I'm in, can't wait.

For better of worse this is my last Marathon. I'm sticking to 1/2's after this. So I'm going out with the 3:10 pace group and will see what happens. My 1/2 time says I should be able to make it (1:29:10), but I've been hit or miss on completing runs at my goal pace this month. Bad weather, recovering from a 1/2 mary, excuse, excuse... So it's really up in the air.

I did this race last year. I ran the 1/2 with some friends and had some friends running the full. It was terrible. It was their inaugural race, but how many races has ING put on in the past? There was a severe lack of water/cups/organization. You couldn't get near a water table for the first 6 or 7 miles of either race. A friend of mine who ran the full just went behind the water table and took a whole gallon of water around mile 14. It was the first drink he could get without waiting 3 minutes for a cup of water. The race director sent out numerous emails the following weeks apologizing for the lack of organization and water. I hope they get it right this year. Plus, the location of the start/finish isn't in the best neighborhood, but who doesn't like being surrounded by crackheads at 6:00 while you're waiting to run a race.
I finished the half in 1:59:59 according to their website soon after I crossed the line, but somehow it got changed to 2:00:00 the next day.
Not sure where you're coming from, but ATL is super humid. We were coming from Ohio last year, so it hadn't gotten that warm yet, but the ATL is still Stanky McNasty, even in March/April.
Good luck!

This is my first ING GA, (Ingga - sounds like a sweddish bar maid, he he he) but I'm banking on those promises of improvement too.

As for "Stanky McNasty"... well, that's what makes it green. And if you think March is bad you should come for a visit during the Peachtree. All 5 million residents of Atlanta pick the hottest day of the year to run. It's like trying to run a 10K on a crowded subway train when the air goes out. It smells, people are getting faint, dogs and cats living together, it's Armageddon. But seriously, all ya'll should visit.

I'll be there for the full. Current weather forecast is awesome .. 49/67 with 30% showers .. which I expect after we're all done .. even me at 5:30:00 or so. I just hope they don't pull all the support before us back-of-the-packers get there.

I did the Inaugural DC Marathon in '02 and walked most of it with a friend. He had a 7 hr goal and hit it on the nose. I left him at 24 and ran in and finished with a 6:43. I even carried a video camera the whole way and filmed our group .. it was crazy.

The crowds were great but officials pulled all support from the course .. even road signs .. so at about 1/2 way we were really on our own. A few water stops remained but it was sketchy. We almost missed a turn and walked off into a "rough" neighborhood. The problem is we were within the 8 hours max for the race. A lot of the later finishers felt really "dismissed" by organizers .. it was not good. Hopefully they've gotten better, or just made the cut-off at 6 hours. Either is fine, just be consistant.

Steve

I did the half in 2:16. My first 1/2 (the Reagan in Feb) I did 2:11, and it's funny both races I had the same exact time at the halfway point and I felt a lot better on this run, but was still 5 minutes behind. Oh well, I had a blast just the same. I thought it was well organized and a lot of people cheering on the course despite the weather. Definitely on the calendar for next year. What's next for the rest of youze guys (I can't bring myself to say y'all :D ). I'm doing a four-miler for the Atlanta Medical Center on 4/12 and John Tanner Tri on 4/26 - anyone else?

Congrats to both of you!

Leroy -- 51 minutes rocks!!!

Up next for me is RockNRoll man down in Macon. Although ya'll have me thinking about John Tanner now. Maybe I ought to spend a wee bit of time on the bike first.

QB - I thought the ING course was a good deal harder than Reagan, so loosing 5 minutes is not too bad.