State #4 on my 50 state marathon journey was Wisconsin and as a loyal Packer fan I was SO excited for this marathon. How could I not be? You end the marathon with a lap around Lambeau field and running through Packer tunnel before heading to the finish line. Sweeeet! Go Pack go! (Had to get it in!)

The event itself is very well organized and supported! We went to the expo the day before the race and although I thought it was weird that the packet pick up and T-shirt pick up were on different floors the expo was still good and held within the Lambeau field atrium. That same day we got the chance to separately take a tour of Lambeau field which was AWESOME. If you are a Packers fan and traveling from outside the area this was a good event to do alongside the marathon. Just do it - it will be worth it.

Anyways - the marathon itself offered shuttles from runners from nearby hotels - this was a huge plus and something we took advantage of. Runners and family members were allowed on. The course itself is nice... Fast, flat and beautiful. A bit curvy but still great. And with a lap around city stadium and Lambeau field what else could you ask for? Even with it being at the end and knowing how badly you want to finish at that point Lambeau was without a doubt a highlight of the race!

Add stations were spot on throughout the course with port potties, plenty of water and Gatorade, GU, popsicle stations, root beer stations, chocolate stations (Which I skipped the last 3 but still way cool). Crowd support was awesome! We also lucked out and had perfect running weather... Chilly 45ish at the start but ended in the mid 60s.

Beautiful medals for 2014!

All in all a wonderful event!! I'd do it again and would recommend it without a doubt!

I have so much love for the Louisiana Marathon. I know I have only run three so far but this is by far my favorite. And will be a tough one to beat! It only seems right to start with the Expo. Packet pick up was super easy which is always a plus. The expo itself had a lot of good vendors there and not as crazy expensive as the Honolulu Marathon expo was. One thing I loved that the LA Marathon did was they had all kinds of things to purchase with their logo on it - blankets, t-shirts, visors, wine glasses, pen, pint glasses, coffee mugs, coasters, etc. Very neat! So of course I got coasters and a pint glass!

Ticket pick up for the pasta dinner was pretty easy too. But the pasta dinner was AWESOME. The food honestly was mediocre. I don't have anything bad to say about the food but nothing overly exciting either! But Bill Rodgers spoke and then so did Matt Long. Both of them were amazing. Matt's story is simply amazing and he is such an inspiration! I got to meet both Bill and Matt at the end of the evening which was PERFECT! I bought Matt's book and both him and Bill signed it. Needless to say this marathoner was happy!

The start of the marathon was 7 am and they asked everyone to be in the corral by 6:50am. Getting to the start was easy and parking was easy (which is always super nice!). It was so neat when you approached the state capital building where the start line was they had a light shining on it with the logo and name of the race! I thought this was super neat (Pic on left)! They asked everyone to courtesy corral - which I appreciate. It is always no fun to be darting around those much slower then you for the first couple miles.

The course was absolutely beautiful! Crossing the bridge and both the beginning and end was fun and a beautiful sight. The landmarks, lakes, houses, everything was simply beautiful. My only complaint was that miles 15-22 was an out and back through a residential area mostly. I wish they had this part first because it was the most boring part of the race and if it was first I think it would have been a bit easier. That being said crowd support throughout the neighborhood was amazing. The people of Baton Rouge throughout the entire course was AWESOME! They had awesome signs, a guy with a kong that him and runners would hit, people blasting music, etc. All of the crowd support made the race that much more awesome.

The race was very well supported also. Aid stations with powerade (I do wish they used something else, I am not a huge fan of powerade, but I drank it anyways), water, port a potties (Every mile!!) where about every mile. GU/Shot blocks where given a little less often but still very frequent. EVERY MILE. Awesome support the entire marathon. Also the course was very well labeled. And of course one of the most important thing - volunteers - they were amazing!

I would without a doubt run this marathon every year if it was closer to me. I will definitely recommend it!

The finish festival was pretty neat. Each runner got a wristband with 10 punches on it for free food and drinks. There was a lot of options and it was super neat that they had a lot of vegan friendly options. I know that the race went out of their way to ensure they had vegan options also - major plus. The only complaint I have is for those who finished after 4:30 there was not a lot of food left. They need to work on this for those who finish later next year. If you have a 7 hour cut off - food should be around still for those.

State number 2. 18 days after my first ever marathon!

I have a routine when I run a marathon. Or when I go out for a long run. I like my routine - I am comfortable with my routine and knowing it will bring me success. I didn't stick to a single thing with my routine for this marathon. And it worked out just fine - it taught me I don't necessarily need to stick to my routine. I also realize that by traveling to 50 states from Hawaii to run marathons it is unrealistic to rely on routine. So thank you Operation Jack for making me realize this.

So why the lack of routine you may be wondering? Well hubby and I decided to take a road trip through California for the holidays! We started up north and ended in San Diego. We ran the Operation Jack Marathon about half way in between - the day after Christmas!

The day before the marathon we spent driving from Half Moon Bay to LA area - we took the 1 which took us much longer then I originally thought! Our food for the day was not consistent, but at least we had a consistent water/Gatorade intake! The days leading up to the marathon? Completely off our normal diet and lots of brewery stops! Hey - I wasn't missing any of what we wanted to do in California! Plus, my hubby is a bit of a beer snob - so of course we had to hit up some brewery for tours and try new beers.

All of this led us to the morning after Christmas at the Operation Jack marathon. I woke up not wanting to run a mile yet alone 26.2 of them that morning. I watched my husband crawl out of bed and begin to get ready to leave. I knew I needed to do the same. He was very excited because this was going to be his first marathon. I wasn't at the time feeling the same level of excitement. However, I dragged myself out of bed and began to get ready.

Did I mention that I was cold too? Haha! I was definitely not waking up to a Hawaii morning! We made it down to the parking lot at Dockweiler state beach park. We looked at the board to see what number we were assigned. I was bib # 106. We then stood in line to get our bib and t-shirt. I tried not to be a wuss and bounce around too much from the chilly temperature - but I failed.

We all gathered around the start line, listened to the route and off we went! The course was beautiful along the beach. It followed a bike path where bikes were actively going the entire race.For someone into biking also, like me, this was actually neat. Most of the bikes that passed were really nice bikes and gave me something to gawk at. The weather was beautiful. Aid stations were a good distance apart and since it followed an established bike path the bathrooms along it where wonderful!

The last loop where you have to pass the finish line to get to the last loop and turn around and come back to the finish line is terribly taunting!

All in all - this is a good small marathon, well supported. Don't be surprised if you find yourself running by yourself at times due to the size of the marathon.

Operation Jack is for an amazing cause - and organized by Sam Felsenfeld. He is there to cheer on each runner - which is awesome! I'd run this again if I found myself out in LA around Christmastime again!