I was not expecting to love this race as much as I did. It was really cold for March that morning, crowded, and long distance races in Atlanta make me nervous because it's such a hilly city.
Expo- another expo at the congress center. My boss let me go during my lunch so I avoided paying for parking by taking a coworkers unlimited Marta card and it was not crowded. There were a lot of vendors and they had some really great stuff - tons of samples, a publix salad shaker, and gear and apparel vendors. I got some really great shirts for future racing.

Race morning-
I can't comment on parking because I work so close I was able to use my work deck and walk over, a nice bonus. Gear check was well organized as was the starting corral line up. I like that they keep the half and full marathoners together for the first few miles of the course. Course support was plentiful and despite the early starting time, well lit. My favorite part of this race though was running through piedmont park. I could hear a couple people gaining on me as I was running into the park, and I turned to see a visually impaired runner KILLING it with 2 guides. Everyone around us was cheering him on. This is why I love the running community.

The last few miles flew by and although the last few tenths heading to the finish are slightly uphill it wasn't bad. I managed to PR this race by 2 minutes and the medal is awesome! It's huge and has a giant 13.1 in it. The recovery jacket was appreciated too. Nice treat box of snacks. I can't wait for this race again, and next time I'm shooting for the marathon distance.