First, one of my favorite parts: The Expo!!!
One of the first announcements they made in regards to this year's race was that the Gaylord National Harbor would be the race's headquarters. I was totally fine with it since my parents live close to National Harbor and I run the race with my Dad and we always go to the expo together. We ended up driving over and paying $10 to park in a lot, but race organizers offered shuttles from a few metro stations.
This always meets you when entering the expo, although I must admit this year it definitely fits the space better. (Last year it looked tiny in the huge DC Convention Center!)
First thing you get is your bib from a couple of marines at a booth immediately inside the entrance to the expo. Afterwards you go around the corner to get your race premium (usually a mockneck fleece sweatshirt) and you're funneled to the Brooks Race Store. (Pro Tip: Brooks has started posting a LOT of the race merchandise online before the expo. Avoid the lines -which WILL get crazy- and buy everything ahead of time.)
(Not too crazy about the color of this year's shirt.)
Next best part: The vendors!!!
Zensah is definitely one of my favorites for compression wear. I've been wear testing for them and all the products they've sent me are fantastic. I can honestly say they have some great stuff coming out soon!
An an expo somebody is almost always selling socks in a buy 3 get one free deal. Balega is always my go-to sock brand. I got a new pair of Enduro socks and my Dad got a couple pairs for himself and my Mom.
Bondi Band is another vendor I always check out. I love digging through the piles and finding new Bondi Bands. These are the ones that I ended up choosing...
I thought my trainers at Boot Camp would totally get a kick out of the middle one. (Especially since one of them is always trying to increase how many calories I burn. I've been known to yell out she's trying to kill me as I'm running back and forth at the end of a workout to burn more calories before she ends the workout on the computer.)
After Bondi Band, we walked around taste testing some products from Clif bar (their nut butter filled bars were quite tasty) and grabbed samples from all over the place. We got samples from Larabar (yum!), Wegmans, a reusable shopping bag from RunDisney, a first aid bag and band aids, sports beans, Aveeno Tone Corrector, half and half drink mix and a buff from Medstar Sports!
Sorry, I ate some of it before I took a picture! (I assure you though, the Larabars, fruit bar and fruit twist from Wegmans were all delicious.)
On the way out we had to hit the selfie wall! The expo left me feeling super excited for the race. The only downfall with the change of venue was that everything felt a little more cramped than usual so there were a lot of times where it was difficult to maneuver around people.
I've run past the Gaylord National Harbor a lot, but this was the first time I had ever actually been inside. I must say, it was absolutely gorgeous! Lots of marble and the atrium was amazing.
Now: Race Morning!!!
My Dad and I took the Metro to the Pentagon station and followed the crowd to the starting area. We stopped along the way to use one of the portajohns which were already trashed (banana peels and empty water bottles all over the inside.) We then used the portajohns in the starting area too because we could!
So many portajohns and barely any line!!! ...And no toilet paper in any of them. I went into three different ones before giving up. (Note to self: Bring extra toilet paper!)
Across from the portajohns was the HUGE starting area. Lots of trash cans all over the place, and tons of space to warm up. I also had to get a picture of all the UPS trucks that are used for bag check. There was barely any line to speak of!
Soon after we made our way across the North Pentagon Parking Lot, we heard the announcer say the first of the hand cyclists were about to make their way through the area. After they passed through, we were able to get into our corral.
And of course I had to take an obligatory pre-race selfie.
Soon after a few announcements, the National Anthem and a prayer, we were off!!
Love that archway!!
After listening to that episode of Pace the Nation, I had some idea of what to expect with the course. Rick Nealis talked a little bit about the new 10k course and the words "What goes up must come down" rang true. The first few miles were all uphill, at mile 5 there was another major incline and then that last mile was mostly flat but hilly again through Rosslyn. Along Spout Run, the course was absolutely gorgeous and making it even better it was pretty much all downhill (except for that hill at mile 5.)
While we went through Rosslyn again, I looked down at my Garmin and got super excited. I was on track to beating last year's time of 1:11:26!!
Close to the end at the last flat portion, this sign popped up and I started to get excited. Every year I swear I'll run up the hill and end up walking.
This year, I actually ran it--The whole thing!!! I suppose that hill leading to the halfway point totally made it look reasonable.
After finishing and getting my medal I wandered around a little bit while I waited for my Dad to finish. I got a glimpse of all the boxes of medals left for the marathoners!
It was SO weird seeing marathon finishers this year. Usually the 10k starts at the same time as the marathon so we don't see those finishers. This year though, the 10k started about an hour into marathon. (Thanks to Metro, they opened the starting line for the marathon at 7:55 and allowed people to start until 8:55. They also offered shuttles for marathoners as well.) By the time I finished the 10k at around 10:30, the elite marathoners had started finishing!
I was so happy when I saw my finisher's time. Despite the HUGE hill for the majority of the race, I still had a PR for the race itself of 1:10:05! I'm still curious to find out how I would've done compared to the original course of past years, but considering how my last finishing time on the flatter course was 1:11:26, it's probably a safe bet I would've done really well on it.
It was a gorgeous morning even though it was a little warmer than normal.
Obligatory squinty selfie with my medal in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial!
As we walked through getting our snacks, I was impressed to see that the race organizers were mindful of the environmental impacts of the race. This year they offered to compost the banana peels and had recycling bins for water and gatorade bottles!
Then it was onto my favorite part: The WATERMELON!!!
Every year the Watermelon Board brings out the Watermelon queens to hand out containers of cut up watermelon. They're on the other side of the bridge every year and it always tastes awesome after the race.
My Dad and I also stopped by the finisher's race store. This year for Father's Day I got my Dad a MCM10k finisher's shirt and we were both curious about what they looked like this year.
I was not disappointed and got one!
This year among all the vendors, there was a Facebook trailer! Needless to say my Dad and I were intrigued so we got in line, filled out a survey while waiting and then headed into the trailer to try out a VR experience.
It was pretty cool. My one complaint was I couldn't quite get the headset focused, but it was really neat to get to experience. (And we got thumbs up magnets for giving them feedback.)
We then walked through the vendors and got more freebies. This year we got a drawstring bag from Leidos, a water bottle from Booz Allen, more sports beans, and a cowbell from the National Park Service! (The fig bar and curate bar are from the snack box. This year we also got kettle corn popcorn chips, a little cup of cheese dip and breadsticks and a cup of peaches.)
While my Dad and I waited for the Metro I took the time to sync up my Garmin to my phone because we were both curious about the elevations. Once it popped up, I started laughing because it proved that the course was just as bad as it felt while we were running it.
(Obligatory back of the shirt picture with the medal!)
As usual I really enjoyed the race and highly recommend it. I found it to be really scenic and I enjoyed the new course despite it being more difficult than in previous years. (Usually the course is pretty flat except for the hill at the very end.) It sells out almost every year (this year actually it was earlier than usual!) The race director puts so much work into the race to make the entire experience flawless and it shows.
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