1. As a half marathon in March, the Washington DC half marathon it is a perfect race for many of those who live in snowy and cold areas. A March race forces you/one to keep training through the winter months.
2. If you are doing the 50 half marathons in 50 states challenge, this is probably one of the only two half marathons held in Washington DC proper that you can use to cross the District of Columbia off your list.
3. The capital city is a must-visit for out-of-towners and residents alike. It is one of the more picturesque races you shall run in. You get to start in downtown DC and run through the streets and see the monuments while running. You also get to run through some DC neighborhoods and then finish close to the DC Armory, close to the soccer stadium.
4. As a large city, accommodation, transport to and from the city and other amenities are available. It is an expensive city to stay, travel and dine in, so be warned.
5. As a rock 'n' roll event, they have musical entertainment at various places during the race itself and there is entertainment at the finish line tent.

The Expo.

1. If you can, drop your bags in the hotel room/host's house before coming to the expo. The expo is quite exhausting if you bring in your heavy luggage. There is also security at the entrance that checks the bags and the security lines are long.
2. Don't try to come late on Friday evening. (The last day) Get your bib/bag as early as possible. The lines were impossibly long on Friday evening and traffic towards the DC armory and parking was a nightmare!
3. If you are raising money via St Jude's and made a pledge, you pick your bib from a separate St Jude's booth. As I was passing by, I saw a runner who hadn't fully paid up their contribution pledge and they wouldn't release their bib until all the pledges were paid off.

Getting to the expo.
The expo is held on two days, Thursday and Friday. I went to the expo on Friday, March 10, 2017. You can get to the expo in quite a number of ways; driving (and looking for parking, very rare and expensive in DC) taxi/über/lyft or using the Metro Bus/subway system. Use travel apps (google maps, maps on Apple/Android) to map out your route for Thursday and Friday (but not Saturday as the metro operates differently on race day) if using the DC metro or bus system. Buy a smart card and load it with $20-25 (more if you'll do more traveling) if you are just going to the expo, hotel room/home, starting line next day and from the finish line back to your hotel/home. It's easier than fumbling for cash and in some stations, you might not be able to get in with cash and without the card. It simplifies your life. It's easier to use the metro subway but you can also use the bus.

The metro subway stop is 'Stadium Armory Station' and the metro train is the 'M' Blue/Orange/Silver train. If you decide to take the bus, I took bus #96 from Union Station and bus # 97 from the Armory, which buses bring you within 3 minutes of the entrance to the armory. The exit is 'Stadium Armory Station', junction of 19th St and Capitol Street stop. The stop is a big stop. From Union Station, take the buses to 'Capitol Heights' station and from 'Station/Armory Station' take the bus to Union Station. The DC subway uses a system where you pay at the end of the ride at the subway exit.

This is the largest expo I have ever been part of. It is held in the DC Armory, the size of a football field or two! The expo is quite organized. This is where you get reminded that the Rock 'n' Roll is a for profit organization. Insurance companies, car companies, athletic apparel companies, sports nutrition, food vendors, you name it, all vendors are represented. Some people take offense to this type of commercialism but it doesn't faze me one bit. The positive side is that you can purchase all your running gear and refueling nutritional products here.

Picking up the marathon bib and goodie bag.

All half marathon bibs and goodie bags have to be picked up on Thursday and Friday as there is no Saturday race day pickup. You go downstairs and pick up the bib number. Bring your ID and your signed completion sheet that was sent to your final confirmation email a few days before the race. Once you check your bib number, pick up the bib and pins and pick up the clear marathon bag and choice of t-shirt size. You can change your corral placement while there. Once you are done with the bib and t-shirt pickup from downstairs, you then go up the steps and get to the expo proper.

Getting to the marathon on Saturday morning

*Make sure that, if possible, you have a running pouch/belt/armband that can accommodate your Metro card/Smartcard, hotel/car keys, credit/debit card, money and your ID, unless you are willing to risk putting those important documents/items in your clear goodie bag and check it in. This is because, after the race, you'll need your ID to get your free/complimentary beer at the finish line. You'll also need a place to store your various cards to use when going to the start line (metro card) and so forth.

⁃ Public transportation. Luckily, this year, 2017, the half marathon was staring at 8.30 am after the Metro subway system started running at 7.00 am. Metro Buses were all detoured and you couldn't use the buses at all. The DC metro subway is probably the only way to get to the start (it was 14th and Constitution avenue) 'Federal Triangle' stop on the DC Metro. The roads are closed and uber/lyft/taxis are unable to even get to your location to pick you up and take you to 14th and Constitution avenue. Most people were catching the metro that Saturday morning.

