We have had à great time in New York, THE marathon was perfectly organised.

This was my fifth marathon overall and first time running NYC.

I made the mistake of walking way too much on Friday and Saturday before the race. My family and I took advantage of being in the city for a couple of days and went to see everything we could. This sightseeing had quite an adverse effect on my legs. Because of the tightness in my calves I decided to abandon the pace I'd trained to run. My goal leading up to the race was 3:15. I limped in around 3:48. All that said, it was a thrilling moment to cross the finish line in Central Park.

Prepare yourself and do some research on things like how to get to the start and where to go after the race.

An experience that I highly recommend to any marathoner.

Do not get me wrong this is a race I am glad to check off my to do list.

I have run all the big us races and I am a 3:40 marathoner, so I usually get a good starting spot. But for NY, they asked what time you will finish in ( and I was starting in the same corral with many runners who were slower and never ran sub 4 hours but NY allowed them to put in a faster time to get a good slot which is not fair to the faster runners), which makes you expend too much energy at the start. In addition, the finish was awful (did not get water right away, had to walk many blocks to get drop bag and not much food at the end).

Worth running once, but not again if you like organized well run events. Very disappointing from a major marathon.

This is an amazing experience that is if you are lucky enough to get in. The race is relatively flat expect for the all 5 bridges are hilly and can be windy. Do take caution that the last 4 miles of the race had a steady undulation.
Pros:
starting line is incredible experience
crowd support phenomenal
race entertainment great
great tshirt
great medal
amazing expo
well well organized
plenty porto-potties throughout race
lots of water/gatroade/bannana/wet sponges
post race and pre race festivities fun

cons:
cost (seriously NY over $255 just to run)
charge $11 just for applying (whether you're in or not)
hard to get into the race
takes about 3 hours to get to the start
bit slow walking through central park to get bags

The marathon is great but it's the city that makes this such a tremendous experience. A long weekend in NY is always a fabulous time. I got to run through the five boroughs, the weather was great, the fans were spectacular, and the course was challenging (I didn't expect all of those bridges).

It wasn't perfect - I could have done without the long bus ride followed by hours of waiting for my wave to start. And it's not fun having to slowly shuffle out of Central Park with the masses immediately after finishing to find the UPS truck holding my gear. The logistics aren't ideal but with such a large group of participants, they do the best they can.

I'm glad I picked 2011 to cross New York off of my 'to-do' list. While it would be nice to run NY every year, now that they've raised the entry fee by $60, I'll try other marathons before I return for this one. For the price of one NY marathon (travel costs, exorbitant hotel prices, higher registration fee) I can do two other marathons this year and cross a couple more states off of my 50/50 list.

But I do recommend every marathoner try to run this race once in their lifetime.

Truly an experience. I'm not a big fan of big marathons but this was on my bucket list of marathons. Very well organized an crowd support like no other marathon. Course hilly in some areas-I really felt the hill at central park around mile 23! Did not mind the walk at the end and made it out of central park in around 20 minutes. Expensive trip but hey, it's New York. Only complaint, albeit a small one, was that they ran out of medium shirts at the expo.

This was my second NYC Marathon and my Best Marathon yet. The course is difficult but not overwhelming with the bridges - the legs could use a some hill work versus a totally flat course.

Pro's

1. ORGANIZATION - 47,000 runners yet pickup, transportation to the start, expo, coral system, Police Support on the course, the volunteers - How do you pull it off with all of the variables and make it special for the runners.
2. CROWDS - NYC makes you feel like you are in the Super Bowl of running. - TIP run along the sides and High Five the crowds - especially the kids - it will juice you up as you get tired.
3. STATEN ISLAND - Great pre race food and drink - Loved the Dunkin Doughnuts coffee and bagels, Powerbars, during the wait. Drop bag easily handed off to UPS. Plenty of port-a-lets.
4. TRANSPORTATION - I took the ferry - the only way to go. Was able to use the restrooms at the ferry station, on the ferry and at the bus drop off. The concession stands at the ferry station were open to pick up gatorade and coffee. TIP take the ferry you also get to pass the Statue of Liberty - very NYC.
5. COMMUNICATIONS - emails for came once I was registered weekly and daily oer the final 15 days. Questions at the EXPO were handled easily and accurately.
6. EXPO - yes it is crowded but managable - great variety of vendors. Met Ryan Hall at the Nissan both - what a Nice Young Man representing the USA in distance Sports. TIP - just be patient.
7. MONDAY post race Finishers mini Expo was nice - I enjoyed the walk through Central Park and the selection of NYC Marathon products.
8. VOLUNTEERS - AMAZING - from the expo to the Water Stations, to the finish line. TIP - say Thank you at least 100 times it is good for your spirit and soul.
9. NYC - The City embraces the event - people came up to me and shook my hand and congratulated me as I walked back to the hotel.
10. Food at the finish - water, pretzels, and the best NYC Apple I have ever eaten. A little sugar, a little salt, and fluids = a good recovery.
11. COURSE - you see many of the Iconic attractions of the City. TIP -Take the Time to enjoy it - the memories are worth it.
12. INTERNATIONAL runners - it is just plain fun running with people from all over the world.
13. CHARITY RUNNERS - This race raises BIG dollars for a lot of charties. Runners are giving back to their communities. I was able to run with the TIMEX team and Jeannie Finch for 2-3 miles and she is a very nice person. Good job Jeannie raising over $30,000. (I had to fall back - Jeannie was to fast for me at mile 20)

