This was an especially meaningful Marathon for me. It was my first, it was in my home state, run with a good friend and the weather was absolutely TEXAS perfect! The crowds were great, the support was great. I could not have asked for a more pleasant or memorable 1st. Well....I could have run it faster...so..I'll be back next year with at least two more marathons under my belt! The entire experience was great from the Expo to the 'after' party. But don't be fooled, it is not flat. There be hills in that Texas hillcountry albeit small hills. Thanks for the memories!

I just finished running this marathon and think it was one of the nicest I've done. If it wasn't so far away for me, I would do it again. The course was virtually downhill all the way. Coming from Mid-Jersey, the uphills seemed pretty easy. So well organized and supported by enthusiastic bystanders. The Texans are a friendy bunch of folks. The city of Austin is memorable also. Go see the BAT Bridge while you're in town.

This race pretty much has it all together; a few tweaks and this race could be THE race of the season. As others have mentioned, the downhills require downhill training and though there are a few uphills, they are relatively minor. The expo has a lot to be desired, and any serious runners will look past the expo and the goody-bag when judging a race for what really is important. Nonetheless, for first-timers and for those who have travelled great distances--the expo and bag fails in compare with other races of this size. The 13.l mile marker was congested and the last couple of miles were a little hairy; again nothing major in the scheme of things. The pleasant surprise was all the supporters who came out in neighborhoods along the way; they were terrific and encouraged runner after runner; a very smart runners' town. The pacers were also accurate and motivating along the way. Water stops were plentiful, too. The medal is among the very best and the volunteers couldn't be more friendly and hospitable. I stayed at the Doubletree downtown and they allowed a late checkout, but their glaring oversight was they never gave me my wake-up call. Luckily, most of us don't really sleep soundly the night before. When I went down to the lobby, I told them about the problem; they said, yea, we have phone problems. I said you had better get on the phone and start calling now or you'll have an entire hotel full of angry guests; they got calling immediately. But that's not the marathon's fault, just a heads up for rookies--don't depend on anyone for your wakeup call. You've trained too long and travelled too far to have to risk such an oversight. This marathon is great for first-timers as well as seasoned runners looking to PR; it can be done if you don't go full out in the first half. All in all a very good race and experience.

It was a beautiful day to run a marathon, especially your first. The course was pretty flat which made it very nice. However, even though I trained very hard for this, I had no idea that at mile 22 1/2 my hips would begin to feel like they were on fire. By mile 24, it became a battle of the mind as to whether I wanted to finish this race. There was never any doubt in my mind; I was going to finish this marathon but I was glad to see the finish line. Surprisingly enough, I was not tired just a little tender around my hips.

After a few days of rest, I'm ready to start training for the Nashville Country Music Marathon.

I just got back from Austin. It was my first time running this race. Although I have run marathons, I ran in the 2-person relay. The course was fantastic through neighborhoods, downtown and along the river. Local fan turnout for a city the size of Austin was very impressive. I couldn't believe how poorly is was set up and run though. Total confusion at the start, exchange area wasn't controlled so runners couldn't find each other (they didn't seperate fans from runners)and no visible mile markers. Organizers must be getting kick backs from Embassy Suites (the official hotel of the race) because I stayed at the Embassy Suites the web-site indicated was near the half-way point. It ended up 4 miles away. Because we had to drive people to the start, half-way and finish, it didn't allow for friends to watch the race. This could be a really great race if they had better people organizing it.

I have run this race before and was confused by the start and finished. This year, I made it to the start on the shuttle with no problem and was not all 'turned around' at the finish. I love the course and there were more spectators than before. On the low side, the expo was terrible, from the poor lighting to the poor organization of the clothing booths to the worst package pickup that I have ever experienced. Some people said they waited 45+ minutes in line - this is totally unacceptable! Chicago has 35,000 runners and doesn't have this problem.

