Incredibly difficult conditions for a first-timer: 90+ degrees, especially on streets of downtown Long Branch around high noon. My finish time was over one and a half hours slower than my slow marathon distance training run in 70-degree weather. Not pretty. :-)

Good
* Finishing
* Springsteen songs at the start
* Boardwalk drummer that lasted 5+ hours
* Four miles of breeze along the ocean
* Plentiful Gatorade/water
* Flat and fast course - shade through Oceanport
* Good pacers (though 4:30 pacers started fast...)
* Good Samaritan at the Monmouth Park turn (at about mile 19) handing out his own bottles of water. Bless you.
* Quick volunteer/aid reaction to downed runners
* Thanks to the locals for hosing me down during the race - around a half-dozen head shots were required to cool me down, and organizers did not have enough hose down stations given the heat
* 7 a.m. parking at Seven Presidents' Park versus waiting for the bus

Bad
* Half marathon-centric. Dodging VERY slow runners for the first two or three miles, which was a big energy drain (in retrospect, I should have just slowed down in heat). Corrals would have helped.
* Lukewarm water at many stations (in 90-degree weather)
* There were 10+ miles of the course with no shade, no breeze, and smoking asphalt through Long Branch
* Aid stations ran out of oranges/fruit after 4 hours; seemed like at least one of the downtown water stations between 20-24 miles shut down (maybe I was hallucinating?)
* No food at the end for marathoners (you CAN'T be serious - at least the water/Gatorade was cold...)
* Worthless goody bag (what goodies?)
* Good quality tech shirt, but cheesy design (marathon and half marathon shirts were same)

About 2,300 marathoners signed up. About 1,300 finished. Says it all.

Starting one hour earlier would have helped.

Pray for cold rain next year.

I was the 6-hour pacer for this race.

I walked as much of the race as I could, only taking running breaks as needed. The multiple starts and long delay in getting to the starting line got me confused about my time, so I finished five minutes too early.

In 2009 the race was cold and wet. This year it was hot and humid. Even a flat course can be challenging when the weather does not cooperate. Runners here must be prepared for anything.

The best part of the race was running on the boardwalk along the shore. Too bad that more of the race is not like this.

I arrived early and found parking near the start without any problem.

When I finished, there were no refreshments left. In previous years, there has always been something available.

I look forward to returning to the New Jersey Marathon for the 11th time in 2011, and I will continue to recommend this race to others.

It was hot (90+) and humid, but this course is flat and fast, conditions permitting. Tons of aid (roughly every 1.5 miles), and we needed it. I'd come back.

Ran the half marathon. The heat was brutal. Fluid stations were efficient and well stocked, at least for me in the half marathon. Spectators were wonderful with enthusiastic vocal support, and many thanks to all those who used their hoses and sprinklers to help us with the heat. The many volunteers were friendly and efficient. I was not happy with the lack of food after the finish. I was given a plastic bag with one banana, one small muesli bar and juice (environmental rant: unnecessary use of thousands of plastic bags). Also found some yogurts. Totally insufficient after a long run. There were places to BUY food, but I was not expecting to have to carry money. I had food in my car, but then I had a long wait in a long line in the heat for the shuttle buses back to the main parking area. By now I was very hungry and dehydrated, like many others in the long line. So, this seemed a well organized event, with nice course and great crowds, until the unfortunate feeling of abandonment after the finish. Sort of like: thank you for coming; now here's a banana and you can go now....

Although I was nervous leading up to this race due to the heat, nothing could have prepared any of us for the 90-degree temps, humidity and glaring sun with no shade for 26.2 miles. I have a PR of 3:14 at NYC and I finished 1 hour 2 minutes off of that time. I guess I'm just not a heat person. The heat was so intense that I was planning to quit as soon as I got to the midway point. I'm sure many people did. I knew it was a little dangerous. The second half was brutal, but a few things got me through it. Only about a quarter of all of the runners did the full marathon, so we had all of the volunteers and crowd support to a smaller group of people. I don't think I would have survived without the kids pouring cups of water over my head, people on their lawns hosing us down, people giving me handfuls of ice to rub on my head and neck, and, of course, the folks giving cups of ice water. I thanked them all over and over again. Also, I made a few friends on the course and we helped each other through the ordeal. The course is getting a little boring, but I'm a Jersey guy and a marathon runner. How can I not run the NJ Marathon? Plus, this year was much smoother than last year. I showed up at 7 a.m., parked in the lot next to the beach, hung out at a beautiful hotel on the beach, met my friends at 8 a.m., then started the race at 9 a.m. Considering that the weather can't get worse than the past 2 years and we should be due for great weather, I'll be back.

Mother Nature certainly gave us a curveball with all of that sun, heat and humidity. While i have to admit that there were plenty of water stations for the average run, it was all of the wonderful residents with their extra cups of water, ice chips and, best of all, the hoses and sprinklers that really made the day much more bearable and often brought a smile to my face.

Overall, fair organization. No real direction to the food post-race, nor was there any left by the end of the marathon except for bananas - and only small cups of water were offered post. This seemed to be the race to run for the half marathoner, but the full marathoner was rather left out and almost forgotten unless you were one of the first to finish.

Caveat: I qualified for Boston at this race, so I am definitely biased. The heat was dreadful, but of course no one could control that. Given the 90-degree high, the neighbors came out with hoses and sprinklers, volunteers handed out sponges soaked in ice water, and even during the second loop of the marathon there were loads of enthusiastic spectators. Perhaps I lucked out, but I thought the organization was superb: I arrived at 7 a.m. and parked 3 blocks from the start, got a free massage afterward, and at every fuel stop was able to pour a cup or two of water on my head. My biggest suggestion would be: please move the start time back to 7:30 a.m. The NJ weather at this time of year is too fickle to start so late. But overall, a terrific race with loads of support. A great BQ course. Thanks, NJM!

I ran this one this year and was trying to BQ but did not, due to the heat. The spectators were great as well as the fluid stations; but because it is mainly a half-marathon, most of the crowds leave after the half. Also, at the end of of the marathon there were only small cups of water/Gatorade and absolutely no food! I came close to losing whatever was in my stomach due to heat exhaustion. I would come back but only for the half.

Brutal conditions - It was ok at the start, but once the heat index topped 90 degrees (about 11 a.m.), there was carnage. Given that, the first thing due is a big "THANK YOU" to the volunteers, organizers, EMTs and town. They gutted it out for the duration. Thanks to the folks with the hoses, and those who ran water stations from the front of their houses, and those who gave encouragement!

The expo was well organized and not overwhelming. The course is relatively flat, though it gets lonely at parts of loop 2.

Tough day - I missed my BQ by a good 17 minutes. But really, it's a nice event. I will be back - I feel like I owe that course a good hammering!

Small points:
1) The two-wave start was confusing and should be better marked - somehow in this I lost sight of the two pace groups I was considering joining (they may have switched pens?).
2) The 9 a.m. start, while probably good for those arriving by train, was a problem given the weather - I crashed at mile 17-18 after leaving the seafront on loop 2 (about 11 a.m. when the real feel hit the 90's).
3) The banners on the finish caused problems. When the wind blew (and we are by the sea!), the banner saying, "Finish this way" folded back on itself and read simply, "Finish!" I saw runners in front of me slow up under the banner until they realized that there were no mats in sight.

Although the heat was brutal, especially on the second loop of the marathon, this turned out to be one of my more memorable marathon experiences. The volunteers were terrific! Many thanks to the spectators who helped us with their cheering and their sprinklers and garden hoses! You probably saved many of us from ending up in the hospital ER. The finisher cap was a nice surprise.