The Montgomery Marathon was my first marathon pacing gig. The race was a mixture of road and trail running. I paced the 6:45 group so I got to hang out with the back of the pack. The race had a 7 hour time limit.

The Expo and packet pick up
Packet pick up was really simple and quick. The expo was pretty small with less than 20 vendors. There were plenty of great products for sale.

The course
The first 12 miles of the course was a scenic journey through the street of Montgomery. We ran through Alabama State University and the state capitol. The neighborhoods were great. Once the half marathon and marathon course split, I headed for a 10 mile run through Maxwell Air Force Base. Around mile 17, we ran on gravel trail that had wildlife (alligators) warnings. Thankfully I didn't see one. After Maxwell AFB, we headed toward the finish.

How can the race improve?
1. There were no timing mats on the course. That makes this race ripe for cheating and losing runners.
2. There were no official sweeper vehicles to divert runners. One runner was behind me and didn't cross the finish line with the other later runners. I am not sure what happened to her.
3. Near the end of the race, many of the water stations had water in cooler containers, but no volunteers to give water.
4. There was no time marker for each mile so it is was difficult to determine your official time.
5.More volunteers/officers should have been present during the trail with the gators or avoid that route all together for safety purposes.

Overall the the race was an good experience. The medal and post race food was wonderful.