Jennifer King's Staging Area

I was attracted to this race because finally, a race I could qualify for! As a definite middle-of-the-pack runner, I was excited to challenge myself to meet my qualifying time. Once I did that, I set an ambitious goal of running this race a full five minutes faster than my qualifying time. We drove the course the day before the race, which I *highly* recommend, as there’s more elevation change than just the one big hill toward the beginning. But knowledge is power, and with the right attitude, and surrounded by faster people, I not only made my goal time but smashed my PR by nearly 7 1/2 minutes! The power boost I got from seeing Meb at the 10K point cannot be understated – what an amazing thing for him to do. No fanfare, no entourage; just him, cheering us on. Incredible! Course support was good – I felt that there were plenty of aid stations, and the volunteers were efficient and friendly. There were volunteers on the course to bring our attention to tricky terrain or narrow areas, which was a nice touch. There could have been more porta-potties at the starting line, but it’s a rare race where that’s not the case. I was a tad disappointed in the quality and fit of the jacket, but I’m still happy to have it because of what it represents. And the medal is huge and beautiful! I would definitely do this race again.