I live in Philadelphia and love Rock 'n Roll races having previously run in Philly and DC. I heard great things about Seattle decided to go for and go for a solo weekend trip. This year was a new course from "stadium to stadium" - going from the University of Washington Husky stadium to Century Link Field where the Seahawks play. I heard that Seattle is very hilly so I knew it wouldn't be an easy course, but I was looking forward to something new.

I arrived in Seattle on Friday morning and went to the race expo early in the afternoon. I spent probably way too much time in the Expo - there were plenty of vendors with lots of things to sample and I bought a ton of Seattle-themed gear - hey, I don't know when I'll be able to make it back! I actually had to do onsite registration because I forgot to register in advance (OOPS!) - thankfully everything went smoothly and I was able to get my bib and gear with no issues.

I stayed in a hotel downtown and took the LINK train system to the race start - it was extremely easy and convenient, but the trains filled up VERY quickly - they should have had more trains running that morning for the 6:30 am race start because I know there had to be a lot of people who made it late to the race. When I came up from underground I was pretty disoriented - I had trouble finding the gear check and the lines for the portapotties were EXTREMELY long - the longest I've ever seen - thank goodness I didn't have a bathroom emergency!

The race start was chaotic and people were confused about how to line up in the corrals - I was just happy to get started, just a bit before 7 am (I was in corral 13). The course was crowded and it took me a few miles to get comfortable, but once I got in my sweet spot, I enjoyed the race. The views along Lake Washington were beautiful and the rolling hills were fun. The live music was pretty good and there was a decent smattering of cheering spectators here and there.

The best part of the race for me was the Blue Mile in honor of our fallen soldiers. It was literally a mile long - longer than the Blue Mile in DC - and it really gave me so much perspective about life. It was definitely emotional and inspiring - thank you!

There were some awkward parts of the course where the marathoners would split off from us and then re-join us on the course. A little confusing, but volunteers did their best to communicate with the runners.

The last couple of miles were the toughest mentally since they were pretty boring with no spectators. When I could finally see the stadium I was excited and tried to kick it up a notch - happy to finish strong once I finally saw the finish line! My goal was to beat 2:15 and I finished under 2:12 so I was happy!

We got gorgeous medals and were provided with plenty of snacks on our way out. I didn't hang around for the free beer or concert - I honestly just felt gross from the high humidity and wanted to go back to the hotel and crash! I was glad I went out of my comfort zone traveling from Philly to Seattle for a race and I had a great time in the city. I'll definitely be back, but I probably wouldn't do the half again. The full marathon looks like a much better course!