I've run 10 or so marathons, including running Austin 12 years ago when it was a point-to-point course with a much smaller field. Overall, I have to say that the growth experienced has not been handled well. This race has over-grown the capability of the organizers to handle the size.

First, the good:
* Weather is typically nice and cold (although this year was an aberration with heat, humidity, and a headwind).
* Spectators come out in force for the downtown section of the course, especially on Cesar Chavez mile 8 and at the finish line.
* The options for a 5k, half marathon, and full marathon provide lots of opportunities for runners.
* The half and full did not fill up until just days before the event.
* Lots and lots (26?) of well-stocked water stops that had both water and Gatorade.
* Most of the mile markers were easily seen. I only missed one or two, which is pretty good. There were also 5K markers, a halfway marker, and "to-go" markers for the last 800 meters in 200-meter increments.
* Volunteers were great.
* The new, three-year commitment by Livestrong to be a sponsor will hopefully provide some energy to improvements.

Now, the areas that need to be improved:
* Parking at the expo was a total disaster. A single lane to get into the parking garage for thousands and thousands of runners? There were virtually no alternatives, either, unless you got extremely lucky with the neighborhood streets. Austin has better sites than the Palmer Events Center to host an event with this large of a crowd.
* The layout of the expo was a mess. The aisles between the booths were far too narrow and most aisles therefore were completely clogged with barely moving traffic. Meanwhile, the official marathon areas of the expos had vast areas of openness that were totally unnecessary. I'm sure the vendors lost a lot of business due to runners giving up on visiting their booths, like I did. The expo coordinators need to visit a large marathon and replicate their setup.
* The pre-race instructions were conflicting on whether or not a bib number was required to pickup the packet. As it turns out, having the bib number was helpful, but for those who didn't, there were 6-7 laptops available to look it up.
* The layout of the finish line area was a total fiasco. After getting the finisher's medal and moving quickly through the chute, everyone was dumped out into an open public area on Congress at the gear check pick-up that was jammed shoulder-to-shoulder with runners, spectators, baby carriages, etc., all trying to move in different directions. After running 26 miles, fighting a dense crowd moving nowhere is rather frustrating. I would eventually push around the crowd and get to the booths handing out finisher's t-shirts. Unfortunately, I was too tired to go in search of the live band stand that was more than a block away, so I collapsed on the only piece of empty sidewalk I could find.
* The course is awful. I know that organizers have a tough job of satisfying lots of stakeholders, but this is just a really, really bad course. It's certainly very hilly, with 1,100 feet of elevation climb, but it doesn't even do a good job of highlighting the best of Austin. Like most runners who are Austin veterans, I would much rather see the old (and fast) point-to-point course that started north, ran downhill the first half, and then explored downtown before finishing in the park. That was a great course! Bring it back, please.

I have to say that I was pretty disappointed and probably won't return unless the race organizers make major improvements.

Weather was warmer than usual - 60s at start, mid-70s at the finish (according to locals); but it stayed cloudy and breezy, so it was not too painful. Hills? Yes, but nothing impossible. Just know it's not a flat course and you'll be okay. Plenty of bands, and good crowd support. Nice level or even downhill finish. Medal was nice. Tech shirt was adequate, though not outstanding. Gatorade was available at ALL water stops. We carbo-loaded at Romeo's - good pasta! Good expo, but traffic getting there was rough. Overall, thumbs up!

This is my second half, and I beat my first one by 10 minutes. The biggest difference was flat ground in San Antonio and major hills in Austin. So that's a plus. It was a definite workout.

I loved this marathon. Because of its lack of a "big" sponsor, everything  from the shirts to the medals  were beautiful and non-corporate. The course is not nearly as bad as some people say. Yes, there were a few hills, but nothing that took longer than 2-3 minutes to scale. My main complaint was about the rather boring stretch on a service road alongside a highway, but what big-city marathon doesn't run by some less-scenic spots? The finish downhill through the capital was lovely,  especially with a PR at the end! Thanks, Conleys!

