I chose Virginia Beach as my potential BQ race because I had heard that it was fast and flat. Well, fast and flat is actually an UNDERSTATEMENT. Aside from two ridiculously trivial, minor inclines at miles 3 and 10 totaling 40 feet each, the entire course is, no exaggeration, flat as a pancake. The weather was perfect this year, with sunshine, starting temps in the 40's, and almost no wind at all.

Even though I failed to qualify for Boston (I developed nausea at mile 21 and walked/ran to the finish), I still PRed by over 2 minutes, and will definitely be back next year. If you are looking to PR, this is your course. Great post-race party too! Four free beers, and great swag.

The parking situation is very difficult. I am aware of arriving early and I did (very early). I had to go in circles for 20 minutes and couldn't find anywhere to park!!! Could a shuttle service be available?? I will run this race again - it's very nice - but I will bring someone along because of parking issues!! I would have loved to stay in a hotel but just couldn't afford it.

Very well run marathon and half. Good organization, manageable field size, fast course, plenty of water tables, and pretty good crowd support. Plenty of hotels, so it was easy to stay within a few blocks of the start and finish. Wind wasn't an issue in 2009, and the temperature was cool and near perfect. This is very much a PR course if the weather is cool and if the wind is mild, which was the case in 2009.

This was my 24th different marathon.
My pros far outweigh my cons. I really enjoyed this marathon, and would highly recommend it.

Pros:
1. The race director and crew have it together. Organizationally, top-notch. All of the aid stations were fully manned. All the mile markers were accurate and visible. The start and finish were organized - no chaos or confusion. The course was well laid out. The finish area, in a fully enclosed tent on the beach, was great.
2. Finishing on the boardwalk near the Neptune statue was awesome.
3. Beautiful medals.
4. Long-sleeved tech top and nice finisher's hat (although the top (XS) was still too big for a small female).
5. There was a strong community presence on the course - the city is really involved with this event all week-end. The 8K on Saturday was HUGE.
6. It was nice to see the recycling bins at the finish line.
7. Flat course with PR potential.
8. Logistics: staying at a hotel within walking distance to start and finish was great!

Cons (these are minor things and only mentioned as things to consider or be prepared for):
1. The Fort Story stretch of the course was difficult for me in that it wasn't scenic and very quiet. I felt like this area needed something to help us along.
2. The 7:00 a.m. half start and 8:00 a.m. full start seemed backwards, but logistically, it wouldn't work the other way without a course change.

For 2009 it was a perfect day to run and it gave me a PR, which was unexpected. The course is as flat as I have seen them. Good water stops and fan support most of the way. I liked having my name printed on my bib. The pace groups all seemed to work well. I can imagine that it could be a windy course, but it was not so in 2009.

This was a great course with almost no wind, perfect temperature, and it made for a great race.

Everything that was given out was also awesome.

Highly recommended.

At 5 p.m. on Saturday, the expo was out of goody bags! That is part of the reason I run, for the free goodies!! The food was limited after the race. If you didn't want stew, about the only option you didn't have to pay for was a banana! The finisher hats were a nice touch though! Parking was a nightmare. I was blocked in and couldn't leave for an hour and a half after I completed my race.

I wanted to be the first to post about 2009. Since I got my BQ after 36 tries, I have nothing but praise for the course. It turned out to be a perfect day, which certainly helped too. Great job, from expo to finish. I would definitely recommend to all!

This was my second full marathon. While I didn't run at the pace I was hoping for, I can't blame anything about the course or the marathon for that - I just came out too fast, and hit the wall.

The expo is very well organized, with lots of vendors and options. The weather for the race was almost perfect - cool from beginning to end, with a bit of light rain. If there hadn't been any wind, it would have been perfect.

I'll run this one again!

This was a nice race. I picked this race as a Boston qualifier, and it worked. Flat and fast. Miles 10-12 were difficult due to the wind on the boardwalk, but the rest of the course made up for it. Never did I feel the same wind strength at the end of the race that I felt I was running into earlier on, but no biggie. Did not stick around for the food afterward, as my wife and son had been outside long enough (great running weather; not so great watching-running weather), but I enjoyed the expo on Saturday. Great schwag; I loved the hat. I had a nice weekend and might consider coming back if I need a race to get me near 3 hours.