The second part of the marathon is better than the first. Maybe there are too many runners.

This is a great race to put into your vacation schedule. The organization is very good and the city is a manageable size with reasonable lodging and food costs. Participants got a very nice gym bag with goodies stuffed in and the volunteers are helpful even if you speak only English. The one downside is that early in the course you're winding through the woods (which is very nice and shaded), but you are on a one lane narrow road and it becomes very tight. At that point, and for the next 2-3 miles, you're pretty much stuck in the pack wherever you entered that stretch. Other than that, it's a great event.

This was the first race I have ever run. I "only" ran the half-marathon but it was still quite an adventure.

The first part of the course was through the city. It wasn't the most scenic or interesting. During the second part, we were in the woods and forest area, which was much more beautiful. The trails were quite nice - no big hills.

The organization did a great job. A pass for free public transportation was provided to the runners. They had adequate water and snack stands at key points during the race and a nice "runner's heaven" at the finish line.

There weren't a lot of spectators throughout the run - they mostly were there at the beginning and end. However, there were spots with some that were great and encouraging. Some locals even set up their own water and snack tables and were happily cheering us on.

Overall, it was a good race. The scenery wasn't amazing but the organization was great.

- big event for a not big city
- good providing with water and juice
- no sites along the course
- too much 'walkers' from km 25 on
- nice people, good organisation
- I live 600 m's from start