Flat, fast marathon. This is what I hoped for and pretty much what I got. The course was really flat, and pretty fast for most of it apart from some wind we got off the ocean. Race was Sunday so I hit up the expo Saturday. Expo was ok. Not too big but not the worst I've been to. Race shirt was a long sleeve tech shirt. Good quality but I wish these races would give you the option of short sleeve or long sleeve. I have too many long sleeve race shirts now. Starting area was big, more than enough space to warmup. But the bathroom lines were way too long due to not enough porta-potties. I had to hold it because I wouldn't have made it to my corral in time, ended up having to stop around mile 8. Route was good. Ran through town, then along the boardwalk. Fan support was pretty good (nothing compares to Philly for support though).

Overall, it was a good first marathon. Would I recommend it? If you're trying to PR or qualify for Boston, yes. If you're close and want a close marathon, yes. Other than that, I probably wouldn't recommend it as a travel race, there are better ones.

St. Patrick's Day half marathon! I was near the front as I was going for a PR, and in my corral there wasn't much dressing up. Later back in the race there were costumes but where I was was all business. Expo was ok. A little hard to get to as it's in NYC. So parking is always an issue. Expo itself was pretty small. Race shirt was a long sleeve tech shirt which is good quality. Starting area was ok. Portages-potties had really long lines but I got in before the start. Closing of the corrals happened too early in my opinion, especially with the long bathroom lines. I didn't do bag drop, but from what I heard, pickup was an absolute disaster. They closed the drop off per each corral really early, but had a no-corral/free-for-all drop-off, which made up 80% of the drop-offs, so at pickup there were thousands of people trying to get bags and no order to it.

Race itself. Route was pretty good. We started in Brooklyn in Prospect Park which had some early hills. Went over the Manhattan Bridge around mile 5-6 which was the toughest "hill" for me. After that we had a long flat stretch where I picked up speed. This part was on the highway which had almost zero fan support, really disappointing. Came back into the city around Times Square heading to Central Park and the fans showed up again. Really cool to run through that part of the city. Overall, it was fun and I'd do it again.

This was my first ever half marathon race. And I loved it so much I'll be back the next year for the full marathon. I love this race! Half marathon and 8k races on Saturday, with the full marathon on Sunday. I stayed Friday night downtown and went to the expo that evening. Expo was good size, had all the info I needed, and some free swag. Race shirt was a long sleeve tech shirt that I still wear today. Race day morning was pretty uneventful which is nice. The security line to get into the start area was a little long but not bad. Bag drop was pretty efficient, and the pickup was really easy.

The course was amazing. We ran through downtown past some historic places. Great fan support, like really great throughout the whole race. Course wasn't too hilly, pretty fast. All in all, I'd recommend this race to anybody.