A really wonderful course, perfect for a cool sunny day. Start in the suburbs and then head off to the cluster of Swiss villages that protrude into France along gentle country lanes or even on bridle paths through fields of vivid rape seed or lush pastures.

Small picturesque villages with good support and then glory be, a gentle long descent at 30km to the lakeside for the fine city centre stage. The lakeside finishing straight a delight too.

The organisation was efficient ( of course) but as mentioned before , the t shirt naff ( though at least technical unlike the London ones) and the medal uninspiring. Mind you in 2009 it was plastic!

Once again hydration made more difficult by cups. I really applaud the environmental friendly use of tap water but cups are so difficult and not portable compared to bottles (or better still big sports cap bottles of Jerusalem Marathon). Cant you just bottle the tap water?

Finish was let down by endless descent into underground car park for bags and rather meagre facilities.

Also marathon sponsoring hotel chain do not include breakfast or late check out ( why bother then?)

Would I do this again? I did and it is better than 2009. Would I recommend it? Yes especially to those of bucolic bent!

First time on the new course. Faster and smoother with an agreable detour in the Genevese countryside at the beginning and a city centre finish. My one recommendation would be to add a few kilometres to the countryside leg and avoid the last 38-41km of the current route: too many sharp edges and sudden turns in the present set up. Otherwise top notch organisation. Only disappointment is the rather ordinary medal and race shirt. Reasonably fast course and no depressing there and backs. Great job.

I just ran the half marathon and I became very happy with my performance on this venue. The course is great despite the fact that in some points it was almost impossible to set a good pace because the road was too narrow and I was not able to set a good pace for a certain time. But I hope to come back in the future to attend the full marathon since the city of Geneva is very cool.
Only thing I didn't like was that at the finish line we had to walk too much to get our personnel belongings since they were far away.

This was a great race for the fundamental things, but it could be better in the small details. First of all, the course was beautiful. It had the best of suburbs, rural areas, and downtown Geneva. Starting in a suburb it meanders through postcard-like fields with canola flowers, barley fields and pastures. Along the way, anyone who has never been to Switzerland will be pleased to see that the charming dairy cows with the little bells around their necks, for which Switzerland is known, are found not only on postcards. All the while, you have great views of the alps or Lac Leman depending on which direction the course takes you. Water stations, portable toilets, paramedics, police and firefighters were perfectly spaced out and I never encountered a line to get into a toilet. A+ there! Furthermore, the course was probably the flattest 42k you'll ever find in Switzerland. On top of all that, you're not running into the backs of relay runners because as far as I know, there was no relay.

Fans were good- even in the little rural towns it seemed everyone came out to cheer us on. Volunteers were also very helpful and plentiful.

The only improvement needed is in minor stuff, like the race shirt- it was really blah, and even though it has 'GM' on it, it doesn't catch the eye at all- it doesn't say, 'I ran the Geneva Marathon.' Its design and color are really minimal and generic. In stark contrast, the race medal that I got looked like it belonged on a rapper rather than on a runner. The expo should have had more stuff for sale (hats, extra shirts, mugs, etc.) in the absence of a cool race shirt. The finish area was of difficult access to anyone who was driving that day, but I can't blame anyone for that- that's just how Geneva is.

Overall, I recommend this race.

First time to run Geneva 42km was in 2012. Being a run in Switzerland I'll say the course was relatively flat with gorgeous scenery all around to observe without concern for tripping over anything; roads are clean and smooth. Aid stations were organized well enough, spectators in the city were outstanding, those spectator in the towns were enthusiastic enough, and any potential traffic well controlled. I was fortunate to become involved and volunteer marathon packet pick-up on Saturday.

I wasn't able to answer all questions but the organization was good enough for me to direct questions to knowledgeable, more full-time race staff armed with computers and data, so I didn't see too many dissatisfied participants on Saturday. I guess their biggest complaint might be that I didn't speak a lick of French but worked with a lovely French-speaking volunteer who more than compensated for my inadequacies. Ah, but some criticisms from me: Bag drop was near the start, but bag pick-up was not near the finish.

