This was an absolutely amazing marathon. The coastline is stunning, the route is fairly flat, the aid stations were well spaced with both water and sports drinks. We got lucky in that the weather was overcast, with a slight rain and a great wind at our backs! I read earlier commments about traffic - they closed our side of the road so no worries there. A bit crowded in the beginning but once you found your pace the crowd wasn't too much of an issue. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that many people had PR's. To top it all, you find yourself in Rio! Obrigada Rio!!

What was great:
Expo package pick up was great with special international desk with language support. Massage at expo was useful.
Course was spectacular, taking runners by all the principal beaches and within sight of key landmarks.
Medal is cool, well-designed.
Very helpful and thoughtful medical support post race.

What could be better:
I ended up being a walker due to a freak knee injury 3 days before the race (but was still just 10 min shy of the 6 hr mark they set). While I appreciate they still gave me a completion medal, the race support fell apart for me and for all back-of-the-pack runners. Water stops getting dismantled as we went, no water for last 6K, no gels whatsoever, no km markers after 36K (they were all already taken off). It did not help that it was raining from start to end, so ended up being a difficult finish for most slower runners.

Crowd support was zero - but understandable, as the weather was horrible.

The Rio Marathon is generally flat and on a closed course. Running along Copacabana and Impanema Beaches and seeing Christ The Redeemer Statue off in the distance are added perks. There were adequate water/Gatorade stops, but only one food (bananas & oranges) stop around mile 21. Rio is a great marathon destination, would recommend to anyone.

Very well organised, and wonderful course that is really worth running.

Come and enjoy one of the most beautiful cities on earth.

The organizers seem to have made may improvements since 2009.

The expo had a separate desk for us out-of-country folks who needed help with the language. Check in was PERFECT.

The marathon started right on time under cloudy skies with a nice headwind. All this kept us from overheating.

LOTS of water. Two GU stops. Few toilets along the route... so the men used the sidelines.

It is a beautiful run along some spectacular coastline. I especially loved having the lower part of the double-stack road to ourselves, including two tunnels and nice coastline.

We took a taxi to the start to avoid the hassle and early shuttle bus ride (5 a.m.).

Taxi to the start... it was well worth the 60 real.

Oh, I also love the medal. VERY NICE one!!!

- Scott

Ran the 42.2 K event. The course was great (although I could not see much because it was a cloudy day), organization was great too (water, isotonic, gels, bathrooms were found right where they were stated, post-run support was excellent). Weather was not favorable on this day (10 - 15 KM/hour headwinds for the entire run; road full of water puddles from at least 3 days of rain), but that can't be helped. Not that I need it (I prefer to run alone), but if you are looking for spectator support, you won't find it here - apart from a few great souls along the way and the usual crowd cheering at the finish line.

Baggage handling was very convenient. Refreshments along the course were adequate; they even had GU-like stuff being passed out at two points. Spectators along the course were very spotty - none for the first 12-16 miles (were they sleeping?). More folks towards the end, but most of them were not cheering at all... simply looking at us. I suppose that coming from the US we are used to bands playing along the course, folks motivating us from the sidewalks, and so on - in other words, a party atmosphere that the Rio Marathon didn't have.

Would I run it again? Of course!!!

My boyfriend and I thought this was the best marathon we ever ran. The people were friendly, aid stations plentiful and often, and it was very well organized. Please run this race, even if only to visit this incredible city.

I ran the half marathon. It was a great race, with a pretty flat course and beautiful views. You go through a couple of tunnels at the start, and end up along the beach for almost the entire race. They provide plenty of water and a PowerAde stop. They gave a cheap gel out to runners that I did't use. As you hit the beach areas there are a lot of spectators and interested people, but you don't hear any cheering. I was a bit suprised for Brazil being a sports-loving country. My one complaint is that the race started 20 minutes late. Why? People are ready to run and a bit afraid. You really kill their buzz when you can't start on time.

It is well worth it to run if you are heading to Rio.

When I registered for this race, I was leery about the event because I did not receive any communication from the organizer. The only thing I got was a charge to my credit card and a receipt. I booked my trip anyway. Like all other comments, I was very impressed; all the way from packet pick-up, to the shuttle service, to the starting line, to the finishing area, everything is very well organized. And of course you got more than a singlet: you also got a very nice cap. The spectators were very sparse at the first half of the race, but then pick up after Leblon. Weather can be tricky; in 2010, we had good weather most of the time. It was cloudy, but then sun came out around 10:30 a.m. It's a point-to-point course. You need to get to the finishing area to catch the shuttle and it was a long ride. The website was not updated often, so you don't get a whole lot of information; but overall, it's a very nice race.