Con

1. The Bag pick up after the race is slow and you have a long walk to your bag and then to your hotel - now the good news you need to walk after marathon so it forced me to keep moving. I was running agin in 48 hours and in 72 hours with little pain.

Thank you Mary Wittenberg and your team for a series of amazing events.

I will be back it is the best.

My 47th Marathon and 4th NYC Marathon for background. Straight facts:

1. It's a $1,000+ event if you need to stay at least one night. Maybe you can find a 2 star hotel for less, but not in NYC if you want a decent night's sleep pre-race. Add cab fares to get closer to the $1,000 all-in.

2. Add transportation cost to the $1,000. It is what it is.

3. Most attend the saturday expo so be ready for an easy number pick up but congested lines at the booths if you need a last minute item (bodyglide, throw away gloves, etc.)

4. Very cool to see the runner superstars at the expo...even if the lines were too long for an autograph. I saw Ironman Champions, Olympians, Past Winners, etc. Very very very friendly. (They all are much smaller in real life).

5. Getting dinner the night before will mess with your pre-race diet regime. Meal times in resturants could run very late. Without a reservation at a nice resturant, assumming you know one close to your hotel, you default into a corner burger or pizza joint. Greasy!

6. Waking up at 5:00 am for the 6:00 am buses or ferry is a bit easier because of daylight savings time (Fall back 1 hr)...but it's still 5:00 am. Put some money in your pocket for a cab to the bus pick-up or you'll run a mile as a warm up.

7. No peeing on the bus. You need to hold it (unless you pay for a VIP bus).

8. Logistics are tough if you a running solo. You'll need to keep asking for instructions to dozens of people who also don't have any clue.

9. Airport type security at the start line. Bag checks, frisking, etc. Be ready to dump objectionable items if so ordered.

10. Good grades for the start area but poor grades for the color corrals. Failure to be at the correct corral 45 minutes prior to your wave start could push you into the next wave. They close the gates pretty quick. If you spend too much time at the UPS truck gear drop off or in the dunkin donuts coffee line, you are screwed.

11. No national anthem for waves 2-3 so my start line ritual of respect for the my country and troops was missing. Many men pee off the top of the Verrazano. If you are on the second deck, run in the middle and avoid the wind blowing pee on you. Disgusting. Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't happen.

12. Running into blobs of people will effect your pace. Add 30+ seconds to your mile split. Blobs occur when the two decks of the Verranzo meet at mile 4.

13. Water stops will get your feet wet. Runners are forced to pick up 2-3 cups at a time because the volunteers cannot keep pace with demand and they only fill the cups 25%. A cup gets discarded. Your feet get wet.

14. The cheering crowds are heaven. You are in a ticker tape parade. Smile and they smile back. (Your ears will hurt by mile 22.)

15. Race begins at mile 16. The runners thin out. You can reach target pace.

16. Your feet will slip on the thousands of cups on 1st Ave. No water over the 2 miles of the 49th St bridge results in a mad scramble for water on 1st Ave.

17. If you missed the slip on cups, you'll need to dodge the empty PowerGel packets at mile 18. Thousands and thousands of them on the ground. Volunteers can't clear them fast enough.

18. The Bronx and Harlem are pretty cool places. The crowds go out of their way to show off their pride. Bravo!

19. By mile 20+, perhaps the annoying runner dribbling a basketball for 26.2 miles is nearby. I counted 5 of them.

20. Here is the road surface problem many speak about: your feet will shift from asphalt to concrete, back and forth, every 30 or so yards starting at mile 16. Cause: lots of road repair from years of underground gas pipes, subways, wires, sewar, etc. Add the bridge surfaces and your ankles will hurt more than your training runs.

