Conditions were perfect for a fast time (cloudy, 12 degrees) and the course is very flat. Water stations every 5K with sports drinks and they serve you in bottles and not cups so you really get the fluid in. Fantastic goody bag too - towel, socks, t-shirts, wine, etc. Good support on the streets too. The race is built for PB's and it worked for me. I took five minutes off my time to run a 2:34.

I live in Valencia, this was my first marathon. Unfortunately I got the feeling during the whole race that the organizers could have choosen/planned a better course/route.

Valencia is, nowadays, an incredible city - beautiful, and shining. The America's cup gave the city a new international style....

For a strange reason, the course does not pass by those beautiful areas....

Since the announcements for the race are so poor -just check the website. Valencia's citizens do not live or enjoy the marathon.... During the race we found some citizens complaining and arguing with the cops because the streets were closed. (??) That's not the kind of thing you need to see at the 30th KM of a marathon....

Things must change; the city and the Valencian runners deserved a marathon on a par with the level and importance of this beautiful city.

Flat course on an easy route marked by a blue line on the road; support stations were fine, with water and sponges (as well as isotonic drink offered at some stages); music at intervals, as well as many shouts of "animo" and "venga" to encourage you! Yes, a fine way to see Valencia - the old town, the modern area, and the beach - as well as to run a fast marathon. You also get an excellent goodie bag and T-shirt, and a good ornament at the finish. Note: 5-hour limit on race before traffic returns to the road, but the riverbed (the last 10K) is traffic free anyway.

If you're looking for a good race at which to set a personal best, check out Valencia. We had nearly perfect conditions for running a marathon... flat course, at sea level, and a starting temperature around 50 degrees with overcast skies. It is also a very small race with only about 2,600 runners. I chose to run Valencia for these reasons and because the event is early enough in the year, it gives me a chance to run more marathons later in the year.

Now for the bad news.... First of all, it has to be one of the worst websites; key information was missing (like start time and details about the start location). I did not see any sports drinks until about the 20K point; after that, they had it at every 5K with the water. Only one fruit stop on the route... too bad because the Valencia oranges were delicious. And only 2 split times: one at the half and the other at the 30K point. Valencia is a nice town, but a large portion of the course is through commercial areas. There is a nice stretch along the coast and the finish is through the long park, but on an uncomfortable brick path.

I will say that the event was well organized! Great goodie bag at the expo and very good support at the finish area. Be sure to brush up on your Spanish because I found very few English speakers. Also, limited but enthusiastic fan support.

Valencia is a great town with a good marathon; you may want to also consider Barcelona for perhaps a better overall experience.

Route went through all of the city you would want to tour, great variety. Brilliant organization, but not many "casual" runners - these guys were serious! Was very cold on the day. Worth doing - great city, great run.

This was my second marathon (the 1st was Sydney in September 2005) and I improved my finishing time by about 18 minutes (3:46:09). The course was very flat (exactly what I wanted), the race very well organized and the support was very good throughout the course. The weather was a bit temperamental: it was quite cold at the start (about 12C), very windy in the middle section and got quite hot in the last hour of the race (21C). They had water stations every 5 KMs, oranges at the 15KM mark and sponges every 5 KMs after 7.5 KMs. Valencia is a very nice city and the weekend we spent there was very pleasant. I would strongly recommend this race to anyone and I think it is the perfect course for a first-timer.

Valencia is a city I'd recommend anyone to visit - the city of science and arts is just fantastic, stunning modern architecture, and the restaurants are wonderful. Sitting in the street cafes sipping wine and gorging on paella is a great way to spend a weekend and Valencia offers this to perfection.

The race itself is perfectly organized. Don't be put off by the truly awful website - the organizers know what they are doing on the day and it all goes very smoothly.

The course itself is very flat - too much so for me, as it became a bit tedious at times running at the same pace particularly in the 3rd quarter of the race, which takes you through a plain, ugly industrial area.

The weather was just perfect, blue skies and warm sunshine, but there were enough water stops to stop the heat being an issue. (Not much in the way of energy drinks though.)

Surprisingly few fun runners taking part - most of the entrants seemed to belong to Spanish running clubs, with a large international contingent. Could get quite lonely if you were running slowly, I suspect. And I think this also contributed to the fairly sparse spectator support along parts of the course. The start and finish were great though - loads of noise, especially the end in the local stadium.

I was totally impressed, above all else, how clean the city was. You really get to see what's in the gutters when running a marathon. I was one of the probably 4% female runners. I appreciated the hard work of the traffic officers, holding back very impatient commuters. Medical support was ok. I speak okay Spanish but found I had little conversation the whole 42 km. course. The instant printout of times and averages at the end was good. 'Thumbs down' only on a few water stations. Water ran out! I was running about a 7:50 pace. At about 16 mile mark and probably two more spots where there had obviously been a water station, there was none.

I wasn't sure what to expect coming to Valencia but I was pleasantly surprised. I received a generous bag of pre-race goodies (including a beach towel!) and the paella lunch the day before the race was great. The course was extremely flat with the only hills coming near the beginning, except for a couple painful descents to enter the finishing area. The other runners were extremely friendly and supportive and the crowds got much bigger toward the end. (My favorite shout - 'campeona!' - 'champion.') Results were nearly instantaneous - I was greeted by name and given a paper with my place, time, and pace immediately. Post-race massages and fruit were greatly appreciated.

Side note - the race was 96% male, which was interesting. I did not see any port-a-potties which was not a problem for the men, but could be an issue for women. Overall, a fun and interesting experience.

Poor pre-race info made up for in a very well organized race. Fairly flat. First two thirds through the historic center, plus the port - last section a bit bland in suburbia. Nice finish in a little stadium. Super support. As expected in a Spanish marathon, a field of good runners. Loads of fruit in a bag for you at the end of the run. Plaque instead of a medal is unusual. Warm weather can catch you out if like cool running. Very friendly city; well worth the trip.