(If you are a full marathoner, the full marathon starts at 7.00 am and this year, unlike previous years, the metro didn't start operations till 7.00 am, due to some maintenance work I think. Therefore, book a hotel close to 14th and Constitution Avenue and/or be prepared to do a lot of walking. Wake up early!)

Checkpoint, dressing, clear bag and corral

⁃ There was quite a bit of security and there was police presence all over but there was no official checkpoint and no scanning of participants. The UPS trucks were a block away from the starting point on Madison Drive where the clear bags are stored. Once you get to the UPS trucks, your last name initial will determine which truck your bag will be placed in by the UPS staff. You just need to tear off one of the tags from the bib to the goodie bag for identification/location purposes. There was a row of porta Johns close to the start point and there were no long waiting lines as I had feared and seen in last year's race. This was probably the year of exception. If you plan to run this race, come early if you are the kind of people who use porta Johns a lot or need to use it before the race, as it is a major race with a multitude of people and there will be long lines. Please bring/carry your own tissue paper just in case. Some bananas were on the way after the UPS Truck goodie bag drop off points towards the start line for those who may like to load up on their carbs and potassium.
⁃ Dress up warmly for the time before the marathon. It was about 25 degrees in 2017 and the temperatures never went above freezing for the entire race. Use old clothing, an old hoodie/sweatshirt and pants that you can discard on the roadside while running. They donate discarded clothing to charity. On the course, I saw expensive brand name 'new' or slightly used clothing discarded and I felt bad for the people who had discarded the newish clothes. I think the generally agreed upon 'Dress up for the race and add 10-20 degrees' applies here. Of course, different years have different weather.

⁃ Corrals. During registration, the runner chooses a corral based on their estimated finish time. (You can change your corral at the expo.) This enables there to be spacing as it is a huge event with an estimated 16,000 plus half marathon runners. If you are trying to chase a time or don't want to be held behind by slower runners, you can be at the very front of your coral. As you run the race, you'll realize that being at the front of the coral might not really matter as the runners space themselves and you can pass slower runners easily

The start upto the 13.1...

The race started on time and the announcements were clear and concise. Due to the large amount of runners, depending on what coral you are placed, you might not start racing for a minute or two as they space up the runners.

The start of the race from the National Museum of American History takes you towards the Washington Monument onto Rawlings park. On Mile 2, you are past the Reflecting pool and you can see the Lincoln memorial. You then hug and run parallel to the Potomac River past the JFK Center for Performing Arts. You then get to mile 3 for an out and back close to the Watergate complex. After mile 4, you are in the Rock Creek Parkway. Once you approach mile 5, there is a steep hill on Rock Creek Parkway that will sap quite a bit of your energy and slow you down. From mile 6 to 8, you start approaching the DC neighborhoods and on mile 8 you are in Columbia Heights. The crowds get larger here and they provide the emotional boost, much needed after the mile 5 hill. After Mile 8, you make a left and run parallel to the MacMillan Reservoir on 4th St NW and mile 9 takes you to Bryant St NW where you make a right onto the Bloomingdale section of DC on Mile 10 on N Capitol St NW. The Capitol building is Far away but in view. It's a long straight stretch, the final stretch where you can gauge your running and determine if your pace is working well. Mile 11 brings you to the Noma section of DC close to the Washington Union station and then you head off to Lincoln park for mile 12. The Robert Kennedy Stadium (DC United soccer stadium) is in sight at mile 13. The finish is close to the DC armory, a familiar sight, where the expo was held the day/s before the marathon.

Treats After The half marathon...

Once past the finish line, there is an official photographer who takes a post run picture of you. A volunteer hands you a finisher medal. Ask one of them to take a picture of you if you have been running with your smartphone and you do not have anyone close to the finish line, just like I did. As you keep walking from the finish line, you are offered bottled water, Gatorade and chocolate milk for rehydration. There are bananas and pretzels too.

It's then time to collect your marathon clear bag from the UPS trucks. They place the bags under your last name and bib number so the bags are easy to retrieve.
⁃ There is also a place where they give you a free alcoholic beer. You need ID and be over 21 to enter the enclosed place. They are very strict about the ID. No ID no entry!
⁃ There is a lot of entertainment at the finish line with featured bands playing live music.
⁃ Leaving for home/hotel is easy. Since you were at the expo the day or two before, you shall use the same Metro station to go back to your respective hotel. Use the smartcard if possible. The metro is crowded but you'll be in the company of other runners so there will not be any awkwardness. There are regular trains so the wait is not as bad.

The Race Photos

The race photos were processed by marathonphoto. The race photos were ready on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, after about 5 days which was impressive. The photos are pricey and budget wise are not for the faint hearted but the memories are well worth it. The photos capture you at various stages of the race and at the finish line.