The new additions for this year’s Miami Marathon didn’t begin on the course, it began even before the expo. A new feature added this year was a VIP experience. Runners who registered for the VIP Experience at $150, got more than their money’s worth. From a pre-race cocktail reception on Friday to express packet pick-up at the expo and a VIP area inside the expo that included pre-race massages, warm up apparatuses, and Normatec devices. VIP’s also received a special Lifetime Jacket that is the nicest piece of race swag I’ve ever received.

The expo itself was filled to the gills with great vendors. Held again at Mana Wynwood, the Miami Marathon has found a great expo home here. They had lines of food trucks outside in the AthlEAT area, which was awesome. While at the expo, I made sure to visit the exceptional team from Athlinks. It was great to catch up with them, and know they were rooting for all the runners. Their technology got even more sophisticated this year, and spectators loved the ease of use for tracking their favorite runners.

The new course layout was a welcomed on for the full marathon runners. Instead of finishing in a wide open area with the sun coming down on us, we had a canopy that kept us cooler. The Miami course is always the star from the cruise ships on MacArthur to Ocean Drive and Venetian Causeway to Downtown and the Grove. You can't go wrong with this picturesque town of the greatest city in the world.

I want to congratulate Frank Ruiz and the entire Miami Marathon team. Every year, they add new wrinkles that have taken this race weekend to a whole new level putting it in the upper echelon of marathons around the globe.