This was my third attempt at completing the Dublin Marathon, having failed twice before because of injury. In the past I was critical of the organization and support as I twice had to ask which way to go and the crowds were not that supportive!! How things have changed! The organization was first class with the route very clearly signed and marshaled. Participants were encouraged and shown respect by the spectators, marshals and Garda, which is not always the case in some countries!! There was plenty of water, toilets, power drink and gels. Just one criticism on this front: like London, there is no food on the course. It was nice to hear my name called out at the finish. It was a bitterly cold day and the course does have some long inclines. I was rather disappointed that by the time I reached the finish, there were only small finisher shirts left and I am far from small, so hopefully this lesson will be learned in the future!! All in all, a well organized marathon, which I can now recommend.

My first foreign marathon and it couldn't have been better. Great weather, crowd support, water stations, and finisher shirt. My daughter paced me the entire way. Folks yelled out: "Go little pixies" or "Go little leprechauns." Where else would you hear that? Only wish there was food at the end.... We were starved! With the luck of the Irish, I'm goin' to Boston! It was 'craic!'

Great marathon. Cold but very sunny weather, which made for a nice start to the race. Great atmosphere and great support.

This was my second time doing Dublin (previously 2006) and achieved a PB of 3:30, which I was delighted with. Expo was very well organized; we were in and out in 10 minutes.

The first problem I encountered was the start of the race. This year they decided to have an over-4-hours and under start section. This was a joke and resembled a cattle crush. Somebody could have gotten seriously hurt. There was no proper entrance into the under-4-hour section, and as race time got closer, it was mayhem. This resulted in stewards letting anyone in. If you watch the start of the race on TV, you can plainly see people with green race numbers (over 4 hours) near the front. I lost the guts of 4 minutes at the start because of this.

As for the course, it is quite good, with Phoenix Park the highlight. The crowds were a big improvement in 2006, but I still only give them 3 stars because I did Hamburg in 200, and the crowds there were unreal compared to Dublin.

Water and energy drink/gels stations were excellent, as were the toilet facilities. Also, your chip was attached to your race number instead of your shoe. Great idea.

To sum it all up, Dublin has made great strides in two years and seems to be heading in the right direction. The only problem I experienced was at the start.

This was my third time in Dublin, and the crowd support was much better than it has been previously - there were people on every section, with a bit of a break in the park. Very well marshaled, and plenty of water (in bottles!), gels and energy drink. The course is a bit undulating, especially in the second half, but it's really not that bad.

Now that the entries are almost 12,000, the course needs to change so that the first 3-4 miles are not so crowded. As it stands, the Fitzwilliam Square start leads to narrow streets, which are further narrowed to one lane by traffic cones and/or by parked cars. It's almost impossible to move into a reasonably fast stride until you hit the N Circular road - and then only if you line up with the right pace groups. If the organizers can't or won't change the course to a wider start, then they need to enforce the pacing. Two categories of under and over 4:00 hours are not enough, and even these was not enforced. Thus, if you were not in the first few rows at the start, you probably took 9 minutes to do it.

This is the second time that I have done Dublin. The first time was back in 1983 and it's still great. Very enthusiastic crowds. Good water stations, great buzz with the runners, a great international mix, and very friendly, as always. Course is relatively flat. Only modest hills. Weather was cold and fresh, but dry.

I was 22 years-old when I finished my first and only Dublin Marathon in 2007, and I can definitely say that it was the best day of my life. When the crowd and my family were cheering me home on the final stretch, I had a feeling that I will never forget. Thank you, Dublin Marathon.

One of the friendliest marathons I've run. Good enough course. Not super scenic for the middle part, but OK. Crowd is not huge, but you do get support almost all the way, and the Dublin crowd is always very supportive and friendly (as you'd expect from the Irish). Food stations are (were) not very regular, so packing a gel or two is a good idea. Maybe not a must-run race if you're looking for a PB (the course is a bit undulating, and it can be quite windy - at least the 2006 edition really was) but it gets top marks for the friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Book a long marathon weekend and stay in Dublin for 2 days before the race, plus one day after. Really worth it.

My boyfriend and I ran the 2007 Dublin Marathon and have to say that I really was impressed on many levels! First of all, we arrived in Dublin the Saturday before the Monday marathon and stayed at the Burlington Hotel, which was excellent, convenient both to the city center and the marathon start and finish! On Sunday they held a Breakfast Run for all the international runners where you run 3 miles and then get a nice running shirt, a breakfast snack bag, and wonderful Irish music and dancing... all free! The idea is that once you arrive at the sports facility, all of the international runners exchange shirts - and it was a blast! My only complaint is that the sport facility had many locations, which was not made clear at the expo so the cab driver collected around 60 euros by the time we got to the correct location.

On to race day! The weather was cold but it never really rained!!! How lucky was that?! The course was a bit hilly, but nice, and the only things that went wrong for me had to do with my lack of training. I am a slow runner, so the crowds at the finish area were sparse, but I am used to that... so I guess I need to get faster. My wonderful cousin was able to get to many area of the course to see us and that was nice! What I really enjoyed was that we ran into so many people in town who ran the marathon and it was great to swap stories, even with some of the elite runners!! One more thing: the little water bottles at the water stations was a brilliant idea! I am from Los Angeles and used to the cups of water... but that does not compare! People... run this marathon - you will love it!