Interesting race. Make sure if you leave Seville the day of the marathon, you leave your hotel way in advance! Taxis were very limited! We almost missed our train, and many people in our hotel missed their flights. No gels or Gu on the course, that kind of scared me, but I still PRed, maybe because I was one of the few women with men passing me the whole race. Water, sponges, and oranges all over the course! There was a Gatorade-like drink a few times. Changing rooms and bag drop-off was great! Not many bathrooms before race start. Start and finish was in the Olympic Stadium, which was cool! Few runners... maybe 3,000. Course, was okay, it seems we could have run by more sites, but maybe I was not paying attention. Nice goodie bags (shorts and shirts, towels at the finish, and a nice medal).

This felt like a race run by pros. The weather was awful this year but that didn't ruin it. I even managed a PB. plenty of water, sponges, oranges and Powerade. Great singlet and shorts instead of a t-shirt. The towel at the end was a great idea too. I didn't make the pasta party but the goody bag for lunch afterwards was enough for both me and my boyfriend (he reckoned he deserved it for freezing his butt off in the stadium). The finish in the Olympic stadium was a special experience. Even a very ordinary athlete like myself felt like I was winning gold. Loads of good hotels right beside the start/finish. Showers and baggage check great as well... I can't say enough good things about this race.

My 2nd time at this marathon. (See my comments for 2003 also). A winter cold snap hit all of Spain this year. Unfortunately this brought severe cold, wind, and driving rain spoiling the event. Such a shame for runners, helpers, and organizers alike. Hypothermia is a worry for athletes. But book for next year as that weather was exceptional; it's usually perfect. Pick up your number early to beat queues; pasta party good, medal fab, vest - not a t-shirt this year; nice variation. I`ve put 5 stars for spectators for this year as just to be outside was brave enough!!!

I came from Toronto, Canada via London to run in the Seville Marathon. The weather was perfect, the staff and participants fantastic, and the course beautiful - particularly in the old city! The finish was incredible coming into the stadium, with the crowd, music and dancers. I loved it!

I entered this unexpectedly the night before the race, in Seville on a weekend break. As I was in training for another marathon, I only wanted to do a half. The folks at the expo (at the Olympic Stadium) spoke very little English, so entering at the last minute was tricky, but they were very friendly, and were happy for me to drop out halfway round (hence my first marathon DNF!).

As others have said, the organization was excellent: prompt start (with a dancing troup of attractive teenage girls as pre-start entertainment!); Powerade (mostly bottles) every 5K and water bottles/sponges every 2.5 and chip timing. The goody bag t-shirt was an event-specific wicking singlet - I never saw the medal as I was having breakfast in my hotel by the time the first runners crossed the finish line!

The first half of the course is dull (except for crossing the spectacular suspension bridge) but - except for the rise to the bridge - very flat and wide. Support was very thin but enthusiastic. It's definitely a runner's course - lots of impressive looking club t-shirts in front of me, though almost entirely Spanish. And February is a great time for it - weather was sunny but not too hot.

Seville is a city to die for - unusual, beautiful, friendly. This race would be a very good excuse for a visit; I'm thinking of doing the Half Marathon from Seville to Los Palios as a reason to return.

Superb marathon. Organization excellent, great goodie bag, loads of water and sponge stations with the bonus of oranges as well.
The cut off time of 5 hours means it is a marathon for the faster runner, but still alot of camaraderie amongst everyone. The first half of the the very flat course is thru the newer suburbs of Seville which, though not too exciting, offer wide tree lined avenues; after halfway the marathon takes you thru the historic centre, with some nice bridge crossings, just the boost you need; the finish in Seville`s Olympic Stadium is fabulous. For a moderate sized marathon the support was very good. The very hospitable Sevillians are an outside people so many were simply around to watch! One thing to beware of is the chance of hot weather. On this years run it crept up to 20 degrees.

Seville is beautiful. It is vibrant, colourful and exciting. The old centre unfolds delightfully as you wander, with a great choice of things to do. Much of the Marathon takes you around the 'barrios' of modern apartment blocks and is a little dull. However, the last few kilometres do take in the centre, which uplifts the soul and gives the tiring runner new resolve. I found the support throughout charming and friendly with that distinctive note of the 'flamenco' handclap that is so difficult to imitate. I felt really tired and hacked off towards the end, I got backpain and felt like stopping, but off course did not! Running through the tunnel into the fantastic Olympic Statium changed that feeling. On that track, with all the noise and the awsome stadium rising up around I felt transformed and positively flew across the line!

This marathon is for runners that love the sport and comaraderie. They really mean it when they say only 5 hours to complete. It's flat and fast. Mostly runners, no walkers. It was a bit warm and sunny, and I'm not sure whether it was by accident, but one ran in the shade most of the time. The water and sponge stations were well placed as well. Finishing at the Olympic Stadium and village is nice and convenient. There are nice clean modern showers at the stadium. You are also provided with a towel at the end of the race instead of a metallic sheet. Lunch is provided for runners and their friends/families after the race and coincides with the award ceremony. Awesome trofeos! It's just a really really nice marathon! It doesn't hurt that Sevilla is a great city as well. About the spectators, well, what do you expect when people are still hanging out at the discos when you're on your way to the start.

Seville is gorgeous, and late February is a perfect time, climate-wise, to visit. The course is relatively flat, beginning and ending in their brand new Olympic Stadium, and winds through a variety of old and new barrios. You'll hit about 2km of cobblestone streets near the end. Organization is very good, with plenty of water and sponge stations alternating every 2.5 km. Having been spoiled by Chicago, I was amazed at how little interest and spectator support there was. If you have a desire to vacation in Spain, Seville should be on your itinerary, and running this race wouldn't be the worst way to spend a Sunday morning.