I got confused and had to run for 14 km instead of 12 km due to lack of directions.

Run the HM 2013. Number of participants around 230 including the ones from Full M. Unique course because you run among history. Organisation not comparable with the international races. Almost familiar but everything went fine. Transportation ok. No chip, no sponsor, no free T-Shirt.
Reading from previous experiences I was ready for the worst but end up in a nice experience. The HM is running along a ring of 10Km (to repeat 2 time) and the same for the marathon (to repeat 4 times). No evidence for each Km. GPS mandatory.
Sightseeing after the race unforgettable.

To compare this to a European or US marathon would be unfair... except a vast majority of the people running it are European or American. For what it is, a marathon in Egypt, it's good. Lovely course, though a bit dangerous. You battle kids wanting money and tourist buses the whole time. I wouldn't do it again, but all in all, it was something you should do, given the chance.

This race is organized on a shoestring, even after 18 years. Do not expect microchips, pacers, extra toilets, or a free t-shirt. The distance markers are every 10K, and the water stations vary from 2.5-11.5K, and water and bananas are served. The organization and marking are a bit chaotic. The distances are incorrect.

The surroundings are nice, though you have to run a loop four times.

The organizers' hotel is great, and the gala dinner was good. Take it for what it is - a race in unique surroundings - but this is no European or US event when it comes to organization.

My wife and I traveled to Luxor to do our African marathon as part of our seven-continent marathon program. It was a small field of runners on a flat course, in a very historic area of the Valley of the Queens. We enjoyed it and ran personal best times. The host hotel was great. I also thought that the organization was good and the drink stations were well located (providing water and bananas, which was all we needed). Great experience, and it allowed us to see Egypt.

I like quiet events with a small field of runners, so this marathon was made for me - with 59 marathon finishers in 2009. Warm weather in the middle of the European winter, water/banana posts every 2.5 KM and limited traffic (all of that with the ancient monuments and back-country scenery). Keep in mind that it's an African country, and enjoy your run like we did.
The host hotel is worth its price - recommended!

It was my 3rd marathon. I really enjoyed the course and the weather, but unfortunately the course is not safe and needs to be improved; it must be good for tourism in Egypt, but Luxor deserves better marathon organization.

As part of my 7-continents marathon tour, I was very disappointed in the organization for this race. During my run I was constantly distracted by the many kids that kept begging for money. The race only provided water stands and diced bananas - that's it The course was unorganized as well, with cars everywhere on our race course, and there were very few police and very few street closures for us. There were not enough people running the race in general! After the 4:30 mark, many of the cones were being taken from the course (even though there were still runners running). To top it off, they didn't even distribute medals to us upon our finish. We had to meet at another location later in the evening to receive them! This was by far the most horrible marathon experience ever. But at least the pyramids, medal, certificate and dinner gala made up for the race!

The course was very unorganized! I was afraid of getting hit by cars, buses, and even other pedestrians. Natives grabbed your hands and begged for money. The food given was 1 banana and some water. In the news they stated that over 1,500 people ran, but if you look at the results, the combined number of marathoners, half marathoners, 10K runners and roller-bladers were 200! NO FEMALES SHOULD RUN THIS MARATHON!!!!! The behavior of the natives was UNACCEPTABLE!

This is the last race I would recommend for females. During the first loop of the 4, the children were tolerable, running alongside, asking for money and candy. By the 4th loop, the children were more aggressive, grabbing at the females as they ran by. Bring pepper spray if you plan on running this race. The other drawback was that there was no energy drinks offered along the course - just water.