As my first marathon ever, I couldn't have picked a better one. Of course I'm bias regarding all things space-related, but this one was one well organized and an spectacular event. You could tell by the expo that this event was going to be top notch. The morning started off with me looking for parking. I stayed at a family friend's house instead of renting a room at the nearby hotel and getting shuttled over.

I didn't really see any signs for parking, so I followed some people who I knew were going to the run(due to all the stickers on the back of their car) and followed them to a parking lot behind a raw oyster bar, finding this bar would prove to be troublesome at the end of the run.

Made my way over to the event in time for the half-marathoners to run. What was nice was the countdown was displayed on a screen where they showed a video of a shuttle launch and once the shuttle launched on the screen the runners were launched out of the starting line. The event put up special lights and a fog machine near the starting line for dramatic effect which I thought was a nice touch.

Our start as the marathoners went much of the same way 30 minutes later. The course was beyond gorgeous and 25 out of the 26 miles is located right by the river. In the first 10 miles you could see the NASA spacecraft vehicle assembly building just across the water. I'm not going to lie, this had me geeking out.

The aid stations which were quite frequent, had volunteers in space type costumes such as astronauts, aliens, video game characters, star trek characters and so on. The aid stations consisted of Gatorade and water for the first 13 miles, and then after that they added GU of assorted flavors. One thing I was craving that I should have brought with me or would have liked to see at the aid station was any sort of solid food. When I finally happened at someone's personal aid station with pretzel's I devoured as many as I could. Pretzels never tasted so good...

The crowd was pretty amazing throughout and since my first name is on my bib I heard many people shouting it throughout the run be it onlookers or other runners. Surprisingly enough the post race was my favorite part of the race. Not only was the finish line underneath a shaded pavilion and lined with loud and cheerful onlookers, but I was rewarded the biggest medal in my collection BY FAR and there was pancakes, eggs, beer, and water waiting at the end. 2 pancakes and a plate full of scrambled eggs was just what the doctor ordered.

I may not be overly experienced when it comes to marathons, but I would definitely recommend this one to both veterans of the sport and beginners looking for their first experience. I'll be back next year for sure!