I actually signed up for this race in the middle of last year and it seemed like it took forever to finally get here! I was looking forward to my own running tour of Washington D.C. with about 10,000 new friends.

EXPO and PACKET PICK UP
I flew into DC on Friday and headed straight to the expo. Since it was still early in the day on Friday, the expo was not busy yet. Once I got thru security to get into the Armory, I headed straight downstairs to pick up my race bib. There was virtually NO ONE down there! Fastest bib pick up ever! Less than 2 minutes!

Headed back upstairs to the race expo to do some shopping! Since everything was not crowded, I was able to enjoy a leisurely stroll through to check out everything, stop at the KT Tape booth and get my foot taped, chat with Bart Yasso and enjoy the afternoon. Nice assortment of vendors, giveaways and other race options to check out!

RACE DAY
it was a little chilly at the start of the race, but that is the chance you take running DC in March. I had to make some last minute changes on what I was wearing but my lightweight BibRavePro hoodie was exactly what I needed to get me through the morning.

With just over 10,000 individuals running the half marathon, the start of the race can be a little congested, but once you get through the first few miles, everything naturally starts to thin out. I always love the bands along the course at these races and DC did not disappoint!

At first, I thought there could have been more aid stations on the course, but then I realized that I probably just wasn't paying attention to all of them since I had my Tailwind with me and only needed to grab water along the way a few times. Best part of the race was when I saw another runner stop to buy a box of Girl Scout cookies at a table on one of the corner in one of the neighborhoods. He spent the next half mile passing out cookies to other runners and police offices on the corners!

FINISH LINE
With this many people in one place, things tend to get a little congested. I didn't stop to take post race photo's and headed straight for my water and chocolate milk! Once you get through the post race snack section, there is plenty of room for runners and families to reunite before heading up to the post race party.

Since I was flying home the same afternoon, I didn't stick around for much of the party. I heard that they were going strong all day long tho!

Half Marathon #31 complete

Full recap of the adventure can be found here: http://crazyhamster.run/2018/03/i-think-i-was-just-in-washington-d-c-the-whirlwind-tour.html

Link to this review