This was my second marathon and because of my experience I will definitely be back for more. Chicago has so much to offer as a Marathon city, no wonder it is in the top six "World Class" Marathons. Highest on the list is the crowd support. There is hardly a single yard where there was a lack of people with signs, food, water or some form of support.

The weather was also PERFECT. I was terrified that it was going to either be stiflingly hot or frigidly cold. I could not have asked for better weather. The only thing I would have asked would have been for a bit of cloud coverage.

My one criticism would be of the 27th mile post-race event. After finishing the race, you get your heat blanket and medal which are great. Water and nutrients are nowhere to be found. I was offered beer before water, and that was NOT happening. I had to walk another several yards through a ton of people to find water. I contemplated fainting just so that I could get what I needed. All of the runner have to continue walking about a half mile to the post race events. The biggest problem with this is that non-racing family members are allowed into the finish party and crowd the finish line area so that it is more difficult to move. Organizationally, this area should have been kept completely clear so that finishers could get what they need more quickly.

Overall, this is an amazing marathon with fantastic crowd support. If I have any say in the matter, I will be back for more.

I have done the Cooper River Bridge Run for four years now. This year, the run's 37th installation was the best of the four. For example, two years ago in 2012, the run start time of 8:00 AM was delayed by one hour, and transportation from downtown to the starting line was the most disgusting nightmare imaginable. All of this was exacerbated by the announcer constantly saying "five more minutes" for 45 minutes straight. All of these are mistakes that hopefully will never be repeated because of the outcry of disappointment.

This years race (2014) was almost flawless. Unlike 2012 where I waited for two hours to board a school bus to take me to the starting line, I was able to literally park my car and walk onto a bus to get there. Start time? 8:00 AM sharp.

The Bridge Run has been and always will be a difficult 10 K because of the sharp incline running up the bridge. This incline alone shaves about 3 minutes off of y 10 K time. The view of the city from the top is worth the pain. Descending the opposite side can be equally intimidating because it is easy to start flying down the hill.

The only other issue is that the Bridge Run Post-Race event tries to shove 45,000 people into Marion Square: a space 6.5 acres large. If this race is going to continue to "improve" it definitely needs to improve its post-race process.

The Expo recently moved to North Charleston in light of the Guillard Auditorium's construction. This was also a brilliant change considering how much more accessible it is.

Overall, the Bridge Run is a fun race in a beautiful city. It has some kinks to work out after 37 going on 38 years, but as long as they keep the organizational level at its height, there is no reason why it will not remain a world-class 10 K.

This was my first marathon and it was a great one! Charleston is a beautiful city and this Marathon was a great tour of Charleston and its surroundings. That being said, the course at times was barren and monotonous. Charleston has so much to offer, I feel that this race could have done so much more to feature that rather than running for an eternity into the bowels of North Charleston and the Navy Yards. Because of this, there were also very few spectator opportunities and crowd support except at the beginning, finish, and along Park Circle.

January is a beautiful month in Charleston, but on this particular day it was literally below freezing for the first three hours and barely above freezing for the finish. I was a block of ice at the end. The entire race was also against a hard, cold wind. Obviously both of these could not be controlled and doing a marathon in Charleston not in Winter would be a HUGE mistake.

The race overall was incredibly well organized and all of the volunteers and aid station workers were great and amazing. The start and finish are not at the same spot, but it is incredibly easy to get between the two via provided transportation. I will definitely do the Charleston Marathon again: it is an amazing little Marathon. I hope however, that the cold and wind are not as intense.