I've run the Twin Cities 10 Mile before and am absolutely in love with it, so I always knew that the Twin Cities Marathon would be my first full. I'm a slower runner and am coming back from injury, so the 6 hour time limit seemed tough but achievable. What I didn't anticipate was how different the experience would be for a pack of the pack runner. I finished the race in 5:55:29 (chip time) and crossed the finish line about 20-25 minutes before it closed. I'm sure those ahead of me on the course had a very different race.

First for the positives: the course is absolutely gorgeous. The Summit hill is tough but surmountable. And the timing of the race is great, historically the weather is pretty good in Minnesota that weekend. The logistics were also fairly well done. The expo process was seamless and efficient, we had our bibs within 5 minutes of arriving even though we showed up at 6:30pm on Friday when I assumed there would be an after-work rush. The free swag this year was a buff, which I don't personally use but some people might find handy. There was minimal traffic, and my husband (who was spectating) had no issues finding parking or places to cheer along the way. The start line setup was a little confusing but there were lots of volunteers to direct runners. The water/gatorade stops were also really well placed, I never felt like I was desperate for a drink the entire time and didn't need to bring my own.

The negatives all largely stem from my experience as both an overweight runner and a back-of-the-pack runner. First, the expo merchandise was definitely not geared towards larger runners. Most of the women's items I was interested in they only had in a small or extra small (not sure if they were sold out of large/XL or if they don't carry those sizes at all in some items). And the race itself was not very back-of-the-pack friendly. While the crowd support was great for the first half, as the pack started to thin out in the second half, there were basically no spectators. I've heard so many people talk about the outstanding crowd support while climbing the big hill on Summit, but when I came through it was a ghost town. There were a handful of families sprinkled here or there looking for their runners around me, but aside from that it had essentially cleared out already.

I finished within the course limits and was not swept, but I overheard from other runners near the finish and in the official Facebook group that the sweeper bus was ahead of pace for the first part of the race, so people were being swept even though they were ahead of the 13:44 pace requirement.

The finish line was also a huge disappointment. Most of the food and drinks had been packed away already. When I finished, the only food available were chips. There was no Gatorade, no bananas, no rolls, no broth, nothing else. Even though all of the race materials advertised that the finish line would be open until 2:15, this area had clearly been cleared out well before 2pm.

The course photos were also a disappointment. The race photographers only took one photo of me on the entire course (I think a lot of the photographers toward the end had started to pack up by the time I came through), and when I crossed the finish line I could see the finish line photographer with his camera at his side, not bothering to even snap photos of the final 150 or so finishers. Finishing my first marathon was a huge accomplishment, and it's a disappointment to not have any photos to commemorate it.

Another issue was how few portapotties were available on the course. I used one around the 8 mile mark and ended up waiting over 10 minutes because the line was so long. This seemed to be the case up until the very end of the race (mile 19 and later) when the crowd had thinned out.

Finally, the pace groups were run differently than advertised. The participant guides said that the pacers would run even splits. In reality, I heard from many other runners that the pacers largely said that they would run the first half faster to bank time for Summit. For example, the 5:00 pacer ran a 10:45/mile pace for the first half. This makes it really difficult for people who are used to running even splits to stick with a pace group.

I'm not sure if I'll run the Twin Cities Marathon again. It will likely depend on my pace - if I'm able to shave an hour or so off of my total time, I think I'd have a very different race. Based on how the race is managed, it might be better to set the official course limit at 5 hours rather than 6, so that all of the participants have a good experience.

Overall I had an outstanding experience running the Disneyland Paris 36K challenge. There are certainly elements to be improved, but I would absolutely run it again.

Pros:
- Swag. The t-shirts are great quality, and the medals are STUNNING. I had seen complaints about shirt sizing being inconsistent between the different races, but that wasn't my experience. All of my shirts were almost identical in size/fit. I did size up one size to account for European sizing, which seemed to do the trick. I wish there had been a free shirt included for Castle to Chateau as well, there was one for purchase though. The medals were also incredible - especially the half marathon and castle to chateau medals. I love that they keep the same classic design, it's stunning.
- Courses. All of the courses were fun and interesting, even the portion of the half marathon in the villages around the parks.
- Aid stations. The water and Powerade stations were well stocked and well spaced, and the granola bars on course were delicious. Post-race food was also good.
- Characters. Tons of unique photo ops with characters we don't see often in the states.
- Race timing. I LOVE the Friday night 5K and the later start of the day races (7am instead of 5:30am)
- Convenience. Proximity to the resorts (we stayed at Sequoia Lodge) couldn't have been more convenient! We walked to the start and back from the finish of each race.

Cons:
- Expo. Expo lines were extremely long. We waited over an hour to purchase photopass, and it took me over 25 minutes to get my Castle to Chateau wristband.
- Portapotties. There weren't nearly enough portapotties on course and lines were extremely long. I skipped the Mile 9 ones because of long lines, only to discover that there were no more until the finish line.
- Photopass. I'm really disappointed with the quality and quantity of Photopass photos. It's been several weeks and I'm still missing lots of my photos.

I ran the Goldy’s 5K after it was recommended by a friend and seeing the beautiful medal. Unfortunately it was a very disappointing experience. The seeding system was poorly managed and enforced, so many walkers (and families with strollers) started at the front. This resulted in severe course congestion at many points - some places it was so narrow that it was impossible to pass someone pushing a stroller at all. There was also not a single aid station on the entire 5K course despite being a relatively warm day. At the finish line, it took about 15-20 minutes to get medals and a water bottle (we skipped food because lines were so long). The medal was beautiful, but overall this race was a bit disappointment. I don’t think I’ll run it again.