Well organized, definitely try to stay on the island. Very flat but very monotonous if you are used to coastal scenery. The 2012 medal was like a cheap Christmas ornament...come on guys, you can do better

Perfectly organized in an absolutely gorgeous setting. Fans were great (especially at mile 16/20 interchange), although somewhat sparse in areas, which is to be expected given the layout of the course. The only thing I would change is to move the last 4 miles back out onto the road. Having the last bit on the foot path was really tricky with a few sharp lefts and rights, in addition to the large number of people walking the path, presumably from the half marathon. Hard to keep pace and not run anyone over.

Pre-race dinner was very nice, and number pickup very simple.

Stay on the island if you can. Makes logistics much easier.

I have run the marathon here twice. This is a great fast course, but it is two loops of somewhat monotonous scenery and very few spectators. It is well run but a little expensive. I think the 1/2m is the better of the two races and certainly has a bigger crowd. Also, if you're not staying on the island, the parking setup sucks. You have to park in a field at the entrance to the island and take a shuttle to the start.

Great weather, Flat course, Nice Staff - totally recommend it. And spending the day on the beach both before and after the race was awesome!

I have run this race twice and I love it. The course is beautiful and flat. I love the unique glass medal because it is so different than every other medal I have. The post-race party is the best with free beer and wonderful food. It's also inside so you can get warm after the race, and we always enjoy the wonderful blue grass band that plays. The new Pelican age group awards are very unique. This is a wonderful time of year to spend time at Kiawah because the island is very quiet and uncrowded. This race has no logistics if you stay on the island in that you can walk or take a shuttle right to the start/finish area. The start area is not crowded, there are plenty of port-a-potties, and you can find your place in the starting coral with no trouble at all. They have tents where you stash your dry bag for after the race, and this works beautifully. The small number of runners makes for an easy, low-key experience. I am planning to go back next year and stay 3 nights instead of 2.

Words hardly describe - a gorgeous course, great organization, wonderful volunteers and very supportive spectators. And the weather was perfect too. This should be on every 50 Staters list.

This was my 26th marathon and my wife's first and let me tell you, it doesn't get much better than this for a small race. I have never been to such a laid back event that was able to be so organized at the same time. The finish line was awesome! I saw people running across the line with probably 20 members of their family, others running in carrying six packs of beer. I think they would have let me run across in my underwear if I wanted to. I have grown so tired of all the rules that come along with the bigger events. They just have a have fun and don't hurt nobody attitude. I will be coming back to this race as long as they will have me

I loved running the Kiawah half-marathon and am thrilled that I picked it as my first race. The course weaves through the Kiawah resort and neighborhoods and part of it is along the sound, so you get a brief glimpse of water. Bib pick-up was well organized and easy, the course had plenty of porta-potties, and water stations were about every 2 miles with oranges/water/gatorade. There were plenty of friendly and helpful volunteers. The course was well-marked with mile markers and a few clocks. It was a great race and made me, as a newbie, feel confident that I could run it. I plan on running this one again!

First marathon; weather perfect (40s, overcast); flat course, beautiful location/sights; never ran out of oranges/bananas/H2O/gatorade (nice touch next to the signs for 'beware of alligators'!); had plenty of post race food/drink (indoors), and had a post race massage (!): nice. Stayed at on site villa, nice, walked to/from start & finish; friendly volunteers. Recommend!

Before I ran the race I was ready to write a negative review of this race, but the race experience itself substantially improved my rating of this marathon. Here were the pre-race problems:

The marathon website went down the day before the race. This meant my family could not print out a map to come watch the marathon. The 'race packet' consisted of the tech t-shirt (hideous green color for the full, very nice blue color for the half) and the timing strip. No maps. The parking we were directed to to park for the expo was very far from the expo site, which would not have been a problem if it isn't darker than God's shoeshine at night in Kiawah, and no signs were present. We came across a woman who had fallen off of the cart path and lost her keys; she was injured to the extent that she did not think she would be able to race the next day.

Race day itself was a complete transformation. This was the only marathon I have ever run where there were enough port-a-potties. The course was well marked (and flat and easy). The aid stations were ample, well-stocked, and the volunteers were fantastic. The post race food and beer were among the best I've had.

This race has the potential to be truly outstanding, and will be if they fix the above listed problems.