This was the best of all of my marathons. I did my Santiago Marathon to train for the Porto Alegre Marathon, and I had the best time. The course for the run was excellent, with the first part ascending and the second part descending. The weather was perfect, with nice temperatures and a good level of humidity as well. Very nice!

Organization: Well organized. Simple expo (not a shopping event). Race was full but they told me I was free to be a "bandit" but I had to start at 8:30 with the 10K instead of 8:00 for the full. Even being the last runner for 11 miles I found every water stop manned with no shortage of water/Gatorade. Course: Urban but more scenic in the first half. Seemed to be mostly downhill the first half also, which put some manageable hills in the last 6 miles. All intersections were staffed with marshals and police. What roads weren't closed had lanes dedicated to runners and marked by small cones. Distance markers easily viewable every kilometer; convert those pace bands! Runners: Probably over 90% of the runners wore their cool-looking tech souvenir shirts during the race. Don't know if that was part of the instructions or not as yo no hablo espanol. It was pretty cool looking though! Spectators: Very few, and for some reason they all spoke Spanish. :) Post-race: This bandit went hungry! The registered runners seemed to get some fruit and a little something else... no buffet! They also got a nice little medal. Weather: Day before - sunny, 80 F. Race day - overcast, 50-60 F. Lucky. Conclusion: Well oraganized race, decent course with lots of water/Gatorade (no gels) and a no-frills expo. If I'm ever there on race weekend I'd run it again but only if I register early enough 'cause I didn't get a medal or one of the cool tech shirts. I know what you're thinking: "Why'd you run then?" It was kind of nice knowing I could lumber along and no one would ever know!!!

I had been told that this is the largest marathon in South America but compared with most it is small in terms of numbers of runners and spectators. The marshals did their best to keep the marathon flowing but the event was largely ignored by the locals and certainly by the impatient road users. After the half marathon finished it really was a lonely existence. I agree that there should have been more markers indicating distance... the only occasion that I was aware of my time was when I crossed the finish line. (A very poor time but that's another story - I really do struggle in the heat, and training for four months through a Scottish winter is no preparation for such conditions... although for those from warmer climes it probably was fine.) I really did struggle through lack of water... the very small cups every 5km were inadequate. I did enjoy Santiago and Chile on the whole and met some really nice people.