I did this race last year and chose to do it again this year in attempt to qualify for Boston by a bigger margin. I chose Sugarloaf, because it's a point to point direct course with no twists and turns. It has a little uphill and a lot of downhill. It's within driving distance. The temperatures are perfect there this time of year. And it's a pretty small playing field as far as qualifiers go.

As soon as the weather began to appear in the 15 day forecast, I was all over it, everyday, sometimes multiple times (you know you've done it) and kinda freaking out a little. Sometimes it showed thunderstorms, sometimes more rain and sometimes less, but always some sort of weather event. I've run in the rain during training and enjoyed it, but never in a race and never for more than 26 miles. I was scared. I worked way too hard to not PR because of hypothermia or wet feet and a blister.

We arrived Saturday afternoon in time to receive our bibs and shirts. The line was loooooong and probably took us 30 minutes or more, but Maple Water was passed around and I tried that for the first time, which was good. We also signed up for the pasta dinner (first time doing that) and I recommend it. Pasta dinners often cost more than going to your local Olive Garden, but for Sugarloaf, it is a particularly good idea, because there is no local Olive Garden or really much of anything close by and it's all you can eat and delicious. There was also beet salad, chick pea salad and cooked veggies to add to your pasta or side as well as yummy dessert. There's also meat sauce if you're into that sort of gross stuff. The speaker was Gary Allen and he showed us a video of his friend Michael Westpahl who qualified for Boston and raised a lot of money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Michael Westpahl has Parkinson's Disease and the documentary was inspiring.

We stayed in a motel about 30 minutes from the finish and parking area and I slept as well as I could considering I needed to pee every hour due to hydrating the bejesus out of myself all day Saturday. The morning car ride to the buses from the finish to the start was foggy, rainy and included flashes of lightening. We took the bus up from the finish line which follows the course up to the start. This is mentally tough, because you realize the epicness of what is about to happen. In 2015 the starting area was AMAZING, fog rolling over a small lake with the sun just coming up and filtered through the pine trees. It wasn't so beautiful this year, because it was POURING! No gorgeous photos of the starting line. We found an indoor bathroom a little up the road and hid from the rain in there until it was time to start.

It did dump on us for a bit during the race, but the temperatures were around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, so it actually felt pretty comfortable. I wore shorts, compression socks, a singlet and arm warmers and didn't feel annoyed or need to adjust anything throughout the race. I also wore a visor to keep the rain out of my eyes and this gave me something to think about with my form. I knew if I was seeing much ahead of myself, I was craning my neck, bringing my hips forward and breaking with my heels. I kept my head down and leaned into much of the race not knowing what was ahead. I told myself not to look at my watch or the hills when it got tough and nailed my pace on the downhill. Days before I began to plan what I would think about throughout the race to keep me inspired and my mind off any discomfort I might feel. I added Michael Westpahl to my list.

Crowd support is really good for a race of this size, because half of the road is open, so spectators can drive along the road and catch racers at several points. The course is really pretty. On the downside of the course is that the roads are pretty concaved so keep in mind you'll be running with one leg longer than the other for a long time if you're prone to injuries. I recommend staying on the center line or sticking to the far edge where it's flatter.

There are aid stations all over the place with water and gatorade and one or two with gels, which I don't take anyway, so I can't comment on that part.

The finish line has a truck with a big screen and finish times scrolling. There is homemade soup and granola, so the food is great and not the regular banana and cold pizza.

The bling is eh, but who cares when you get to run a fast marathon, PR and maybe qualify for Boston like I did! I won first in my age group and qualified with a very safe 11+ minute cushion. The top overall finishers get MONEY and the age group finishers get awesome handmade ceramic stuff, depending on your place.