Expo: The expo was at the host hotel and was fairly low key. There were a few exhibitors, including a couple local shops, the Jeff Galloway Race in Atlanta, and the stick. There was no line for packet pickup, so I picked up my bib, race shirt and race hat and headed back to my hotel

Pre-Race: There was some confusion about when the marathon would start. While the website always stated the race would start at 6am, the official race guide email said 6:15. After initially announcing around 5:30 that we'd still be starting at 6, they announced at 5:45 that we'd actually be starting at 6:15. Since the race was fairly low key (219 started the marathon), there were no lines for the porta-john

Race: The full marathon essentially runs 2 loops of the half marathon course. Other then the bridges, the route is pancake flat. It starts out of a small park and quickly heads towards US-1. The first 3 miles had two lanes blocked off to run in. After about mile 3, the race heads through a quiet neighborhood for a mile before going back out to US-1. Around mile 6, the race goes up the first of two bridges on each loop. This was the shorter of the two bridges and easier because there was a tail wind. After the bridge, the course runs out onto the island and runs along a residential road. At 11.5 miles, you hit the second bridge. This one was a little steeper, and had the added bonus of a 25 mph head wind. It felt like running uphill through a wind tunnel. For both loops, I was reduced to a walk since it was just so windy.

Through the second loop, It mostly felt like I had the course to myself. I knew the race was small, but didn't realize how small it was. There were 219 who started the full marathon and 213 completed the race. I finished second to last in position 212 at just under 6:40

Aid Stations: The aid stations were situated every 1.5 miles and were well stocked.All aid stations had water and Gatorade I carried my water bottle knowing my hydration needs and had no issues refilling it along the way. While I carried my own nutrition, 2 of the aid stations (4x on the marathon) had cliff gels along with bananas and cliff bars.

Post Race: Finishing just 5 minutes before the cutoff, there was almost nothing left. The facebook page suggested there would be Pollo Tropical, Pizza, Beer, and fruit at the finish. By the time I got there, all that was left for me was a few pieces of pizza. I was disappointed, but grabbed a few pieces to hold me over till I could get something else

Would I do this race again? Hard to say. I can't blame the race director for the weather. I suspect wind may often be an issue given the location at the coast. I also understand this is a small race, which sometimes is a good thing, sometimes is a bad thing. The volunteers were great, there were musical acts every mile or so, and some of the locals came out to cheer the runners on. If I didn't have so many choices here in Florida, I'd certainly go back, but there are many more full marathons for me to run first