I have run over 15 international marathons, and this has so far been the worst experience!!! I would give the organization a 0 if I could for the complete lack of consideration that they showed for the runners and their well-being. Let's just for a second ignore the booths and drinks and concentrate on how near the end, we were dodging traffic and the kids who made their way onto the course! Egypt has so much to offer (scenery-wise) and I don't believe this even came close to accommodating that (for the record, it was the same loop repeated). I would not recommend this to any international runners before major alterations were made by the administration! On a side-note, Egypt was beautiful and if I could please ask of the group in charge of the marathon to include more of the scenery and maybe change locations annually!

Nice environment, even though running 4 times in a circle for a marathon is quite hard. Nevertheless if they would enlarge it to 2 circles or even 1, the support from people in some areas would be just nothing for a longer time. They split the street; nevertheless later on nobody cared about it. At the finish, too many busses were on the street and there was nearly no shade.

I have run the Luxor Half-Marathon three times (2003-05). There are three options to choose from: a one-loop 10K race, a two-loop half-marathon, and a four-loop marathon. The half-marathon is actually about 3/4 of a mile longer.

The organization is very good; spectator support is somewhat limited but genuinely warm. There are kilometer markings every 5K, and water and bananas every 2.5K.

What makes this race so compelling is the setting: where else can one race among such ancient monuments? The course itself is fairly flat: a gentle decline at the beginning of the loop offsets an equally gentle incline toward the end of the loop.

The weather is beautiful but on the warm side, so hydrate well. The only complaint is that the entry fee should include a T-shirt; Egypt is known for its cotton.

I keep coming back and encourage you to visit Luxor and run the race.

This marathon takes place on the West Bank in Luxor.

The race start was a little chaotic, as we were told that there would be two starts, but then it turned out that there was only one, and we had a little bit of catching up to do. During the race you will experience the local children running next to you, asking for pens and bon bons. The race started at 7:30, and the buses didn't arrive until 7:10/7:15, so there was no time to warm up.

The course consists of four laps, and is mostly flat. I finished in 3:09:34, smashing my PB by over 23 mins, so I was more than happy.

The race organization is okay. The bad thing was that despite having paid a race fee of $50 US, if you wanted a race t-shirt you had to pay an extra $10, which left some people fuming. The post-marathon banquet made up for that though, with mountains of food, and local, traditional entertainment; it was a nice way to end the day.

If you're looking for a special setting, incredibly warm support and a mid winter holiday in the Northern hemisphere then this marathon in Luxor is a must. The host hotel is the best in Egypt - a wonderful island in the middle of the River Nile with excellent running trails plus the excellent post race party.