I would not recommend this race. It is really hot and humid, and even more humid because it runs along the Chatahoochee river the whole way. I registered for this race to simply get miles in (training for a marathon, and had 20 on the books for the day). Becaues it's just north of Atlanta, GA, it is REALLY hot. If you aren't careful, you can be running into the danger zone really quickly. I primarily do not recommend it because there were ZERO medical staff or medical teams on-course, and there was not any medical team or staff at the finish line. I had an asthma/panic attack at the end and was likely very overheated, my boyfriend dragged me across the yard and got me to a bench, where he alerted the police on-site what was happening and they were able to locate medical staff.

For how hot and humid this race was this year (and what I've heard, it's like this every year) there MUST be more medical staff present throughout the course. This race also does not use the Event Alert System which is shocking as the size of the field seems like it should warrant needing to use it to keep people informed.

If you're looking for an easy spring marathon, Publix Atlanta is NOT the course for you! You'll be challenged with the hills, but the feeling of crossing this finish line is absolutely amazing! The new course is an awesome way to see the city of Atlanta and a lot of the great places that locals run through on a regular basis. The expo was small, but focused on QUALITY, not quantity. I'd also advise that if you are running the marathon, be warned that you are truly in the minority here, as the half marathon shines in participation numbers. That being said, the second half of this course is where you are truly tested, and rewarded with running closer to many of the sites where the Olympics took place.

I ran the marathon in 2018 and overall, it was a great experience. We had absolutely amazing weather, and after training through a hellish Chicago winter, I ran an 11-minute PR. Overall, it's an awesome event that I would definitely do again.
That being said, there are a few things I think this race could do better. I'll echo a few other reviews in that they need to be more strict on the start corrals. I was in corral C and we saw bibs with A-F starting in our corral with us. Much of the first two miles were spent weaving through people walking, and with a course that has a ton of turns already, it sucks that extra energy had to be expelled early on to stay on a comfortable pace (mind you, it wasn't even a fast pace - about 9:10/mile).
Second, there were a lot of locals giving out water and Powerade throughout the course besides the official stops. I am insanely GRATEFUL for that, because there were not enough official stops on the course, even though I carried my own water and it wasn't even that hot. The crowd support was so much better than I expected too, which was awesome. There were some barren parts on the marathon course (namely somewhere between 21-23) but for a smaller city I'm very impressed with the local support. I ran the Chicago Marathon this past year (2017) and I thought nothing would live up to that, and although there were less than Chicago (it is a major after all) I definitely was able to draw support from those cheering. It was kind of better because some would yell encouraging things (like if there was a downhill coming up after a big uphill climb) and you could actually hear them because it wasn't oversaturated with sound.
Third, there is clearly a divide between the number of people who do the minimarathon and the marathon. If you register for this event (marathon) know that you're in the minority and more attention is paid to the minimarathon participants. This is clear from the marketing, packet pick-up, and the memorabilia available to purchase.
Another weird course thing is that the mile markers were very, very off. Sometimes there would be two mile markers indicating the same distance a half mile apart, and other times the marker would be off by almost a quarter of a mile. My watch aligned really well with the course (the end read 26.3 miles total, which whatever, room for error) but having that much of a difference is unacceptable in my mind for a Boston Qualifying course. That's the reason why I'm giving 4 instead of 5 stars.
The finish area I think has improved from previous years *based on other reviews I've read.* I ran an average time (4:33) and there was still bagels, Powerade, and muffins available at the end. I missed out on Chocolate milk (sad because choccy is my favorite), but other than that the medical team was very attentive, there were volunteers with plenty of medals, and the aforementioned fuel after walking a bit around the corner.
But, my biggest qualm *besides the mile markers* is something that coule be easily fixed. Provide an uber/lyft dropoff and pick-up point somewhere. We spent a bit of the evening prior to the race trying to figure out the best dropoff point (luckily, our driver that morning had a pretty good idea), but we waited for almost 30 minutes for an uber/lyft to pick us up. My friends (who did the mini) found a spot that traffic seemed to flow through pretty well, told me to meet them there once I finished, and even then it was quite a walk from the finish (not fun after running 26.2 miles). Our driver had the hardest time finding us (was not about to run around trying to find our driver) but if there was a point the event management could designate for those types of pick-ups and drop-offs, I think it would be more attractive to out-of-towners.
As I said, all in all an awesome event. One I would definitely do again in a few years, and I definitely enjoyed my weekend in Louisville. I'm insanely happy with my PR, and I like the course. Even after training on the flatlands of Chicago :)