Overall, a GREAT race for the marathon bucket list. A few thoughts...

The finish... A marine gave me my medal. And he knew my name... even though it wasn't on my bib. Befuddled, I asked him how he knew who I was. He said, "I work for the government."

The course... Running around the Washington Mall in the back half of the marathon was an unreal experience. Miles 17-19 were maybe my favorite miles of any marathon, EVER. The entire race is worth running just for that stretch. I got the chills. That said, it's a little unfortunate that the race doesn't go into Woodley Park, DuPont Circle or the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill. There are so many charming parts of DC that aren't covered in the race. (Albeit, that'd add more hills!) Instead, the race spends a few miles each on Haines Point (which was desolate, but didn't bother me that much) and the 14th Street Bridge (perhaps my least favorite miles ever in a marathon... miles 20-22, no crowd support, on a highway overpass, straight into the wind... basically a nightmare). Beware of the hill/mountain just before the finish line. I wish I would've done some hill repeats at the end of my training runs... That would've made the hill/mountain less threatening!

Level of Difficulty... Wouldn't call it a PR course. Ended up 11 seconds off of my best time, so I wouldn't say it's impossible either. Because of all the turns, weaving in/out on crowded roads, my GPS watch said I'd run almost 27 miles by the time I'd finished... in other words, running the tangents is tough. There are hills... hard for someone who trains in Chicago, but probably not that hard for folks training in locales with some elevation. And thankfully, most of the hills are in the beginning of the race... much better hill placement than the ones in, say, Boston.

Crowd support... Good. Not as many fans as, say, Chicago. But extremely solid... including lots of Marines, of course. My husband was able to find me at four points along the route. It was easy for him to see me and for me to see him. That doesn't happen at many big marathons. Huge plus!

Race start... The national anthem, flyover, parachuting Marines, etc. are incredible. What a way to start a race. Incredibly inspiring. The corrals are self-selecting, however.. A bit of an issue given that folks inevitably seed themselves in faster corrals, and I found myself weaving around slower folks for the first few miles.

Transportation... I wanted to stay in DC rather than Virginia where the race starts/ends, so I took the Metro with a few thousand of my best friends. There were lines to get off and on the Metro both before and after the race... but not a problem if you're patient and leave plenty of time. I don't think driving/parking is even an option. Walking from a nearby hotel or taking the Metro are your choices.

Expo... Had to wait outside in a line that wrapped around the Armory just to get in. It'd be helpful if the Expo were held in a larger venue... the convention center perhaps? Albeit, I did go on Saturday. And I'm sure the line was significantly shorter (if there were lines at all) on Thursday or Friday, if you could swing an early arrival. Inside the expo was great, though. Plenty of room to breathe!

Swag... The race shirt was a brown mock-neck turtleneck. Yikes. Enough said. The Brooks gear for purchase was great though. Just make sure you snag what you want at the expo. I went online after the race to purchase more gear, and all of the small sizes were gone.

Miscellaneous... Shout-out to the 3:25 pacer. He was awesome. Wish I could've stuck with him just a touch longer! Wear patriotic garb. I got some great support from strangers for my American flag shorts!