Great volunteers, great supporters, and an interesting, flat course. Everything seemed pretty organized. Lack of male toilet facilities, but it seemed to be acceptable to pee on any plant or wall. I saw two toilets between the start and 35K. There were three drink choices 1. Water, 2. Sports drink (blue Gatorade) 3. Elite runner drink (green, watered-down sports drink). But most of the stations only had water, and only one had elite runner drink. The other thing that bugged me was the lack of KM/mile markers. I had trained for a specific pace, but there were only sporadic KM markers until 20K and no mile markers at all. I am thankful to everybody who helped, including God who gave us perfect weather for the run.

If you can get away with registering at the cost of a local, then maybe consider it. Otherwise, it's not worth it.

The only other thing it has going for it is starting in Tiananmen and ending in the Olympic Village.

1) The registration process is so backwards, you'd think they are trying to deter people from registering.

2) The bib pick-up process is equally as frustrating. Unorganized, and dual steps to make sure you are there for a long time and even more frustrated - not to mention I question the big box of xerox copies of everyone's ID or passports thrown in a big box after the bib has been picked up.

3. The starting point was so disorganized. They should have separate entrance or starts for the 9K, mini marathon and corporate teams, or at least organize them differently. I could get to my start line in time because of the huge mess.

4) Half-marathon was not a real half. AS mentioned in another post, it is only 20.5, and with poor marking, I too had a hard time determining when to speed up.

5) At the half-marathon finish, the only thing waiting was a tiny bottle of Watson water - one per person, please. (Seriously?)

6) Course was pretty boring soon after leaving Tiananmen. I thought we'd at least run through Haidian Park, but really we just ran along the highway. They need to make this course more interesting! Cultivate the real essence of Beijing and show the runners why Beijing!

So unless you're in the neighborhood and can register for 50 RMB - versus $50 USD or $100 USD (late registration) - and you're bored, don't bother with this race. The lack of organization will just piss you off.

The girl at Octagon had the audacity to tell me that they were very overwhelmed due to over 7,000 registrants for the marathon (and in her defense, in total, including all other participants, it was more like 24,000). I have no sympathy, though. The NYC Marathon has nearly 40,000, and they have an expo, pasta dinner the night before the race, goodies at the end of the race, and plenty of water, bagels, and bananas.

No comparison!

I ran the half-marathon this morning, which was 17.07 miles long, by my pedometer. I don't pretend that it's exactly accurate, but four miles over? Come on. They also opened the roads early (two hours and 15 minutes into the race), and so we had to dodge pedestrians, bikes, and traffic to make it to the finish line, where the pedestrians and people on bikes were standing and playing on it. There was also only water and sponges at the stations and the course was boring. The only good thing that came out of it was that now I feel like I can go anywhere else in the world and have a better experience.

I've lived in China for over three years, and know Beijing very well. The course missed all of classic Beijing, and bib pick-up was a mess. (I left my Chinese driver to wait there for 3 hours.) There were way too many police along the roads. I was somehow quick, so I cannot complain about water or the food shortage. The biggest omissions are that you don't go through Hutongs, along Kunming Lake, through the forbidden city, or along Tiantan. The marathon missed it all... I will only come back if the course is changed to capture Beijing's beautiful side. I can do better marathons in China. Organizers, please change the route and bib collection!

I ran the marathon in 2007 and 2008. There was a big difference in the organization at the end of the 2008 edition. It was a total mess - no water, no food, no souvenirs, fighting, etc.... What a pity, because up to the end it was a great course. Very different from the 2007 race, which was very smooth. I see the organizer changed in 2008. I hope they learned from the mistakes in 2008 to improve in 2009. To be fair, they did apologize many times and eventually posted the souvenirs/medals, etc., but that did not make up for the lack of water at the end of a marathon. I will run again because I am stubborn and have confidence that they will improve....

A real mixed bag, this event had some positives and some big negatives.

I really liked:
- Nice, wide, flat streets. You could do a good time on this course.
- Excellent organization on the course, with lots of police, soldiers and volunteers.
- Well stocked drink stations, even for slower runners. Plenty of water and energy drinks.
- Good t-shirt, medal, and food bag at the end.
- More spectators than I expected.

Didn't like:
- Number pickup. A disaster. I have never seen anything like it. Waited for over an hour and a half, with people pushing, fights nearly starting, complete chaos. Volunteers were doing their best, but there was not enough space, not enough people, not enough organization.
- General chaos at the start and end. Not enough information on where to go, directions, etc.
- Bag collection at the end a nightmare.

