This was my first marathon and I enjoyed it very much. They do have some organization issues to deal with, but everything went well. You can't beat an all you can eat free buffet at the Showboat as the pre-race meal. The run along the boardwalk was beautiful. Not many spectators, but those who lined the course were friendly and encouraging. The volunteers at the water stations (there were plenty) were great. I enjoyed the course and it was very well marked (I saw every mile marker). They do need to do something about the last few miles to avoid collisions with strolling gamblers, but it wasn't that bad. The last few hundred yards were blocked perfectly. I would run the race again and hope they improve the few things that went wrong. I had a blast.

This was my first marathon and I wish it had been a better experience. I had read comments on this board regarding prior years, so I was somewhat prepared for the problems associated with this marathon (having to dodge people on the boardwalk, a lot of looping, lack of organization, lack of crowd support). However, there were some good points. The weather was awesome, the people (mostly the other runners) were very friendly and supportive, the ocean view was great and the free buffet at the Showboat Casino the night before was an unexpected bonus. I'd run another marathon again, but not this one. I wouldn't recommend this marathon to anyone unless they live in the area or they just want an excuse to go to Atlantic City.

This was my first marathon and I thought it was great. The course was flat, and running on the boardwalk was cool. The road part was well marked, and there were plenty of water stations. I liked the loop backs because you could keep track of who was ahead of you and who was behind you. Although there were not a lot of spectators, many, many people clapped and said motivational things as I ran past. I do have to agree that at the end you did have to dodge tourists a bit, but by that time I was moving pretty slowly anyhow, so it wasn't much of an impact. Overall, I thought it was well organized. I picked up my packet and got my chip with no problem. I would definitely run this again.

This was my first marathon (but certainly not my first race). I finished in app. 4:22:10 and turned in my chip, but got left off the list. Beautiful day, nice flat course, breeze off the ocean, but crowded boardwalk at the end; I almost ran over some people strolling the boardwalk.

The buffet the night before and the lovely weather were the highlights of the race. The club members had great pride in their race and were helpful. The problem is that this race is a secret from the city and the tourists. I agree that the course was a bit confusing (loop within a loop), and the last mile or two dodging tourists was horrible. Bag check, I talked to one of the organizers who said the charity group that was supposed to send three volunteers never showed up, what can you do... they did their best to remedy that. Nice cotton shirt I'll probably never wear, decent medal, easy registration(I drove in the day before and had no problem). In fact, that would be what I would suggest as I would imagine the weather could be a factor. I had a small knee issue that slowed me down, but still had fun.

Having read the other 2007 comments, I would agree with most opinions that are posted. I try to be very understanding of how difficult it is to successfully orchestrate all aspects of an event, and therefore refuse to be too "nit-picky," but this one has problems.

The AC Marathon touts its long heritage and will celebrate its 50th year in 2008. One would assume that all the kinks would have been worked out by now, but sadly they have not.

1. This event attracts mostly local runners and I think I know why. All area motels, hotels, and casinos that have rooms for $50 to $90 during the week, TRIPLE that rate for Saturday night; unless the directors can get some of them to allow runners to pay weekday rates as a special "marathon rate," I suspect many would-be entrants coming in from out of state see those rates and decide it's just too expensive. Most of the runners from outside NJ that I spoke with (including two from Canada) were here because they were running doubles, having either run the Baltimore or Hartford Marathons on Saturday.

2. Starting at 8:30 is absolutely an hour to an hour and half too late. Why? Because by noon the boardwalk is full of people wandering around who are totally oblivious to the runners weaving and bobbing around and through them. We are a nuisance to them, not people they want to cheer on.

3. The post-race food consisted of bottled water and a clear baggy containing a plain bagel and banana. Boy, is that lame and to me it speaks volumes about the lack of support given this event by the massive casinos that line the boardwalk.

4. According to one local runner, the course changes from year to year. Why?

I thought it was unusual, but not that bad. Contrary to that one runner's comments, the miles were spray-painted on the boards and posted with signs. Plus, according to my GPS, the markers were pretty accurately placed to boot.

