Atlanta morning news said 16,000 started the race. The race announcer at the start said 14,000 strong was starting the race. Race results show 1029 finished the 5K, 8472 finished the half and 1833 finished the full marathon. That's 11,604 finishers& WOW & somewhere out there on one of those hills is between 2300 and 4300 people trying to climb it &

I've proven two things here (Atlanta), I can do arithmetic and I won't run this one again. Too many hills for this 'ole lady. When one quarter don't finish your race, that's a bad sign.

Whew! I live in Atlanta, run in Atlanta, have done several marathons in Atlanta and it just doesn't get any easier! The ATC managed to find a way to fit a hill into every mile of the race. But, having said that, Success! It will definitely test your reserves but you will be very happy when you finish. Almost all of the course is scenic with the least attractive part being in the dark at the start (Northside Drive). Fabulous course support, more than enough water stops and the cheer zones along the way made the time (and hills) pass far more quickly than many other races I've done. Not quite Disney but not too far away from it. Loved the Pyrenees Rescue, Garden Club and many more. They were great. To the person who commented on the food, the Atlanta Track Club is made up of avid runners and works very hard to accommodate runners needs. I'm sure they will take your comments into consideration. I didn't have any issues with what was available. And I loved the medal. They were also giving out mugs but I didn't hang around for one. I would do it again. Thanks for a great day ATC!

Great organization! Easy parking. Easy packet pick-up. Wonderful fan support!!! Great finish line this yearliked the new finish area! Aid stations were plentifulevery 2 miles at the most. Extremely hilly, but very interesting course. Enjoyed it immensely. By far the best of the marathons that I have run!!!

Overall pretty good race, but not necessarily worth seeking out.

Good:
-Start/finish location was great - Atlantic Station, very easy to get to, minimal traffic, ample parking (not free though), shops, and restaurants, really just a perfect place for this race to start and end
-Size - About 1000 marathoners and many more relay participants. There is no half. I think the size was perfect. I hate those 20k races. Getting there, using the restrooms, bag-check, all the pre-race stuff that can add to stress was very easy and near perfect
-Volunteers - All very nice and helpful, there were plenty of volunteers around
-Aid stations - plenty available, only 2 gel stations, but plenty of water/power-aid
-Medal - simple, but classy

Average:
-Course - A little hilly (fine with me), and not the most scenic, but certainly a fine course, safe, well-marked
-Spectators - A great idea to have an adopt-a-mile program where different organizations signed up to cheer each mile, they were enthusiastic (I especially liked the Great Pyrenees Rescue foundation with all their dogs), but more people overall would have been better

Bad:
-Post race food - Of my 6 marathons and several other halves and races, this had by far the worst post-race food. Absolutely no warm food at all. Also, nothing was salty, it was all sweet (cookies, sugary popcorn, chocolate granola bars). It really was awful. Luckily there was a California Pizza Kitchen near the finish, but this race seriously needs to reconsider their post-race food offerings.

Will I run it again:
I would if I lived in or around Atlanta. I live about 6 hours away, so I don't plan to return just given distance. Without having done any other Georgia Marathons, I do think this could be a good one to do if you are working on the states.

I read comments from previous years and was expecting hills. I wasn't expecting nearly non-stop tear-inducing heartbreaking calf-wrenching quad-busting hills. My boyfriend and I did a back-to-back weekend with the Spinx Marathon in Greenville and did not expect to feel good. But we felt far worse than we imagined. My apologies to the volunteer who offered me a bag of popcorn at the finish line and made me cry. I was hungry. Sorry I wasn't more appreciative. The police support was great. They all seemed happy to be helping - or maybe they were just laughing at me. Loved the Great Pyrenees rescue club! Those puppies are beautiful! I didn't receive a tech shirt, but the one I received was just fine. Thanks for the nice glass.

Like everyone else, I found this course challenging because of the hills. The weather (cloudy, spitting rain, breezy and cool) was great. I really liked the course that went through or past many interesting places and pretty parks. Water every 1.5 miles or so was very nice. Biggest asset for the race was the incredible fan support. People cheering and yelling the whole way. Best fan support I have seen in quite a while at races. I travelled from Oregon for this race and really enjoyed the southern hospitality and warmth of the people. It was one of my favorite marathons this year.

Great Race! Thank You Atlanta Track Club! The volunteers were great! Very well organized.

This is a great course and very challenging. The course is very hilly and offers a great challenge for anyone looking for a hilly marathon. The organization was great. The expo wasn't anything big so maybe they can grow on that in the future. Best part was receiving a pint glass at the finish line. Great job Atlanta Track Club!

Just after the start in the darkness we faced hills, followd by more hills. The sunrise revealed more hills until we reached the half-way mark with more hills ahead. There were hills and hills until the final nice surprise: fast run downhill towards the finish line.
I expected a much bigger event for the Olympic City. Expo was rather modest and the welcome back-pack was almost empty.
The volunteers and supporters, especially school kids were fantastic, supportive, noisy and surprisingly innovative.
Overall I highly recommend this race to all who are not afraid od hills.

Even knowing that the Atlanta Track Club has a penchant for hilly courses in most of their races, I was surprised by how hilly this course was. The second half was brutal. Despite this and how it affected my time, it was a nice experience. The spectators and volunteers were awesome. I especially liked the kids at Inman Park and the wonderful fluffy dogs after Piedmont Park.

If you're looking for a marathon with glamour or a ton of people, this isn't it, nor will you see all of Atlanta, but this is a great race.