Alex D's Staging Area

This was my 15th marathon and probably sits somewhere in the middle. It was a solid small race with a few things that worked really well. Race day bib pick up is a huge plus, most of the course was really scenic, start area processes were smooth, LOTS of water stations and gels on the course, volunteers were great, and crowd support was solid on busier parts of the course.

Despite the scenic course, it was pretty boring. A big chunk of the full was out and back / looping on the rail trail (we ran over some parts 3+ times) and crowds were sparse outside of the start/finish and relay checkpoint areas. Also, the portapotties on the other side of the start chute from bag drop was a bit annoying. Also, yes the first half was hilly, but the second was flat. It really wasn’t that bad in terms of hills.

Overall, I’m glad I ran but wouldn’t be top of my list to do again.

This was my 13th marathon and first MCM – it’s probably my second favorite I’ve done after New York. The crowds were awesome, miles ~4-20 are some of my favorites I’ve done with lots of time along the river and through the monuments, volunteers were great, and it felt very moving with all of the military members watching, volunteering, and running (especially during the Blue Mile). All of the organization and race morning were pretty painless as well (for a big race, at least).

Few things that kept it from being incredible:
-The corrals were meaningless – they need a much stricter corral system than self seeding. I lined up a little aggressively for my expected pace and was still stuck trying to weave for the first 2 miles or so. It added a decent amount of distance and led to a few slow miles that I probably overdid trying to make back up later.
-They could really use another few water stops. There are several stretches of 2-3 miles without water. The part on the bridge around mile 20 was brutal without a stop, especially on a super humid day.
-The last 5-6 miles in Chrystal city are boring after all of the excitement of DC, though the finish line and finish party were great.

That said, awesome race and would totally run it again!

I ran the inaugural marathon. The race was decently well organized, nice flat course that was pretty interesting overall (especially views of Statue of Liberty), and volunteers/spectators were great for an early race in the rain. I imagine spectators would be even better in nicer weather. I had a huge PR so certainly can’t complain!

The expo was painless, though the shirt is not my favorite (boring block letter design). I never saw finish snacks either, think they were in a separate finish area but should have been in the finish chute. Pretty decent medium sized marathon!