5. If you are going to call it the Atlantic City Marathon, then do your best to promote, support, and cater to the marathoners and don't pretend that you aren't relying on the 5K, 10K, and half-marathoners to pad your numbers and sustain your event.

Here is what I thought was amazing. Runners received a coupon with their packet to eat in the Showcase Casino's buffet restaurant. That is a $30 value and what a feast! What other marathon gives you a free pre-race dinner. Not even the Las Vegas Marathon offered that to runners.

Secondly, running on a wood deck IS unique and easy on the feet, especially with the ocean views. Let me do it early enough in the morning so that only friends and family are there to cheer me on and I would LOVE it. OR, cordon off a lane and reserve it just for runners (monitored by volunteers and or police) and maybe the strollers would actually stop to watch us fools run past.

This was a great race. I really do not understand some of the comments below. Most of the course was on the boardwalk, along the beach on a perfect cool, clear day, with a few miles along the million-dollar beach block homes in Margate and Ventnor. There even was a school of porpoises swimming in the vicinity of the Longport Pier. Frequent water and Gatorade stops with PowerBars at many, and friendly volunteers at all (OK, one was unmanned) of them. To boot, the pre-race pasta dinner turned out to be a free buffet at the House of Blues. My 15th marathon, and I had never had all-you-can-eat Alaskan King Crab legs at the pre-race meal. A PR day for me, a friendly and free kids race, and the race management could not have been nicer.

This race was a last-minute add-on, as I had Chicago-like heat and water problems in a local distance run the previous week, that I had intended to use a training run for the Marine Corps Marathon. It turned out to be one of my favorites, competing with Shamrock Sportsfest for the top spot so far.

The Boardwalk was clear at the humane starting time of 8:30 - it was a little congested at the end, but I never lost a step (a couple "passing on your right, sirs" kept me on my admittedly slow pace).

5* course, 5* organization. By my own introverted standards, I would make it a 5* fan support, too - a few people along the way stated words of encouragement, and I felt free to run my own race.

A great family weekend, with the boardwalk, the beach, the pier shops and a great marathon.

Although I have run in other races, this was my first marathon experience. The weather was perfect and the course was beautiful - right on the water. I thought the course was easy - very flat - and there were plenty of water/Gatorade stations. The volunteers and staff were very friendly and helpful. I was disappointed in the number of spectators/supporters and it was apparent not many people on the boardwalk were aware there was a race taking place. I was very disappointed with the final few miles of the course. There was not a clear path marked for the runners and we were forced to run around casual boardwalk strollers. There was such an abundance of police on motorcycles and bikes at the beginning of the race and this force could have been a great help at the end of the race when runners were forced to dodge casual boardwalk strollers and kids on bikes (to my knowledge bikes are not permitted on the boardwalk after 10 a.m. and this rule was not being enforced). This made it a difficult ending.

This was my tenth marathon, but first in Atlantic City. First of all, the weather conditions were perfect. Fifties for the start, sixties for the end, not a cloud in the sky. The course was beautiful and I actually liked the switchback loops. There was plenty of water and PowerBars available. The problem was with the lack of organization. First of all, none of the volunteers seemed to know where the baggage check was. When we finally located it, there was one person trying to check everyone's stuff. There did not appear to be enough people to register all the participants causing a 15-minute delay in the start of the marathon. The biggest problem, though, was that none of the boardwalk was blocked off for the finish causing runners to have to dodge the casual strollers who were unaware of a race going on. You could not see the finish line until you were a few yards away making your whole finish anticlimactic. Overall, I enjoyed my experience but would consider coming back if I knew the conditions for the last few miles were much improved.

I have run 5 different marathons. I rate this the worst-run race yet, and would never recommend it to another runner, especially a first-timer. The course route was confusing. There were very few true spectators or supporters on the route. I had constantly to dodge tourists for the last 3 miles of the course as these people had no idea who I was or what I was doing! On paper, this looks like it could be a great race venue. But the organizers blew it!