21. Take it easy on the Gatorade Endurance. Very sugary.

22. The finish line will cause a great day to fall apart quickly. In just 25 yards after the finish, 500 runners are taking their ING Finisher photos. You cannot proceed unless you pass thru the photographers. No escape. 20 foot security fences squish all finishers through a narrow street for 1 whole mile. Yes 1 mile of walking zombies looking for the UPS trucks of clothes. The congestion caused many to vomit, cramp up, freeze up. You will be in this line without dry clothes for 30-50 minutes. Very serious about this.

23. You see your family in the greeting area about 50 minutes after crossing the finish. If you can find them. The sun is shadowed by the sky scrapers at 3:00 pm.

24. I asked a bike cabbie to pedel me back to my hotel a few blocks away. Thankfully I had $40 in my running pants just for this task. He charged me $60 but settled for what I had.

25. Why do I run this 4 years in a row??? It's NYC Baby!!! Run with the Big Dogs but be prepared.

For anyone contemplating this marathon but, I must first tell you that you will not regret it. I realize NYC is expensive and it's a big trip for some. It did not fall into my family's budget, but due to getting in on lottery, I had no choice. But I am so glad I went. It was absolutely amazing. I've done a bunch of cool and interesting stuff in my life, but as my title suggests, the race, and entire weekend could not have been better. Seriously. The expo, although requiring some walking, was very well run and organized. I went in the middle of Saturday and had no problem perusing the many vendors and getting my race kit easily.
Race day was very impressive. I was on my bus and on my way to Staten Island in, I swear, 10 minutes.

Although I had to wait a long time in the staging area, it actually made the experience better. Everyone was friendly, and we were well taken care of. The course? The best. I ran with a smile for half the race. You really felt like the city was there for you and you alone. Lafayette in Brooklyn for me was particularly impressive. Way to go New Yorkers.

In any event, it was all incredible. And as I mentioned, you have to go.

This was my 5th marathon and my 1st NYC. Since this is such a large race, everyone is bound to have different experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed this race and was fortunate to run a new PR and a BQ here (so realize that that might influence my comments!)

I was in the first wave and took a 6:15 SI ferry. Once into the green village, I actually didn't have to wait very long (just enough time to sit for 10 mins, potty 2x & check my bag) before being called to my corral, so got lucky there. I know others had to wait much longer. We waited the 30 or so minutes in the corrals before the start, and I could actually see & hear them introduce the elite men. The spectators along the course were great, and very enthusiastic, it's wonderful to see how many people come out to support this race! By the time we reached the Queensboro Bridge, I didn't mind that there were no spectators, it was a nice change that only lasted a few minutes. Then arriving in Manhattan, it's amazing to see the crowds! The last few miles in CP were the toughest for me, but it was a beautiful place to run in the midst of the city.

The only thing I would've liked is for NYRR to have had the Parade of Nations AFTER the race, and not the Friday before it. For serious runners looking to save their legs (hard to do even if you try in NYC), standing for several hours like that isn't a good idea. I skipped it, but would like to have been there.
I can't imagine the logistics and planning it takes to organize a race of this magnitude, so I highly commend the NYRR for this! And it was a nice touch to get the mass email from Mary Wittenberg shortly after the race congratulating us runners. I also loved the digital finishers badge.

Finally, I liked that the first wave exited the park at 77th. It was just enough walking for me to get my wits about me, but close to where we were staying that I actually returned to my hotel in time to see the televised start of my own wave!
If you run this race:

-Take the course tour.
-Be OVERprepared with warm layers for the start. (This year we got lucky and I didn't need all my layering.)
-DO NOT try to weave around people at the start, over the Verrazano. It's nearly impossible to find a clear path to run, so just accept that you're going to go out probably even slower than you'd planned.
-Be aware of the bottlenecks and don't let them surprise you.
-If you want to save your legs prior to the race, you have to make an even bigger effort since NYC lends itself to automatically doing a lot of walking. Be aware that even if you take the subway, you still have quite a walk to the Javits for the expo.
-IF you're a FB person, be sure to 'like' the race's page and watch for the online live seminars that they have in the weeks leading up to the race. There is some good information in them.

I do wish that we would've had a complete schedule of the speakers at the expo ahead of time. This isn't peculiar to NYC, so it's not just a ding to this race. But why can't they post it online so that we can plan to see/hear a speaker?

A great race, great spectators, classy medal (nice touch, with a quote from Grete this year), pretty good expo, and fantastic volunteers! I would seriously consider running NYC again.