Startline Racing is a fantastic race management company and I wanted my first marathon to be with them.

I really liked how the race was small overall, that helped me in my confidence because I wasn't overwhelmed with tens of thousands of other runners. Although the smallness backfired on me at the end. I was lonely at the end of the race. The last 6 miles I ran alone and that was dreadful. For some moments I was scared because no one was around and I thought if I got injured who would know.

The course was along the canals of Peoria and Phoenix, that was cool because I didn't have to worry about traffic. But running under the streets in the underpasses was annoying because of the steepness of the sidewalks.

The race management was wonderful. I'm slow and they waited for me and the other slow runners. That was nice that the finish line was still up when I ran through (I have been to some races that they shut down the finish line and it made for a sad moment.)

Still, I was beyond happy to finish my first marathon with Startline and I was proud that I did it!