander and I got extremely bored. I think that to make it more enjoyable next year, the directors could put some bands, or music or something along this stretch. I know talking to others they agreed with me. Other than that I would recommend this marathon to everyone. The after-race party was a blast and well laid out. I do plan to run the 2007 Shamrock Marathon.

I ran this marathon last year and I must say I enjoyed it immensely. The course was flat and fast. The weather was perfect - cool and sunny. The scenery was great - everything from woods to the ocean to the military bases. The airport was just minutes from the host hotel, and the host hotel was right at the start and the finish. If you like beer, it definitely gets 5 stars in that area! Even as a non-drinker, I had a great time... and I plan to go again in 2007.

It was FREEZING the morning of the race!... maybe mid-30s and very windy, with a strong headwind for about 8-10 straight miles, but a nice breeze bringing you in the last 4 or 5. Not too may spectators out at first, but the middle and end had many military types out shouting their encouragement. The packet pick-up was easy; didn't care for the post-race stuff, had to walk through thick sand to get to tent with dead legs, and that was not fun. There was also a long wait to get a massage. Overall, my time was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. The course was pretty cool.

This was only my second half marathon, so maybe I need to run a few more, but I felt there needed to be water or sports drink at the start. Also, there were so many people, there was no way to run at any kind of normal pace for the first few miles. The major gripe I have was the lack of port-o-potties. I had to wait 5 minutes to use a potty at mile 6 and there was only a single potty! For THAT many runners? Outrageous. The finisher's hat was nice, but how about somewhere to change clothes? Someone needs to take a few tips from the Air Force Marathon in Dayton. I'll never run this one again.

This was my 30th marathon and 1st marathon as a pacer. I was pacer for 3:20. I ended up finishing at 3:18.
Thanks to those who joined me and I hope you can join me again next year.
Don't let the wind scare you away. (not so bad) we did have backwind heading towards the finish, guess they didn't feel that! :)

Windy, windy, windy. I don't want to complain about that or make changes, but I just want to state that the headwind was bad. Race directors can't prepare for that. The course was fun for the first half. I thought it was kind of weird that the half marathon starts 30 minutes before the marathon. Tell your family to stick around for awhile. You run something like the first half of the marathon on an out-and-back and then pick up the half course. The bummer is that run from about 2nd Street all the way up to like 87th Street. Running for 80 blocks on one road was mind-numbing. There were lots of ROTC types on the course to get you motivated. It was a fun course, with good provisions, beer and beef (Irish) stew when you finish to fill you up. Everyone was wasted within two hours of finishing.

I ran it this year and the medal had a typo on it saying "VIRGINA" Beach instead of Virginia. got myself a collector's item. I'll do this race again in a few years. I am going all over the nation but it's definitely worth coming back for. Check out Murphy's Pub post-race; wear your medal and someone is bound to buy you a beer.