This was my first time running the Marine Corps Marathon and it was quite the experience. You are moved by the Remembrance Mile, where you are reminded of how many give their lives for our freedom. You run past some of the most iconic monuments of our country. You do all of this, while running with 40,000 of your closest running friends. It is a truly memorable day.

Morning of the Race:
I stayed at the Clarion Inn 1 mile from the Finish Line. The morning of the race, I left the hotel at 5am and walked to the runners village. There was a checkpoint near Iwo Jima that took me about 5 minutes to get through. I then walked up the course to the village which was in the parking lot of the Pentagon. You were able to get water and there were plenty of Porta Johns. No real comfortable places to sit or rest, except for a grassy bank near the wall on the south side of the parking lot, otherwise you sat on the asphalt. (bring a towel or pillow to rest on while you wait). Bag check was easy and when it was time to walk to the start it was clear where to go. There was even porta johns along the starting corrals.

Course:
You start off running up hills, once you get that out of the way it is relatively flat until the last .2, but you have Marines yelling for you and the pushing you to the finish. There are several out and back sections that you are able to get a true sense of how many people are running the race, awesome. The sights are one of a kind. (Capitol, White House, Pentagon, Lincoln Monument, etc). Plenty of water stops and support on course as well.

Expo:
PACKED, you walk into expo and directly into Brook's exhibit which feels like you are a herd of cattle. Once you realize you don't have to stand in the line at Brooks and can simply walk around into the rest of the expo it is not so bad. Pick up was simple and very friendly. Getting to the expo involved, taking the Metro and then a bus which was easy and well organized.

Sway -
Shirt was ok, the medal was great

Finish Line:
Amazing......Marines hand you your medal and thank you for running. WOW. I think I shook every Marines hand that I could.

This is the quintessential BIG marathon. You run shoulder to shoulder for 26.2 miles, for some that can be overwhelming, but the tradeoff is unbelievable sights and experiences. It is worth it to put your name in the lottery and run it at least once.