Runner shall not miss this course for 2 reasons. The lake scenery is beautiful. You may break your PB by another 5~10 minutes.
Runners were assigned by sections to cross the start line based on their PB. This was pretty organized but would be better if there were fewer groups to manage. The group I was assigned could only start 20 minutes after the fisrt group. There were another 4 groups behind mine. Runners got cool down quickly.

Race info: Atrocious
Race course: Beautiful
Race weather: Perfect 8-14deg C
Race organization:
Race Pros:Extremely scenic and amazing views together with warm morale support from the sidelines. A chance to be mesmerized by the quiet country scenery of South Korea

Race flaws:Inadequate water station after 35km. Should have more water stations as runners get tired and dehydrated these last few kms of the race. The run-up for the marathon for foreigners are terrible. Not much of information for foreigners and not knowing the local language can be a nightmare for non locals as Koreans can be very poor in the English language.

I'm an English teacher in Korea. This was my fourth and largest marathon I've run in. I couldn't believe how well it was organized it was. My race number, timing chip, race booklet, and jacket were mailed to me about a week and a half before the start. Stayed at Se Jong Hotel the night before; I met some Koreans who were over 60, had started running in their 50's, and had already done over 50 marathons!! When I got to the start area, it was nice because everyone gets sectioned off based on previous marathon time. There were 8 or 9 groups! And an elite group of Kenyans and Ethiopians started ahead of the A group. The course was beautiful as it wrapped around a reservoir. The crowd was sparse in areas, but the scenery made up for it. There were a couple of hilly areas, but nothing to make the legs overly cramped. Some of my friends told me that the porta-johns weren't obvious along the course, but they were there. There was water or sponges or food every 5K. I didn't see any sports gels, so if you like that kind of thing, carry it with you. The weather was perfect for this time of year in Korea! I gave spectators 4 stars just because crowds in Asia are a little more subdued than one might be accustomed to. However, this is probably one of the better supported marathons in Korea. Everyone was friendly. I would do it again if I ever find myself coming back here.

Pre-race: registration was a bit fiddly because you could only pay if you had a Korean credit card; otherwise you had to do an international bank transfer. Communication with the organizers was very good though, and they answered all of my questions since the info on the website in English was a bit patchy at times.

The race itself was well organized, with staggered wave starts inside the stadium for the 20,000 registered runners, the vast majority being Korean male masters runners. They played Chariots of Fire with the start of each wave - very exciting! They had two to three pacers per wave with huge balloons, so they were easy to spot, but I think they were running to gun time or something, because (for example) the four-hour pacer was running about half a minute per kilometer faster than he was supposed to be.

The loop course follows a big lake, so it's mostly flat, although with a 1 KM gradual climb at the 40 KM mark. The first 23 KM or so are quite pretty, with views of forests with the leaves are changing color for autumn, but the rest of the way goes through the city, which is less inspiring - and you have to share the road with traffic.

There were some bands, dancers and drummers along the course, but there weren't many spectators, and lots of them were running clubs who were only looking out for their members.

There were drink/snack stations every 5 KM, and sponge stations halfway between the drink stations. There was plenty of water, Gatorade and snacks including choco-marshmallow-biscuit pies, gels, bananas and cherry tomatoes; but given that the race started at 10 a.m., it was pretty hot and I was driven to trying to drink from the sponges. I don't remember seeing any porta-loos along the course, so guys were peeing everywhere. They do, however, have medics on rollerblades with all sorts of anti-cramping spray, and there was a big casualty tent at around 35 KM where people were getting physios to tape up their legs.

The finish is inside the stadium, which was fantastic. Overall, it was a fun day and a great way to see the area, and you get a lot for the super cheap registration fee (about AUD $40) - a quality, Asics, long-sleeved, warm top instead of a cotton finisher's shirt.

I was in Korea on business and decided to run this marathon. The course was very beautiful, around a lake and over the spillway. Very well organized. Staggered start so no crowding at all despite 24,000 people. Would do it again.