I live about 3 hours from Lincoln but had never been to the city (or to Nebraska). I've always heard good things about the Lincoln Marathon, so I decided that in 2017, it would be my Spring "A" race. I had heard plenty about this race from co-workers and other members of my running group, so I had a decent idea of what to expect out in Lincoln. As with any Spring race in the Midwest, the weather can be really hit or miss. This year, it was a miss, but more on that later.

I had heard that the expo wasn't very well organized, but I didn't think that was true at all. It was in a hotel in downtown in Lincoln. You picked up your bib and shirt downstairs, and the main expo was upstairs. If you've run Twin Cities, it's basically an identical set-up. The expo had a lot of good vendors, especially if you needed some new running gear for cheap. I also really liked the race shirt! It wasn't a surprise to me that it was red. But a very simple logo and minimal advertising makes it look really sharp!

Come race morning it was a little warm and windy (as advertised). "Officially" the starting temp was 53, but at mile three I spotted a bank showing 60 degrees, so it was probably 60 in the sun at that point. It went up from there. The start of the races goes in waves, which was extremely well organized. The only real complaint I had about the first few miles was that if you got stuck behind a pace group, it took a while to get around them as they took up the entire road. Otherwise, for the first 5 miles or so you've got a couple rolling hills and you run almost straight south (into the wind for us). But nothing that would or should scare you (in terms of hills).

Around mile 6 you turn onto a bike path going through some local parks. This is a nice stretch of the race for a few miles. I heard it can get congested in here since the path is narrow, but I didn't experience that. For me, this is where I first took notice of how the temperature was really starting to creep up. After turning off the bike path, you'll get a couple hills in your way until you're almost to mile 11. From here, it's back through downtown Lincoln.

At about 12.75 you have an option. Continue on in the marathon, or cash it in and just run 13. If you soldier on, you'll lose a majority of people you're running with, a lot of crowd support, and any/all shade.

Yes, the last 13 is rough, especially on a hot day. Zero shade back here on this out and back, and we went into the wind on the out (with it on the way back obviously). I guess there's not much to say about this part. It's a standard out and back, and not a whole lot of crowd support out here. You will encounter the largest hill of the race here as well. On the elevation chart it looks like a gradual hill. It really isn't. Your reward? Getting to mile 19. It's not a huge hill by any stretch, but anything seems more daunting at that point of the race.

Head back the way you came, and then you too get to make the turn into Memorial Stadium. I really liked that the marathon is split from the Half when finishing, so it isn't a huge cluster. Finishing on the field is a nice touch, but I feel like it would be a lot more fun/memorable if you were a Nebraska football fan.

The only thing I hated about this race is the finishers chute. Literally the worst one I've ever experienced. All runners are shuffled into the tunnel where there is food, water, and soda. This is very narrow, slow, and a bit claustrophobic. You won't make it through here quick, so if you're really hurting after the race, give yourself some time before going through that little loop. Oh, and you get to walk up a steep ramp to get your bag check. Not nice.

But overall, this is a very well run race!