I ran the Anthem Richmond Marathon for the first time this year after hearing good things from friends, and I had a great experience at the race! It was well-organized, it was a nice course, there were great crowds with lots of fun signs and the swag was awesome. In 2017, it was the race's 40th anniversary, and there were newspaper-themed promotions, such as retro shirts you could buy (which I did) and a Retro Richmond copy of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, because it used to be the Richmond Newspapers Marathon. One random finisher also received a real ruby for the 40th anniversary. (This person actually finished just ahead of me; my time was 4:47:52.)

The swag definitely deserves a 5, even a 5+ if that were an option. The race includes the marathon, half marathon and 8K, and marathon and half marathon runners got a cozy fleece blanket upon finishing the race. I love it! I also received a stainless steel pint glass, which I also think is cool, along with a long-sleeved tech shirt. I also think the finisher medal is beautiful.

There were water and Powerade stops every two miles on the marathon course and every mile during the last 10K. The only complaint was that I had to grab a cup of water from a table at the first stop instead of having it handed to me, but after that, volunteers at each stop handed me water, which was normally two cups at each stop for me. I found it extremely helpful to have the stops consistently every two miles, so I knew where to expect them. I used them as part of my race strategy, walking at each one, and continuing to walk at every other stop in the last part, when there were twice as many stops. There was also a candy stop about halfway through, other junk food stops, Honey Stinger stops and stops for wet wash cloths.

I thought the course scenery was nice. It was great to see all the fall leaves! The course included more urban portions of the city, such as the Downtown area, along with neighborhoods and bridges. The crowds were great, particularly in the second half of the course, and there were lots of fun signs to read.

The expo was at the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center. I easily got my bib, but I was surprised we went into the Sports Backers store section before getting our race shirt. I continued along to get my race shirt and bag and then went back to the store later. There seemed to be a decent variety of vendors, and there were even Sierra Nevada beer samples at the time I went. It did seem crowded, though. I was disappointed I missed Bart Yasso, who was at the expo, but that was not the fault of the marathon — I just didn't leave early enough and got stuck in traffic.

Although others may rank the elevation difficulty as less difficult than my 3-star rating, as I had heard this race was relatively flat, but it felt hilly to me. I live in an extremely flat area. My watch logged 764 feet of elevation gain during the race.

I didn't rate parking/access because I stayed in a hotel and walked to the start.

Race management was great! I felt like I had all the information I needed to know. The course was clearly marked and everything went very smoothly. I also enjoyed having Sierra Nevada beer at the finish (one was complimentary). Post-race food included a piece of pizza along with a banana, bagel and granola bar. There were also post-race massages, but I didn't get to the tent early enough for that — there was a long line ahead of me. There was also a spot for post-race yoga.

I also thought it was cool that the Top 300 finishers in each age group for the marathon made it into a special section of the Richmond Times-Dispatch the next day.

To read my full recap on my blog, go here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2017/11/15/fun-signs-good-advice-and-a-confidence-boost-at-the-anthem-richmond-marathon/