After finishing the race when it came time to collect our belongings we had to tramp through a portion of Geneva to some school's gym in a basement (downstairs through darkness), and there weren't guides or clear instructions on finding that place from the finish line. I followed several different crowds and some of them were not on their way to bag pick-up. The finish area was so-so, kind of small with bananas, oranges and water, so I'd pay more for a race with more amenities at the end. Still, if I'm living in Switzerland next year I'll certainly consider Geneva again because I adore that city, the residents and the city's landmarks.

Only 2000 for the marathon and twice that many for the half which started 2 hrs later. Course out in the countryside through fields, and small villages. Spectators when in towns, otherwise a lovely run in the countryside. Finish is along Lake Geneva and the crowds were great. Water/food every 5 kms.

This was my fifth year around this course, and I set another PB. Very well organized, frequent refreshment points and excellent pacing. Shame about the cost! Poor expo, the same medal as last year, and no more goody bag or water bottle (as against previous years). Where did the entry fee go this year?

The ourse is designed to avoid hills in what is a hilly city: hence, two loops and the lack of historical elements along the course. If you want history, run the short escalade race in December. The course is well structured, although you can be overwhelmed by the half-marathon participants in the latter stages. This is a hassle-free race and it's well-timed in September; the usual schedule is May, when it can be hot, but the early start affords some protection.

This was my first marathon, so I don't have anything to compare it to (apart from semis and triathlons). Firstly, the route - two laps of a course which crossed a number of bridges and passed through the back streets (pretty uninteresting) and even through the middle of a BMW dealership (!!), before heading onto an out-and-back loop along the lake. The part along the lake was nicest, the parts along the mainly-spectator-free back streets were pretty average. On the first loop it was fine, but on the second loop there weren't enough people guiding runners along the route (despite my being mid-pack at 3:44). It almost felt like everyone had gone home already! Having names printed out on the bibs meant that people could give personalized encouragement - a nice touch. The last three kilometers along Mt. Blanc Bridge and Quai Wilson were well-populated with spectators, which helped me bring it home. It was not a very big race (around 500 male finishers), so drink stations were pretty easy to access (and well organized). Pacers were very encouraging, which helped. I found the KM signage a bit confusing due to the half-marathon also being held in an overlapping time frame. The post-race massage was much appreciated, although the throwaway watch and the rest of the goody bag was a bit of a waste of time. I would have preferred a t-shirt! I don't know that I would do the same course again - there are a lot of marathons within traveling distance, so I will probably try somewhere else in spring. All in all, though, a good first marathon for me. Ideal weather also helped!

The course, which went through some of downtown Geneva and then around the lake and back, was quite beautiful. It was all flat, which helps your time.

The spectators were plentiful and cheered enthusiastically throughout the race. Because of the two-lapping system (for the whole marathon), it was easier to have more fans in a more crowded area.

The race was organized quite well, from packet pick-up, to starting time, to the bag retrieval at the end.

The weather was perfect and the air quality couldn't have been any better.

If any of the organizers are reading this, I would like to make the following suggestions for next year:

1) Have the course go near more of the international organizations. There are many beautiful campuses throughout the city. (Although, I do understand that this might be somewhat of a security risk for them.)

2) Although this became apparent later on, could you please differentiate the KM markers for the 1/2 and the full marathon more clearly? (They were differentiated by color - black for full, red for half.)

3) Give the half marathoners medals too!! I'm envious of the full marathoners' medal! (Quite nice.)

4) The race coincided with the bigger and more famous Berlin Marathon. If you would like to attract more runners, perhaps making it a weekend before/after would help. (How about Haile's new WR?! Wow!)

Otherwise, I highly recommend the race and will be back again next year.

(My time: 1/2 Marathon - 1:29:00 - new PR!)