This is my second year running this Georgia Publix event and my first time attacking the marathon (also, my first marathon). Atlanta is probably not the best city to do 26.2 for the first time in. The city support is outstanding, the hills and geography make it very difficult. Just a heads up. I train here, and knew this in advance and it still hit hard.

The expo this year was in a hotel expo hall instead of the world congress center. It made parking cheaper but the expo itself was smaller too. It was nice to try Nuun and Clif bars but I liked the booths with cute race shirts and such that were at the expo last year. The marathon t-shirt is long sleeved and SO soft and comfortable. Love, love it and will wear it a LOT! Its unisex but fits great, and I don't like the women's cut shirts anyways.

Race morning was very well organized. It was very easy to get dropped off right at the park as the roads hadn't closed yet. Corrals and booths were clearly marked (although some booths hard to see because the sun hadn't come up yet). I don't always notice the national anthem before every race but I'm glad I heard it before this one.

The first few miles of the course were exactly as I remembered from last year, and the sun came up as we ran over Freedom Parkway, giving us the BEST view of downtown Atlanta. Aid stations and cheer squads were plentiful and there were plenty of porta potties and garbage cans along the way. I remember seeing people clearing the cups from the roads to keep them clean.

The vibe was a lot more relaxed for a few miles after the marathoners split off. There were still plenty of aid stations and volunteers with signs to direct us. The volunteers this race were excellent - many of them shouting how far ahead aid stations and porta-potties were. The city of Decatur had the best signs.

The course is VERY hilly, especially in the second half. The hilly Lullwater/Highland area will get ya if you aren't ready for it. The volunteers in those areas especially need recognition, including community spectators who were ready with Vaseline and pickles, the lubrication and salt were so appreciated at that point.

My only complaint, and its a big one to me, is the lack of mile marker signs. After the mile 17 marker there were no more signs until mile 25. Unless you memorized the course, you had no idea where exactly you were, and by that point in a race nobody had run perfect tangents. I figured the timing mat was at mile 20 but didn't know for sure until after the race was over. The volunteers had an idea of about where the mile points were, but a lot of them were very OFF (someone in Piedmont park told me I had about a mile and a half left, when I had double). Everyone around me seemed to be confused and irritated by this as well so it wasn't just me. This was my first marathon, so I don't know if mile points the entire race are a normal thing, but it seemed weird to skip 18-24 like that. There also wasn't a mile 26 marker this year, but there was a mile 13. I am almost positive I remember seeing the 26 last year as I was finishing the half. I'm not going to pretend I was the fastest runner out there, but I was definitely not out there long enough to warrant someone removing the signs either if that's what happened.

The GA tech aid stations were very helpful and there was a volunteer who even ran next to me while filling my bottle so I didn't have to stop. The medal was awesome!

Overall I will do this race again, and wouldn't rule out the marathon distance. I would just like to see some improvement in the mile markers for the marathoners (in other words, have them!).