I have run 8 marathons and I would say that participating in the Oslo Marathon is a worthwhile experience but only if you happen to be in Europe and are looking for a new place to add to your marathon total. As others mentioned, the course is a repetitive loop, meaning you see everything twice. It happened to be raining/drizzling nearly the entire race and I wore a sweatshirt for over 3.5 hours. I do have to say much of the scenery is beautiful but the crowd support was uninspiring and the medal leaves much to be desired. I had a pleasant experience overall, but in today's world, with so many marathons out there, this one needs some improvements before I would be able to wholeheartedly encourage friends/family to join in.

The positive: They do close down enough traffic for you to have enough room to run a good marathon, and there is a drink station every 5km.
The negatives: Its a 2 lap course. Oslo is big enough for one lap, so they didnt have to do that. Also, about 14km of the course (each lap) is a along the E18 highway with no spectators. Its boring as hell. Not only that, it goes back and forth in this industry complex. Further more, they divide the competition by having 4 different races. They are, however, over the years improving a little bit on the course, that its more in the centre of the city, but it could still be a lot better. The course is also not that fast. Its fairly flat, but not superflat. Its hilly going through Frogner, so in the end, the course is both boring and slow. There isnt much entertainment or spectators along the road, so there isnt really any running culture behind it. Not only that, its ridiculously expensive. So you dont get much value for it.
For me who is Norwegian will always go to this race, as it is the largest one in the country, but I would never understand why a foreigner would travel to Oslo to run it.

The Oslo Marathon is making a comeback. It has re-emerged after a two-year absence (2002/3) and is now growing every year. This year there were 1,500 runners in the main marathon event and some 9,500 spread across the half-marathon, 10K and 3K events.

A relatively flat, two-loop course allows for a PB, again due to the small field of runners. Conditions can vary due to the late September date, although this year was perfect, with temperatures 16/61 and dry (although there was quite a stiff breeze, which affected one part of the course around the harbor area).

Spectators vary from good in the city center to sparse on some of the harbor area parts of the course. Course highlights include passing some of Oslo's attractions to running along Karl Johan's Gate (main street), looking up towards the Royal Palace.

If you're looking for a small, well-run marathon in Scandinavia, then this could be the one for you. It's definitely worth consideration. I would expect the event to grow with years.

The sports club Vidar made it! Starting the laid down Oslo Marathon up again, despite a low interest in competitive running and also the lack of interest in the media and among the public for an event like this.

Around 450 participants only, partly due to the offering of easier distances at the same event, like the 'half' and the 'short', both embracing the 'marathon' word for their benefit.

The 'low cost' track now offered for a start was put away from the fine Oslo City sceneries and went along the piers, behind containers and warehouses, but also with a nice and view of the fjord. As a result, however, and also due to heavy raining, there were very few shouting fans - except at the finish!

But positively: The course is absolutely flat and therefore fast. The whole time, you are in visual contact with your faster and slower competitors, and the four identical loops (or in fact road arms run back and forth on either side) make it easy to keep a steady pace and help you mentally (just another 10 kilometers or 6 1/2 miles to overcome at a time).
So why not come along next autumn and set a personal record (without the killer heat, demanding hills and the hindering crowd)?

The 2000 marathon (norsk: maraton) started at 1:00 PM. The starting time was great for me as I flew in the day before and the time in my native Colorado was 5:00 AM.

The route was a figure-eight which you complete 3 laps. This was a surprise to me as I could not read the course map and expected the route to be one lap. I did figure this out before the race. In addition you could run one 'circle' of the figure-eight 6 times, or run the course in any order which you like. I ran the figure-eight 3 times.

The course starts at a football (soccer) field and you run toward the sea front. The 1/2 marathon will run with you so you need to pace yourself and not be discouraged by being passed. before reaching the piers you will run behind the Kings Palace (Det Kgt Slott) and the Palace Park (Slottsparken). After you run along the piers and ships you will run around a historical military fort. Then you start a gradual climb through the downtown streets and up the main street of Oslo named 'Karl Johans Gate.' You will find a lot of people cheering, saying something that sounds like this: 'Hi-Ya, Hi-Ya, Hi-Ya!' It is a motivational cheer that sounds like the Native-American chant you hear on TV possibly? On this street you will see the Parliament Building as well.

The second half of the figure-eight is less exciting as you run through quiet streets and then into the Frognerparken (Park) and back to the starting point. There is a lot to see here also but considering the magnitude of the first half of the lap!!!

Norwegians speak and understand English. However, you may experience some confusion with the protocol compared to American events. For example, the course is in Km instead of miles so you must be prepared with your conversions. Attempting to convert 40 Kilometers into miles at the 24.5 mile mark of a marathon could be mind twisting! I do not speak norsk and I had no problems. The Norwegians are very friendly and willing to help you if you need assistance.

My only complaint is that the T-shirts were a little bland.