This was my first half-marathon and it was a great experience! PROs: good orgainization, set up except the finish line; very enthusiastic fans, and plenty considering it was a chilly Thanksgiving morning; the volunteers were awesome and encouraging; tough, hilly course, but rounding the corner and seeing the Olympic Rings at the finish was fantastic! CONs: finish line was a mass of confused runners looking for pathetic goody bags (terrible - no fruit); the Powerade along the route was watered down; not enough porta-potties along the route (guess they put them all at the start); and ugly, cheap race shirts.

Overall, a good race. I'd like to run this one again.

My 16th marathon and first time running Atlanta. Given that it was not a well promoted marathon and also on Thanksgiving Day, I was quite happy with the overall logistics and crowd support. The course was fairly flat with the last 6 miles or so as the biggest challenge, which definitely makes for a feeling of triumph when you cross the finish line.

The finisher's medals were on the cheap side and I was very disappointed that the 'offical' times posted are for clock time rather than NET start/finish time. I was 2 minutes late to the starting line due to the crowd in front and that pushed me from 3:58 watch time to 4:00+ hours on my 'official' time. The finish line reception and post-race amenities were nearly non-existent, but given that it started to rain I can't consider that a problem for me in this particular case.

For a city the size of Atlanta that is also an airline hub I would expect something a bit higher in caliber. Having said that, the price for the entry was very low compared to other races I've been in. My suggestion: add $20 to the race entry, spruce it up a bit and promote it nationally. I think you'll find the marathoning public will embrace it quickly.

I really enjoyed the 1/2 marathon. This was my 2nd 1/2 marathon, and I was a bit concerned about the 'hilly' reputation! Fortunately, I train on hilly courses and tolerated the hills without problems. It was fun seeing some of the runners dressed for the holidays, one like a turkey! There weren't as many spectators as I expected, but given that we were running on Thanksgiving morning, this is to be expected I guess. However, the spectators that were out were supportive and fun! The volunteers were the best; out so early on Thanksgiving morning and cheering us on past each intersection or aid station! The Atlanta policemen were also fabulous and supportive! I was a bit disappointed in the food at the end--a baggie of goodies--but I guess the idea is that everyone is headed home for turkey, at least that's what I did! I knew ahead of time that I would not receive a medal, and that was OK for those that are satisfied with the internal gratification of completing the race. However, I know several runners would be willing to even pay a few dollars more to receive a completion medal. Most 1/2 marathons present them; I think that Atlanta should consider this for future races.

After failing to get into the Kiawah Island (it filled up), I decided to run the Atlanta Marathon. I knew ahead of time that the Atlanta course was more challenging than Kiawah, but I live in Atlanta and wanted to say I had ran the Olympic course. The race was well organized with an Atlanta City Policeman at every intersection. Water breaks were on the average every 2.5 miles. I would have liked more water and was glad I brought a small camelback. I really didn't care about not having many spectators. It was a rainy cool day on Thanksgiving; minus the rain, it would have been a perfect day.

The volunteers were great and cheered everyone on. Not many folks run the full marathon, most opt for the half. The pack really took off at the start. I had a hard time keeping my pace for the first 4 miles and wanted to run faster (rookie mistake). The hills on the final 6 miles are rough. I thought I had trained enough, but my legs were not prepared for the hills at the end. I used the Galloway method of running with walk breaks and it worked very well until mile 22 and then things started to go terribly wrong. I did more walking than running the last 4.2. After a few days of recovery I was already planning my next marathon - a nice flat course. Cheers.

I enjoyed the course and thought the organization was excellent. I'd run the half in previous years so I knew the last 10K would be tough if I didn't save something for it. Tons of parking at the start and plenty of porta-potties - virtually no waiting - always a joy before a race. I went to the medical tent after the race to get some ice and was wonderfully treated. Makes me want to visit the medical tent more often :). I thought the t-shirt was very nice this year and the engraved medal for faster finishing times is a nice touch. Spectators are limited, but they were enthusiastic. I'd do it again.

I have never seen such a sorry way to feed runners like this race did. The heated tents were great - but, how about some decent food!!

My first marathon, course was really tough, but I knew that going in. Hardly any fans, but I can't blame them, being Thanksgiving.

My biggest complaint is with my running club the Atlanta Track Club. First I would like to see them advertise that they have a marathon, since most folks don't know they have one on Thanksgiving Day and this was the 42nd year running it.

Also the medal was kind of cheesy, it had a sticker on the back which read "42nd running 2003", please.
This is the second event I've entered of the Atlanta Track Club that had Powerade and it was horrible both times; very, very diluted. First time was a 5k, so not a big deal, but the marathon is a different story. If I'm not mistaken, Powerade was a major sponsor, so there was no excuse for that poor of quality of Powerade. Thank God I ran with my Camelbak, us back-of-the-packers are out there a long time and need our carbs, not the crap they served. I feel sorry for the runners who were depending on that.

They put on such a great event for the Peachtree Road Race 10k, I wish they put the same effort in the marathon and quit using the holiday as an excuse. If it's that big of a problem, change the dates. The volunteers were excellent, thank you. Sorry I sound so negative, but had to get it of my chest.

This was my first marathon (3:42:25) and I enjoyed the course. The course is challenging, but manageable. To do well on this course, you must have trained with hills in your long training runs. Considering this takes place on Thanksgiving morning, the volunteers and spectators were plentiful - I really appreciated this. I will probably do this course again.

Pros: Volunteers for the most part were enthusiastic, even despite the rain. Nice route through town. Well organized for a race run on a holiday. I was impressed by the size of the expo. Enjoyed ending under the Olympic rings. Kept me from stuffing my face with turkey.

Cons: My wife ran the half-marathon and would have liked to have received a medallion. She also would have liked a mylar wrap at the end. Suggest increasing the fee to provide these so half-marathoners do not feel like second-rate runners. The hills at the end took their toll on this flat-lander (my fault).

This was my first marathon and it was TOUGH. If you plan to run this race your long training runs MUST have substantial and sustained elevation changes. I was easily on pace to hit my goal time of 3:30 (it looked like I might be closer to 3:20) until the constant uphill during miles 20-25... I ended up finishing in 3:31:49. I had a great time, but wish I had trained better for the hills!