Really fun but very hilly race. The hills start around mi 3 and continue until mi 10ish. If you're not from Birmingham, you've been warned! The course went through beautiful parts of the city, and support was fairly good. The last 3 mi are flat and carry you down a straight line. On a hot day, this could be an issue for the lack of shade. The full is the same course as the half, completed twice. By the time the Half was finished, support really thinned out. I'm not sure I'd recommend the full marathon.

The medal was a huge Mercedes logo, pretty badass. The shirts were great, and the participant bag was all electronic (which I'm a big fan of). It also included a free subscription to Mens/Women's Health.

The Expo was really crowded, and gave out free beer and coca cola products (not the best for people running a race the following day). The local running store - Trak Shak - http://www.trakshak.com/ had a huge sale in the middle of the expo and it made it pretty claustrophobic. The post race food was classic southern BBQ, provided by Jim& Nicks. YUM!