This was my first full marathon and although I was nervous, I was also very excited. But that excitement was very short lived. The expo while very crowded had a lot to offer. There were many vendors there but it was so busy that I did not stay long.
I stayed at the host hotel which was a huge mistake. They catered more to the spectators than the athletes. They had bands and a DJ until all hours of the early morning. I did not get more than a couple of hours sleep and the weather was very hot and humid. I took the train to the start line which was a cool experience in itself. The course is nice and fairly flat. By mile 8 it had really heated up and things started going downhill fast for me. By the half way point the race had been black-flagged. One of the volunteers came up to me and said they were shutting down the course. Good thing I did not get on the bus because they did not shut down the course. There was a real lack of communication there. Most of the aid stations had run out of ice and sponges. Some spectators were outside giving us water in between the aid stations. I feel that they were not prepared even though they knew it was going to be very hot and humid. On a cooler day it would have been a nice race to run. I personally do not think I would run this race again. I hoped I would have a great experience for my first full marathon but I did not. The shirt was a nice design but I did not really like the color. I loved the medal though. It is one of my favorite medals!