Pittsburgh continues to provide one of the best marathons in my book. The marathon course is a single loop around all parts of the city, showing off Pittsburgh’s unique beauties, not to mention diverse neighborhoods. The course has a few hills but I do like the downhill towards the end of the race. The expo is excellent: large with lots of booths and activities including beer and wine sampling. Swag is excellent. Food and setup at the end of the race is well managed.

Expo is topnotch, exciting running over no less than 7 bridges. well organized and well supported. I difficult incline at mile 12, and has a moderate level of hills throughout the race. 1st couple of miles and last couple of miles flat. A little crowded at family reunion area at Point state Park after finish. good level of crowd support

I have run this race 8 times - I always look forward to it as it approaches and am saddened when it is over. If you have not run this race, it is a must! Pittsburgh rolls out the red carpet for the runners! Great entertainment, well-volunteered, safe, plenty of aid stations, great swag, fun city!

This is my hometown race, so I'm a bit biased. But the Pittsburgh Marathon is a well-organized, well-supported race with a large expo. Race weekend consists of full and half marathons, and marathon relay on Sunday; a 5k, kid's races, and a dog-friendly walk on Saturday. Complete both the Saturday 5k and a longer race on Sunday for extra "Steel Challenge" bling. The full marathon is a loop course that travels through several neighborhoods of Pittsburgh with fantastic views of the city. I appreciate that there are no out-and-back sections, and with the exception of the first and last miles, you will not repeat any of the roads on the course, so the scenery is always new. Crowd support is spectacular with innovative cheer groups (think the option to run a few strides with a rescued greyhound). A significant hill at mile 12 marks the beginning of many miles of constantly rolling hills, until a nice downhill stretch at mile 23 with a flat finish. Challenging but doable.

Awesome course, great race support, fan support was the best I've seen. My wife and I ran it and had a great time! I would definitely recommend this race, also probably good for a BQ.

Registration was easy. Expo was well run. You can switch race shirt for another size at Expo if you want. Starting corals were nice. Crowd was enthusiastic the whole course. One long uphill had volunteer runners to help you pace up it. Finisher medals were nice. Food at end was good and plentiful. Runners got to see all of Pittsburgh and run a couple of its bridges.

I cannot say enough positive things about the 2019 race; Incredible organization, well stocked aid stations, and the course is the best of Pittsburgh. I went into this race prepared to run hills and had read reviews that said to train on hills, but I didn't really feel anything on the course was too steep or challenging. Course support was quite impressive especially given the rainy weather. Great start time, easy access from local hotels, and super nice people. I will recommend this race to absolutely anybody and everybody - those wanting to run their first marathon and those looking for a nice Sunday 26.2 long run.

Very well organized. and lots of great support. It's a Keystone Challenge event so if you do Philadelphia as well you can get an extra medal.

The Pittsburgh marathon has it all - a great course, amazing crowds and volunteers, swag galore, and a wonderful post race event. The course is a loop through all neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, with a lot of variety in scenery and a good mix of hills and flat road. There is one big hill at mile 12 and a massive downhill towards the end of the race.

I don't do city races often, but this is one I will do again. Very well planned from the expo to the race. Although the second half is hilly, there are some many people out in the neighborhoods that I didn't really mind it. Double check when booking your hotel, that they have easy access to parking (Stayed at a hotel near the finish and the valet wouldn't get cars until 3pm after the race). Overall, a great city race!!

One of the best races I have ever done - it was cold and rainy outside, but still, people came out to cheer! I could not go 1/4 mile without seeing someone cheering. Even going through some of the ghettos of Pittsburgh, young kids were out shaking empty milk cartons full of coins. Definitely would recommend this race to anyone!

I like many things about this race. Great Race expo, perfect weather conditions, and probably the best race traffic control I have experienced - literally there was no traffic anywhere on the course. The volunteers and people were great - even after 5 hours between the last water stop and the finish line there was a crowd to cheer us on. I would do this race again.

Two negatives - the hills are continuous from approximately mile 12 onwards with a big downhill at the end. They are serious about their 6 hour cut-off - plan to beat the cut-off if your are slower.

nice course overall, you go through several nice neighbourhoods. I did find the first 6 miles or so rather dull, through the city and lots of underpasses. Lots of people cheering on the sidelines. It is quite congested at the start as the full and half start at the same time. We were in corral C and it took us over 30 minutes to cross the start line and it was avery cold windy morning. They also took 2 bridges out of the course which I found disappointing as one of the reasons I signed up for Pittsburgh was to run the 5 bridges. I chose Pittsburgh for the state of Pennsylvania, I think if I could do it again there are nicer courses to run in this state. Large expo, long sleeve tech shirt and pair of socks in goody bag