I had run the half-marathon version of this outing the previous year and based on that experience, chose to take on the full 26.2 miles in 2008. This race is billed as a "no frills" marathon - there's no prize money, no invited or elite field, no bands along the course, the briefest of award ceremonies, and a remarkably small race expo. If you expect those things, you might be disappointed.

On the other hand, consider this to be a "just us" race conducted for runners, by runners, with a remarkable attention to detail. While the half and the full share the finish line, the marathoners have a separate chute at the finish. The marathon and half-marathon starts are staggered and in different locales to allow the longer distance runners to stretch out, encountering relatively few of the walkers and slowest participants of the 13-mile trek. Road obstructions and uneven pavement were meticulously marked with white paint. Water/sport drink stations were well stocked, though a bit too infrequent (every 2 1/2 miles) for my preference, port-o-johns were in ample supply and the race baggage handling would be the envy of the Ritz. Results (using the ChronoTrack D Tag) were posted on-line the afternoon of the race. The course has a 5-hour time limit, which restricts the field to those who can maintain an 11:30 pace or better.

Where this event REALLY shines though, are the volunteers: They're friendly, engaging, and attentive. In the final mile, I had an almost continuous presence of volunteers shadowing me, concerned for my medical and mental health. In my only other marathon to date, I felt and performed (and imagine that I looked) worse in the final miles, but nobody ever so much as asked if I was OK! These folks get a gold star and gave me much to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day.

This was my first marathon, and my wife's second, and I can honestly say that the experience was one of the best of my life.

We came from Arizona, where our training was exclusively in warm, flat surroundings. The brisk morning start (39 degrees) and the constant rolling hills were a huge change of pace for me, and provided a real challenge. I felt that I got a great sampling of what the Atlanta area was like, and the Olympic rings near the finish were a nice touch.

I had completed several half-marathons in the past, and I was very impressed with the organization. Plenty of aid stations, security, port-a-potties, etc. The volunteers that gave up their Thanksgiving morning were wonderful, and deserve a medal.

I would recommend this marathon to anyone, but make sure that you train properly, as this is not an easy course.

Well organized race with lots of wonderful volunteers who came to help even though it was Thanksgiving Day. And the volunteers (and police officers) were even cheerful about it - cheering us runners on and wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving. They were great! They had lots of porta-potties at the start - no wait. That was a first for me! Nice, long-sleeve, technical race shirts, too. The course chart makes the race look flat; however, I thought it was mostly rolling hills, albeit nothing too difficult. It was great to receive your award right after you finished so that you, and the volunteers, could head home to Thanksgiving dinner - more races should do it that way. I really enjoyed the experience. It was a great race and we even lucked out with wonderful weather this year too!!!

Thank you Atlanta Track Club for organizing this marathon on the holiday weekend! It's a great time of year for a marathon in Atlanta and the course was very special. Yes, there are a lot of hills, but they're pretty gradual. The volunteers were very supportive. The police did a great job of controlling traffic and were very friendly. Because it was a holiday (particularly in the Southeast) there were not many spectators. It had the feel of a small-town marathon, but with skyscrapers! Okay, here are my recommendations: I never saw a mile marker until mile three or four. I started out too fast, but should have known that from my breathing. There aren't many water stops, so they need consistently to have the water in the front and the PowerAde in the back.

What a glorious day for a race! This year's sponsor, The Weather Channel, really knows how to deliver their product: clear, cool, crisp, and (almost) calm. Truly, superb running weather. The Atlanta Track Club did its usual great job in regard to organization, and the legions of volunteers were terrific (and on a holiday, no less!). The good people at each water station and the course monitors were engaging, enthusiastic, and supportive, which is especially impressive early on a major holiday morning when, understandably, most people are sleeping in or busy with Thanksgiving dinner. I really love this year's technical t-shirts: nice color, not too busy and non-cotton. The shirts really are nice. And long-sleeve, too! The finisher's medal, well, that's another matter: of my 24 marathon finisher's medals from across the country, this year's design sadly ranks close to the bottom; it's totally plain, and not even close to being inspiring. Looks like the graphic designer was handed a rush job with it... and given like maybe five minutes. But I shouldn't complain, the value of a marathon finisher's medal is what it represents, not what it looks like. And the half-marathoners got one of their own, too, which each of them well earned. Congrats! This year's marathon was a lot of fun, and I'm still stoked at being able to pull out a qualifying time for the next two Bostons... sweet! Thanks to all who contributed to this year's event (including Atlanta's finest and their counterparts in DeKalb). The 2008 race was a great effort by all involved.

I wore the sign on my back to indicate that this was my first marathon ever and I have to say that, as challenging as it was, it was perfect.