This was my first marathon, and i'm glad my hometown hosted such a memorable first event for me and everyone! They did a wonderful job of putting together a beautiful course that showed off a lot of the great sites in Austin, and managed to do it with a 400' or so elevation drop for a fast course. Even though the hills weren't very big, they had a couple at mile 24 and 25 which were tough simply because they were at the end.

Other than that, organization was awesome, road closure was good, and the 26 water stations were all well-manned and stocked with cold water, and gatorade. There also had GU, vaseline and orange slices, every so often. (Even Beer at mile 25, how cool is that!) Lots of fans even had bowls of food like gummi bears and other goodies too. There were a fair amount of supportive fans who paid attention to my homemade shirt which was great motivation. (Wear something interesting and they'll be sure to notice!)

There also were plenty of pace groups that helped tremendously to keep you on track. The pace group leaders were easy to spot as they wore signs and bells, and they led cheers, sang songs, and were awesome at keeping everyone motivated!

The weather was and is usually perfect in February in Austin (about 40 at the start and 60 at the finish).
The finish is in a great spot with plenty of river side land to stretch out and relax on with a view of the downtown skyline. They had postrace recovery bags, nice finisher t-shirts, cool medals, and more.

I would DEFINITELY recommend this marathon to anybody who wants their months of hard training to pay off in picture perfect way!

This was my 3rd year running the Motorola. I was skeptical of the course changes, but all in all I think it's a much better finish. It does indeed have a few steep hills, so it's not all downhill. New PR for me by 12 minutes overall.

The volunteers and water stops were excellent! Fan support was also much improved over last year. I also ran the Houston 1/2, and the fans there would just watch silently... in Austin they really yell for you!!

The major disappointment was the expo and post-race stuff. The post race food was a small plastic bag with a bagel, banana, and granola bar. The expo has gone from bad to insulting... they wouldn't even give out bags - you had to carry your shirt, bib, chip, flyer and 2 saftey pins around the nearly empty auditorium yourself. And coordinators repeatedly told the volunteers to *make sure* no one gets more than 2 safety pins!?!

All in all, minor complaints about an otherwise great race. The course, fans, and volunteers make the event truly special.

This was my first marathon. I thought everything went reasonably well. I offer a few thoughts for people who have not run this before. (1) the downhills that lure you into thinking you'll get a fast time also punish your quads. I would do a lot of downhill training (on pavement) if you plan to run this one and plan to push the pace on the downhills. As a comparison, I've run a flat half marathon at a sub 8 min pace and my quads were fine at the end. Here, after 13 miles at a 9 min pace, my quads were screaming. Train accordingly. (2) The Courtyard Marriott is right across the street from the start. The race started at sunrise and it would be cold and little fun to stand around for a long time at the start. It was very nice to leave my room at 6:50 and still easily make my spot in the start with no trouble. (3) The temperature probably rose 30 degrees during the race. Not sure if that is typical. But, don't let the cool morning fool you. There is little shade over the latter parts of the course. Drink up!!

This was my 3rd Marathon. First was Houston in '98, then Houston again in January of this year. I wanted to run another marathon this time around right after Houston. So Austin was my choice since I heard the track was fast. Boy was it! I went all out and improved my personal best by from 5:07 to 4:38. I can't wait to run Austin again next year to train for getting under 4 hours. I love the course. But please improve two things, full road closures and better manage the half way point, it was way to narrow to run through. Organization was excellent. After race was below Houston, two mushy cookies and a tired bagel. The medal was awesome, something I will always treasure along with the nice runners shirt. My hotel, LaQuinta Suites 2 miles from the start, was not very friendly, would not allow a late check out and was clueless about the marathon.
I went to the YMCA for a shower and they did not open till 1pm, no exceptions. I will plan better for next year somehow. Or better yet please let us know where out of towners can get showers. The crowds were great even though smaller then Houston. Overall, an excellent marathon experience. Thanks Austin and Motorolla.