I'm new at this, having only run the Disney the month before, and when I previewed the Austin course on Saturday in the car, the hills were frightening. In the race, they proved to be perfectly 'do-able' even for a flatlander Houstonion. Do not let hills keep you from coming to this race. Come do this event for the great people. What sets this race apart from the others (the Disney and the 5ks I've done) is the crowds in Austin. I've never seen such friendly people who urge you on every step of the way. I lost count of how many people called my name, or of how many people provided snacks and refreshments along the way at their own expense. Orange slices, girl scout cookies, candies, beer and wine were among some of the things Austinites offered the runners. One fellow even offered 'Free drinks and puppies.' This was all in addition to the regular drink stations provided by the organizers. I will do this race again next year just because the people were so extra-nice.

As to the course, I was generally pleased. There was one section where the pavement was pretty bad, but it looked like the road was being repaired. It likely will be done by next race, and also likely that it had not been torn up when the course was laid out. I'm suggesting that this should not be held against the organizers, as it was something out of their control. It was nice that they listened to complaints about the narrow bit at Krebbs road, and extended the southern part of the course to the Ben White road which was plenty wide, even when we had to go around a wheelchair competitor who was struggling up the hill there. There were several points where the marathon route had to share intersections with cross traffic, but there were police directing at those, and I don't know if I was lucky or what, but I only got detained at one of them.

Even with the hills I had a PR going at the halfway point and feel like I would have done really well but for an ITB problem. I was able to finish out the event, and am happy with the whole experience. I'd like to commend all the runners I encountered, as every one of them was polite and was aware of their surroundings. Before the split where we lost the half marathoners, it was congested, but I never really felt like I was held up. People knew how to navigate and let faster runners have room.

I'll be happy to come back to Austin for this event every year from now on.

Overall I had a great experience at this race. We had ideal weather this year, with temps in the 40s and 50s. The course provides quite a bit of shade as well, so it's pretty easy to stay out of the sun. Very supportive fans throughout the course. The hills beat me up on the first half, which led to a slower finish than I had hoped, but all in all, an excellent winter race.

My thoughts in brief:
Great, well organized, well supported race.
Good expo, although not many freebies.
Scenic course in a fun city.
Nice downhills later in the course.
I don't think there was PowerAde until the second half of the course. Please provide some earlier in the course - and another flavor would be nice.
Great medal.
Decent wicking finishers t-shirt.

Thanks!

I thought the Austin Marathon was a good, not great, marathon. The crowd support was wonderful, and there was probably more music along the course than at the Nashville Marathon. The lines for the port-a-potties were very long, especially on the first part of the course, and they only had sports drink at about a third of the water stops. In addition, they ran out of XXL finisher shirts at the end of the race, although supposedly they will be getting me a shirt in the right size at a later date. The weather turned out to be almost perfect; in fact, it was a little too warm and sunny at the end for some of us in the back of the pack. I knew the race would be hilly, but unfortunately I was not prepared for all of the hills. The course was interesting, and the night life in Austin before and after the race was wonderful.

Absolutely flawless expo, perfect weather, and for every uphill there was a matching downhill - nothing to cry about. Bands were great and seemed to pop up at the perfect moment. The true gem to this race was the wonderful crowd support. The people of Austin rock, from the hipsters along Congress, to the soccer moms of Hyde Park, to the lady handing out gels, to the little angel with the high-fives at 23, to the "Rocky"-like inspiration from everyone at the capitol building (especially the guy yelling, "400 yards, all downhill"), and finally, to the support at every aid station. ya'll made the experience. I'll be back!

I was unable to do any long runs before this marathon, but since I had paid in advance for the hotel and race, it made sense to just go and enjoy a training run and get ready for a marathon in April. The city is COOL! The bands along the course were unique and made me feel full of pep! The hills are not that bad. The weather was great! The half marathon runners "clogged" the course until after mile 10-11, when it was peaceful. I enjoyed the city views.

Pros:
Good crowd support.
Quality medal and well designed T-shirt.
They gave away backpacks for all marathon and half marathon runners.
Great city to run a marathon in.
The weather in 2010 was perfect.

Cons:
Not enough porta-potties. I waited in line for 10 minutes at mile 8.
Advertised as the flattest course in Texas, which led me to believe that it wasn't hilly - and some other sources list it as one of the largest Boston Marathon-qualifying courses. Maybe it was in the past when they had a different route, but the 2010 course was difficult and had many hills. This course was still fun to run; just don't plan to set your PR here.
They also did not provide anything except water and PowerAde for energy.