I ran it in just under 5 hours (4:51) and my only complaint would be that they were taking down the course as we were finishing up - talk about disheartening.

But other than that, the volunteers were amazing - braving the pouring down rain early on in the race and staying committed to cheering us on through the rough parts (the volunteer cheerleaders at mile 18 were my saving grace as was the police officer at mile 21 who yelled at me to keep going, which was exactly what I needed to hear - "YESSIR!")

A good tour of Atlanta although maybe a little bit of the highlands... little five... but who am I to complain? And the hills were a great challenge!

This marathon inspired me to sign up for the DC marathon in March. THANK YOU, ATC!

I love this race. It's challenging, low-key and just flat-out fun to run.

Talk about a tour of Atlanta... this is about as good as you can get.

The ING is also good, but this course, with its great volunteers and organization, is currently a notch above.

This race has been on my calender for the last couple of years, and my only regret is that I did not run it sooner. I thoroughly enjoyed this running event and highly recommend it to those who enjoy running marathons. But, before taking this one on make sure you incorporate some serious hill repeats in your training program. Even though the event lacked spectator support, the way I see it is that if only a handful come out to cheer you on during a day that is cloudy, rainy, cold, and especially on a holiday - Thanksgiving - the event deserves a rating of "5 stars. A big "THANK YOU" to those who came out to cheer on the runners. I will definitely do this run again. And, one final note - it's kinda neat to finish under the Olympic rings.

As a first-time marathoner, I found this course to be tough - but totally worth it. Here's why:

Course: I thought I'd put in some quality hill training, but those 4 official hills after the 20 mile mark (right after I, of course, hit the wall) are no joke. This is partly because I was running faster than I probably should have the first 19 miles, and partly because I did not bring, in retrospect, enough gels. But it's also because, yes, there are the 4 official hills at the end, but there are also no downhills to provide respite - if you're not on an official hill, you're still on an upward slope, even if only slight, at least that's how it felt to me. But, at the same time, I loved the challenge of running a tough course, and finishing under those rings. Along the way, seeing things like Piedmont Park, the Buckhead area, the Fox Theater - it brought back some great memories. Once you're out of Buckhead, in the middle part of the race, things are a little less visually appealing, but I didn't mind. As far as traffic, being that there were, at last official count, 539 runners, I had no issues with anyone causing me to run slower than I wanted. I know there are complaints that the official time is different from the net time, and for that, I'd recommend getting as close to the starting line as possible - this really was no problem for me, and I don't think I impeded anyone by doing this. And the traffic control was great - thanks so much to all the volunteers and police officers out there! They were not lacking at all. B/c the course wasn't closed to traffic, I was a bit wary at first, but it was very safe. All in all, a great course - and despite my comments about the toughness, I still beat my goal time by about 6 minutes (a goal time I had been somewhat doubtful I could achieve, even if the course was all flat), despite having to do some walking around the fifth and sixth hills.

Organization: Very well-organized, like a well-oiled machine. No problems picking up my race packet (although I wouldn't recommend, if you're driving, picking it up mid-day, because Buckhead traffic is Buckhead traffic). Easy parking at Turner field. All the aid stations were every 2.5 miles with ample supply of water and PowerAde, as advertised, the mile markers were very clear, the splits were called out when they were supposed to be called out. Perhaps the one thing I'd recommend are more porta-potties along the course, b/c I noticed there weren't that many, and I saw a couple of people resorting to crossing traffic to get to a restaurant bathroom. But aside from that, no problems, and the organization at the end was awesome. I, too, loved them calling out your name as you crossed the finish line (a pleasant surprise), then having the medal put on your neck immediately afterward. Yeah, I suppose there could've been more in the way of refreshments at the end, but as one volunteer at 13 miles said, 'Hills for breakfast, Turkey for dinner.'

Quality: Only reason I'm giving it a 4, and not a 5, is because of quantity...but what do you expect on a rainy, Thanksgiving morning. Despite that, however, the volunteers were very supportive, and they really allowed me to run the best possible race I could. And, while you don't get throes of spectators along the course, you still saw a good bunch (those are some great friends some people have, following them across town!). And the occasional honk and cheer from passing drivers also helped.

All in all, what a great first marathon experience. I wasn't sure, after doing one marathon, esp. one that had been billed as not for first-timers, that I'd want to do another one. But I am so pumped now, after running this race, to run my next one (and next Thanksgiving's race, too). A well-oiled machine, plus the spirit of organizers and volunteers, plus some training on your part worthy of the only US Olympic course will all equal a great experience.

I ran the ING marathon in the spring, and compared to that one this one was great. They had both water and PowerAde often enough, and the weather (except the rain) was great. Cool, but not too cold. All in all, I liked it, and I'll do it again next year.