I picked this Marathon based on their marketing of the scenic route, epic finisher's medals, and amazing post-race party. Here was my experience in 2019:

Packet Pick-up/Expo:
-The packet pickup and expo was held in a small size building in La Villita, near the convention center in San Antonio.
- I had to wait over 1.5 hours to pick up my packet.
- My t-shirt size was wrong ( it was not what I ordered) and when I asked if it could be exchanged, the staff person said "no", because they had already let other people switch.

Race Swag:
-This Marathon is really about the MEDAL! It’s huge!
- The t-shirt was also amazing.

Course:
-The course has many beautiful parts- past the historic missions, the River Walk, The San Antonio River and through a lot of neighborhoods.
- The distance markers seemed to fade away at the end of the marathon and the direction signs weren't helpful the last 5-6 miles of the race.

Course Support:
-In my opinion, course support was a total failure for those running the marathon. The race management knows how to successfully run a 13.1 event, but was ill-prepared for a marathon.
After the half marathon turn off, the hydration stations were sparse. Several tables were empty with no volunteers or water left. Water at one stop was warm- almost hot. At another station, the water tasted so bad, I had to spit it out. The one volunteer at that table apologized and said a lot of people were spitting it out. There were no electrolyte drinks that I saw.The best run support was a table of snacks provided by a local Running Group- not the race management.
- Lack of medical staff. At Mile 17, I blew something in my knee. If there had been a medic anywhere nearby, I would have DNF the race and quit. I was in so much pain. However, I never came across anyone and at the next waterstop they told me it would take at least an hour to get me help, so I walked/ran the rest of the marathon.

End of Race:
-The race had really hyped the awesome “after party”. Well, not for people who finished the marathon after 4 hours. The food and chocolate milk was WIPED out. The staff half-heartedly showed us that they had a few cold baked potatoes left.
-The staff said the 5k, 10k, and half marathon participants got to the snacks first! This felt insulting to those of us taking on 26.2 that snacks weren’t put aside.
-It was hard to find the finisher’s jackets and once again, I couldn’t get the size I ordered because other people who got there first took the XS even though that’s what I had ordered.

Conclusion:
-I would consider running this marathon again, ONLY with assurances that race hydration and staffing had changed. Overall, I did not find the staff management helpful or understanding. Running a marathon is hard enough and I count on a basic level of support.