Overall I'm glad I made the effort, but probably wouldn't do it again.

I just ran the Beijing Half Marathon today, and when I got to the end I was shocked. Up until 17K, I was on pace to finish in 1:50. After the full marathon turned off the route at 17K, there were no more KM markings. I got to the end of the race and I was done in 1:46. I hadn't sped up, and was skeptical of the distance. I just checked out the course online, and indeed, the "half marathon" ended at 20.5K, 700 meters short of a full half marathon!

After the race I also waited 1.5 hours for the race-bag buses to arrive. When they did arrive, we stood in a mob for 20 minutes while they tried to hand the bags back.

I live in Beijing and I have run this race four times before. I have never seen it bungled this badly before. I simply am in shock that they cheated on the race distance.

I ran the half marathon this morning, since I'll be running the NYC Marathon in two weeks. Earlier this year, I did the Standard Charter Hong Kong Marathon and the Great Wall Marathon. Was disappointed at several points of this marathon, mostly the organization and lack of finisher medal.

Cons:
1) Drop-off point for runner's bags were a mess. Not enough spaces between the buses, so it felt like Time Square on New Year's Eve just to drop off the bag.

2) I thought the runners weren't provided with enough information about the race in their race package. Didn't give any suggestion for runners how to get back into the city after the end of the run. Where the 1/2 marathon runners finished, there are no subway stations or other convenient methods to get back. Waited about an hour to catch a taxi.

3) After finishing the run, I discovered that the buses with the runner's bag hadn't arrived. Waited about one hour after running for the buses to arrive and get my clothes and food back.

4) At the end of the run, no souvenirs. No finisher medals, and no snacks; only water. Heard they were giving out towels, but we never received those either.

5) If you're not running the full marathon, you don't get timed.

6) Maybe I'm a bit spoiled, but I was expecting a "running T-shirt"... made out of the "wicking" material. Just got regular cotton T-shirts.

7) Course could've been a bit more interesting.

Pros:
1) The volunteers were REALLY nice and worked their best to help you out.

2) Crowds were cheering you on all the way.

3) Aid stations were helpful, and well stocked with sponges, water and sports drinks.

I ran this with another friend who's been living here living in Beijing for over 5 years. We both agree this isn't worth doing again.

Suggestion: If you're coming to China to run a marathon, I suggest the Great Wall Marathon. It's better organized, the course is much more interesting, and the souvenir items are MUCH better.

First off, let me start with a warning. Anyone contemplating doing either the 1/2 marathon or the 10K should know that they DO NOT issue a chip for these races, and if you decide to run them, no results or certificates are issued. Only the full marathon is chip timed. With that warning out of the way, on with the review.

I must say, after reading some of the reviews here, I was very skeptical about this race. Overall, the 2007 experience appear to be much improved from years past. The only real disappointment was the last minute moving of the start line from Tiananmen Square to outside the National Stadium. The start was packed, as they group everyone together and all races start 15 minutes after the elites. The course is fast and flat, the weather was cool, sunny, and dry, the air was great, and overall conditions were perfect for a marathon. As far as scenery goes the course is boring and non-descript. Beijing is a fantastic city, but you wouldn't know that while running the marathon. Despite all the historic places and streets in this city, the marathon manages to miss all of them. Security was huge, with soldiers and police lining the whole course, every 10 feet. Anyone who's spent time in Beijing knows that this level of security is needed, as masses of forced cheering spectators and cars would no doubt cross the course to get to the other side of the street. I say "forced" because many were just going about their day until they reached the course, where all foot and car traffic was blocked by police and intimidating-looking soldiers. The volunteers were great, cheering at every pass, and water stops were plentiful along the way. I also passed a few small staffed medical tents.

The stadium finish is a nice touch, but the rest is anti-climactic, as after you cross the finish line, they give you a nice Nike running hat and a huge towel (both with the race logo on it), and your finisher's certificate, and send you out onto the street, with no food other than a banana. One more plus: you get to keep your chip to go along with the many other freebies and shirt that comes with your entry fees.

Overall, it was a great experience, since my expectations were tempered by the less-than-positive reviews I read. I would do this race again and would highly recommend it if you want to run in far away places. I hope next year that they can start at Tiananmen, reroute the course to at least a few historic or scenic places/roads and hand out timing chips for the lesser races. Those are two improvements needed to make this a great race. (I also ran the Shanghai Marathon, and I'll review that race as well.)

The organization was superb before, during and after the race. There was plenty of water along the course. The course is flat. Air quality was not a problem at all. I would definitely do it again.