I trained for this marathon with lofty BQ goals, after getting injured a couple months prior to the race I was really bummed about letting go of those. However, the course was awesome, the crowd was epic and regardless of goal times, this was one of my favorite races.

I read a review on the course before I ran it that read something like: the first half of the course is super fast, around miles 14-16 the crowds thin out and the reality of the amount of work left to do sets in. I'd say this is pretty accurate. There were a few miles the city skyline completely disappeared and the finish line seemed impossibly far away. But there really wasn't any point on the course where there wasn't anyone cheering or encouraging you to keep on powering through.

Really dug the mostly flat course, although the last little incline (I'll call it a mountain in context of sitting at mile 25.something) was rude... I'd recommend mentally preparing yourself for that one in advance.

Only complaint is the finisher's shirt seemed like an after thought. Ploy on Nike's part to get you to buy the $45 alternatives?

In a nutshell: awesome race, and absolutely worth every painful step down the stairs the next day.