I ran the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon as part of Charity Team Every Mother Counts. I had tried to enter as part of the lottery but did not make it in 2017. Then the opportunity for the charity bib opened and I had to try! Running NYC Marathon was like a dream!

The expo is amazing with so many awesome vendors. I loved having the opportunity to see so many people from around the world in one expo. I also loved the electricity and energy you received from attending. Lots of photos ops, samples, etc were available. My favorite part may have been the live course description, which helped give tips and tricks to running your best marathon.

I was very anxious about making it to the my corral on time at race day. I rode the subway from Queens to Staten Island. It took about one hour. Then, the ferry ride was about 30 minutes. Then, we took a bus to the start area, which seemed to be the longest leg of the trip. But, all in all, the transportation to the start area was a well-oiled machine.

Once you were in your corral it was about another 30 minutes until you started the race. There were lots of porta-johns in the corral so don't stop to go to the restroom when you arrive at the start area! You will have time to go when you get to your corral.

As soon I started the race, I tried to find my groove, but stay under race pace. My goal was to run my first half slightly slower than my second half of the race. Well, no problem there because it took about 3 miles before I felt like I could move forward! That was to be expected, however, with the amount of people in this race. It was amazing! The crowd support is like nothing I have ever experienced. If I got tired, I would run on the right or left side and get high fives and cheers to help lift my spirits. There were so many signs and sights to take it! It was a great distraction and made the race go by that much faster.

At the finish, my only disappointment is they stopped taking photos with the NYC Marathon backdrop. I don't know why they shut this down but it made me a little sad. I did end up getting some nice photos at any rate. Picking up my drop bag was easy and I was out of Central Park in about 30 minutes.

It helped that the weather was great-I ran in tank and skirt and was very warm most of the race. My advice is don't blink and soak it all in. This is not just a race, it is an experience! I will always remember it.