This was my first stateside marathon, and it was a tough run. If you HAVE NOT trained, this would not be a good one to run.

The first half of the marathon was okay, but the second half was GREAT! The water stations were lacking the first half, but they made up for it the second half. There was a section that we actually got bottle-necked, which can be frustrating.

Hills? Yes there was hills and I don't care what anyone says... having a hill within two miles of the finish line can be rough!!!

I didn't train, so it was not one of my better runs, but overall... I loved it!!!

Great t-shirts and finisher's medal!!!

I traveled from western Pennsylvania to run the marathon on my birthday. I picked this marathon for the hills, crowd support and the fact I had never been to Texas. The Austin restaurants that we went to Friday and Sunday evening were great. The pasta dinner the night before was just so-so, but meeting Bart Yasso and Dick Beardsley was fun.

Running in the neighborhoods was interesting, but you could lose the tight alleyway at mile 3. The crowds were enthusiastic and all of the volunteers were friendly and helpful!

I anticipated seeing more of the University of Texas during the race. I didn't even realize that we had passed it.

The race was 20 minutes late getting started. No announcements, no sound system to inform the runners waiting in the middle and back of the pack.

My suggestions for the race in the future: Continue to highlight the neighborhoods, but feature the University of Texas campus. Have a sound system for announcements. Keep the hills, but lose the alleyway on mile 3.

The fans make the experience at Austin. The scores of spectators are extremely supportive and many go out of their way to help you through the race by handing out anything from oranges to gummy bears. One guy even had GU; what an animal.

The race is well organized. There are plenty of water stops. The start and finish are well handled. The medals for finishers are excellent. Philly Distance Run is a five in the organization category, and this race was not quite on that level, but well done.

The course was disappointing. The first ten miles are fine. Then you get out on the highway around town and the scenery is just plain boring. At the very end of the course there are two ridiculous hills that forced many competitors to walk. I'm all about hills but the two at the end just seemed like overkill when the rest of the course has a lot of hills with pretty intense grades.

Overall, the race is well done and going to Austin, which is a great town, makes this race worth it. I do wonder if the race would have been better if AT&T had not backed out at the last minute. A lot of elites bounced on the race once the AT&T left with the purse.

The second most difficult course of the seven I have run. Hills were a challenge; however, the support and the bands were top-notch. Raves for the pacers. I dropped my PR by 18 minutes. See you in Boston next spring. Great race in a great city.

I HIGHLY recommend this race, even though my time was much slower than I wanted. I agree with the comments from other runners. The crowd support was amazing for the ENTIRE course. I've never seen so much support, other than NYC. But here, the spectators were offering food, tissues, and very witty signs. Some of my favorites: "May the Course be With You," "Run like you Stole Something," and "Defense" (hey, it's a college town and this is all he had).

This course is challenging, with the hills, hills and more hills, especially at the end. Hopefully they will change that, along with the narrow path around mile 3. There was a nice, flat stretch for miles 17 - 23, which was really welcomed. The volunteers were great (but I always wish they would put water in different colored cups from the energy drinks). I wish there were more port a potties along the course. I didn't even attempt to stop until the half-marathoners turned-off. I got to mile 18 with only 2 in line to wait, so I took that opportunity. The expo was FABULOUS, very organized, huge, and had lots of vendors. The medal is beautiful and substantial. As a marathoner, I did receive a technical finisher's t-shirt. I would definitely run this race again (but since I know about the hills, I do have some hesitation; I'm from Florida where it's very flat). In summary: great city, great organization, great expo, great spectators, great race. Just go for it.

Personally, I had a "bad day" in Austin. I was sick with the flu and didn't even feel like running. This fact does not take away from the awesome job that the entire city of Austin did on this gorgeous February day!

The course was hilly, as others have noted, but I was expecting it and that's half the battle! The tight alley-area at mile 3 was fine and nothing to complain about. The hills toward the end, near U of T campus, were just brutal. The major complaint I had about the course was the finish line: it was turn after turn and you didn't see the very end until the last 50-100 yards. Seeing the finish line usually gives me an extra "push" (as much as you can muster in a 26-mile-long-run), but I didn't get that with such a short "chute." The crowd along there was great, though.
Speaking of which, the course support (police and public fans) was amazing!!! There was almost always somebody cheering you along and traffic control was top-notch. At one point, I had to stop and catch my breath due to foot pain and a nice spectator offered me a GU or water out of her own bag! The music was not the best (too sparse), but it was better than nothing.

Another thing I liked about this marathon was its size. I think there were about 14,000 runners total (half and full) and that seemed to be just right. You were always running with someone, but not necessarily bumping elbows. Perfect.

I enjoyed the concept of a marathon "going green," but I didn't like registering on Active.com where you are charged an additional fee to do so. (Perhaps that fee can be waived, since it's the only choice for registration.)

I LOVED the chicken noodle soup at the finish line!! Yummy!

Great medal and tech shirt.

Thank you to the City of Austin! We loved visiting such a fun (AND WARM!) city for the weekend.

I agree with most of the earlier comments. Too many large hills toward the end of the course and the finisher shirt should be a technical shirt like they offer at other races.

Austin is a great city and the crowds were amazing. These changes could help make the Austin Marathon a great race.

In the comments section of just about every marathon, you will find someone exaggerating the magnitude of the hills. Well, I found out first hand that the comments about Austin are NOT exaggerated - very hilly! Don't let this discourage you though... the course is doable - just make sure you prepare.

Other than that, the race was done very well. Austin is a great city and the spectators at the race were phenomenal! At other marathons I have done, the crowd usually becomes non-existent after the half marathon split. Not here - the fan support was fantastic from start to finish! Medal was very nice, finish line food could have been a bit better, but the chicken noodle soup really hit the spot!

And as for the comments about pouring your own water at water stations?!? Not sure sure what race and/or pace that person was running - I had absolutely no issues and found the water stops to be adequately staffed with hard working volunteers. And most of the time they encouraged me by name as they handed me water (your names are printed on your bib). Top-notch volunteers if you ask me....

A couple months before the Austin race I started getting warnings from locals about the hills and that I'd better be doing some serious hill training. I took that seriously and stepped up said hill work. Then I drove the course the day before the marathon and wondered where the hills were. True, there are a couple of fairly steep inclines, but they are very short - nothing like the 8-mile climb at the beginning of the New Mexico Marathon or the near-killer from 18-20 on the Loch Ness Marathon course... or the many hills of San Francisco. Austin is a challenging course, to be sure, but I'm not sure it was because of the killer hills. The expo was better than I expected, the crowd support was amazing, and the volunteers and organizers did a great job. And... Austin itself just rocks. A great place to spend the weekend. Would definitely do this one again.

I like the course. I like the challenge of the hills even though those few smaller ones at the end killed me....

I was well prepared for the course and knew what to expect. Volunteers and crowd where great all throughout the course. I didn't have any problems with mixing of half and full marathoners, nor an issue with the tighter road around mile 3.

I heard the race director say that they may change this course in the future so that it does not disrupt downtown. I hope they don't make that mistake. The course is great as is, and they should not worry about "disrupting' downtown residents - that is part of why you live in a city, to get access to the city's best events.

Great efforts to keep the event environmentally sustainable also, which I applaud.

I ran a PR and beat my goal time, despite blowing up in the last 3 miles.