I just finished another marathon today, so I thought back to my first marathon, the Georgia Marathon. The expo was so much better. Tons of free samples, coupons, and well organized registration lines. I also thought that the weather for the Georgia Marathon was perfect. It was in the 50s or 60s - not too cold and not too hot. I also ran with a pace group, which worked out well for my first marathon. I really liked the bounty of food at the end of the race.

I just ran the half-marathon - my first ever, might I add?!?! My bib was 43787, and I have to say that the course was nothing like I thought it would be. It was BETTER!!! The hills... OMG!!! I trained in southern Arizona where the altitude was just shy of a mile. While it helped to be used to the higher elevation, the hills were a killer! This was a very good and beautiful run! As far as the gear check, I couldn't tell you if it was good or not, as I didn't use it. I knew that I would warm up while running and would be one of the first people to strip down - no point in that! The water stations (and couple of beer stations) were great!
Would I do this again? Heck yeah!!!

I ran the marathon in the inaugural year, and there were many problems with organization then. The next year, I decided to volunteer, hoping I could make a difference instead of just complaining about it. There were still problems but at least they had plenty of water and GU, which was my biggest complaint the previous year.

This year, I ran the half and was really disappointed. There seemed to be enough water stations but no GU. The start and finish were a train wreck with very little direction of where to go at the start and a narrow crowded finish that seemed more suitable for a small-town 5K than an ING marathon. The bag-check and the start was hard to find (no signs). After asking several people, I found "bag check" and it was nothing more than a field with bags piled up according to bib number - NO SECURITY whatsoever. (Given the dangerous area of town the start and finish are in, I would expect some security to at least shoo off the street people.) I found the start and had to jump over a barrier into a corral (I have no idea what the corral number was). There were not enough bathrooms at the start or along the course.

The course itself is great and the crowds are pretty good, given the weather (cold and cloudy - good for running but not for watching). My only complaint on the course is that there are too many turns in the last 4 miles, which is really hard on your legs and joints after all of the hills.

The course and the crowds make it a good race. The organization has consistently been poor. The website is a joke, with no course map or instructions regarding the start and finish. I also hate that you are forced to go to an expo downtown and pay $10 to park.

The people presenting of the 2009 ING Georgia Marathon simply don't understand.

They didn't understand that we don't want to hear some mouthpiece blab incessantly at the start. We want music. We want a beat we can get lost in that will carry us to the next music stage we pass. Unfortunately, they didn't have many of them either, and when they did, we found them on the side of the road in the dirt.

They didn't understand that signage is a good thing when trying to find your starting corral, or, oh yeah, even the starting line.

They didn't understand that people need toilets - lots of them. Pairs of them dotted along the course, which left runners waiting for upwards of 15 minutes.

They didn't understand that gels are good things.

They didn't understand that, if you needed a toilet after the finish line, they were not only overflowing, but were corralled off so that you had to traverse the entire length of the park to get back to the food.

They didn't understand that to get to the food you had to walk down hill and then back up again. They didn't understand that inclines sometimes hurt after running.

They didn't understand that getting a foil blanket marked "2007" is not a souvenir that we would want to keep. They didn't understand that homeless people might have liked the leftovers to keep them warm two years ago.

The course was awesome. Make no mistake: the hills were there almost from the start. Atlanta is an awesome town and hosted well. Great police and crowd support.

The race director should run this race and do so as the last runner to finish. That way their team of perpetrators will perhaps, just perhaps, begin to understand.

This was my 10th marathon. Like many have said, the course is beautiful but hilly. Just be prepared. In summary:

Expo was great. Loved the shirt!

The start was disorganized. I hated the bag "check in" - I did not want to leave anything in that swampy tent unsupervised. Corrals were a joke. I couldn't find my corral, but then realized no one was in their correct corral.

The course was beautiful. I was happy to see the half-marathoners part at mile 7, unlike some marathons where they part at mile 13. The volunteers at the water stops were awesome! I loved the concept of the kids running with you at the end, but the kids ended up darting in and out all around you. Not fun after you've been running 4 hours and just want the race over!

Not posting official times until mid-afternoon Monday was a joke! For a race that size, they should have been posted on Sunday.

Positives: Aid station volunteers. People of Atlanta were hospitable and enthusiastic. The expo was great - especially the Mizuno booth.

Negative: Organization from start to finish. No race day map and/or instructions included. I felt rushed through all major intersections. They actually had volunteers asking runners to hurry! No gels at the aid stations. No food at the finish. Water at the finish was 100 yards away. There were no volunteers at the start/finish to assist with directions. Bags that were checked in were soaked with rain water when picked up - clothes and personal items were ruined. If you were a 4+ hour marathoner, it felt as if you were an afterthought! Mizuno, ING and other sponsors should seek accountability from the race director. I hope positive changes will be made for next year.

I ran the half and I echo what many others have written regarding the lack of signs both at the start and finish. There was nothing at the start to denote the corral number and no signs at the finish denoting where MARTA or anything else was. The course itself is extremely hilly, so be sure to train for hills; however, it was very scenic and enjoyable from that standpoint. I was disappointed that the official times were not posted until midday on Monday, which for an event this size, didn't make too much sense. Moreover, when they were first posted, they had the chip time the same as the clock time (they corrected that later in the day).

Good points were the expo (not too small; not too large - just right) and the downtown location was awesome. It was great to be able to walk to the expo, start and finish from any downtown hotel. One thing that would have been a nice touch would have been some sort of discounted rate to race participants who wanted to go to the Atlanta Hawks/Boston Celtics game Friday night. Since many of us out-of-towners came in on Friday, it would have been a nice gesture and I know that the St. Jude's Marathon in Memphis offered a similar deal for a Grizzlies game. It's a little thing but it's often the little things that make a racing event special. However, from an overall standpoint, this is a good race with a great medal in one of the most exciting cities in the country. I'm glad that I participated.

I have run the ING Georgia every year. This year I experienced more disappointment. Yes, they have enough aid stations. Duh! But, there was no map of the start and finish areas. Whatever signage there was for directing people to the start corrals was not visible.

My biggest complaint is that there was NO TRAFFIC CONTROL for those of us on pace for a 6:30 finish. We received an email a couple of weeks ago stating that a 15:15 mmp would be enforced. That was no problem for me. But, I expected the APD to stop traffic at Monroe and Park St., 10th and Piedmont, and West Peachtree and 5th St. Maybe there was traffic control across Peachtree St. or maybe I just caught the light.

This is unconscionable and dangerous! We weren't stragglers. We were well within the stated time limit. If this keeps up, then this marathon will become just like the ATC Marathon on Thanksgiving Day where you have to complete it in 5 hours. And, look at the size of that field. This race is not walker-friendly or amenable to older runners.

There were no visible mile markers after 22. Maybe they were on the ground. It WAS quite windy by the time I arrived.

I never even bothered to look for water or bananas after the finish. I just headed to MARTA. I was told that I had done a good job when I crossed the finish line and my response was, 'Yes, I did do a damn good job!'

I will not be back.

I spent the first two miles of the race zig-zagging through all of the walkers and joggers, and I was in the second corral, close to the front! The course was very difficult (which is what I wanted), but there should have been more clarification at the beginning as to where one should be grouped based on projected pace/finishing time. I cannot recommend this race.

I expected much more.

This was my first Georgia Marathon but my 4th overall. I thought the course was GREAT! Very fast and rolling with plenty of fan support. Organized hydration stations with plenty of volunteers. I did not do a lot of hill work but had a PR by 10 minutes and qualified for Boston!! Ran most of the way with the 3:40 pace group... they were great!! I would love to run this marathon again next year!!