This marathon far exceeded my expectations and may be the best smaller marathon that I have run!

Pros
* great medal made by members of benefitting foundation
* great course through a variety of areas
* great pasta party
* friendly city - and I mean friendly ... from cabbies to hotel workers to course monitors and police
* recommend Spot of Tea for pancakes
* great post race celebration

Cons
* better distinguish water from gatorade at stops
* I'm nott a huge fan of relayers flying by me at mile 22, but at least they were identified as such
* weather - out of the race director's control, but it was hot and humid unseasonably so

Beware: the course has a series of hills from miles 10-20, but is flat on the ends

Mobile is a great smaller city and did their marathon up right!, Way to go!!,

So well organized. Obviously an army of dedicated volunteers. Police presence for traffic control was amazing. Aid stations plentiful. After-party had a nice variety of food and great music. Those over-priced Rock N' Rolls' could learn a thing or two from these folks! Thanks...I enjoyed

I drove 7 hours to run this race in hopes of finishing under 4 hours. The coures was great up to mile 21 where I waited 7 1/2 minutes for a train to pass, my legs were shot after that.

The Expo was plesant and the pasta feed was really good. We stayed at the Holiday Inn downtown which is recommended because you can just walk out the door to the start in the morning and not worry about parking, that was sweet. It was pretty humid on race day and alot of runners had to slow down early in the race, but its location and nothing you can do about the weather.

The water stops were layed out about every other mile or so. I would make a suggestion that they place signs on the tables marking which is water and which is powerade. I at many water stops had difficulty getting what I needed and the volunteers were just holding the cups in their hands and not reaching them out to the runners, so it made it difficult as we had to stop and get the cup out of their hand or from the table.

The police dept. did an awsome job at directing the traffic for the runners. Also, be aware, you may get stopped by the train while on the course. A couple of marathoners were stopped for 4 minutes while waiting for the train to pass through. UGG! The finish announcer was so funny. He did an awsome job. Thank you for the experience.

This was my choice for my Alabama marathon and it did not disappoint. I love the wooden finisher's medal and the fact that it was handmade makes it more special. Course was hilly in the mid part as has been mentioned prior, the humidity made those hills worse for me. Police were out in force at almost every intersection- it was fantastic! Course was great, I enjoyed running through the two colleges and having the students cheering. Hampton Inn was good- asked for a later check out and was refused, asked again on race day and was told I could check out one hour later. That made the difference as I was catching a flight right after. Location of hotel was close to expo and start. Great job Mobile!!

The race was very well organized and everyone involved was extremely nice. Packet pickup was easy and the course was very well marked. The fans were enthusiastic, including the police directing traffic, as couple of them voiced encouragement as we ran by. The course was scenic and pretty hilly between miles 10 and 20. There were plenty of water stops manned by enthusiastic volunteers. The host hotel was very convenient to everything. The free shower afterwards at the YMCA was nice as we had an eight hour drive after the race. All in all, a very good marathon that I would recommend to anyone.

This is a great race. The packet pickup was simple and well organized. The course was scenic and a good tour of Mobile. It was clearly marked and there was a very high police presence at all of the major (and even some of the minor) intersections. On the busy roads there were plenty of cones and police to direct traffic. The finisher's medal is awesome (one of my favorites) - made by the residents of L'Arche Mobile. For me, the only downside was the high humidity and there were a lot of hills between miles 10 and 20. In addition, the spectators were fairly limited.

Overall, an excellent race and I would highly recommend it. My son ran the Kids Race and that was also very well organized and one of the best kids races that he has run. Also, Mobile is an interesting city with lots of things to do and the people are incredibly friendly. I would also recommend the marathon hotel - the Hampton Inn in downtown Mobile; it was excellent. Also, really enjoyed the True Midtown Kitchen for dinner. I cannot imagine a better Alabama marathon than First Light.

This was my first marathon in the southern portion of the US. I welcome a race where there are breaks from the spectators as was the case in Mobile but the ones that were there were very friendly and encouraging. The pre race dinner and the unique finisher medals were the other major positives. I would recommend this race to anyone looking to get away from the overcrowded starting lines, obnoxious spectators, and too many bands.

This was a very well-done race. However, for those of us who wear minimalist shoes, the gravelly roads were not ideal. My feet are used to running distance in vibrams or sandals, but the rocky roads were a bit too much.

Pretty cool. It was my first half marathon and it was great.