My 50 marathons in 50 States quest for 2012 ended with my running of the 37th annual Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC. The Marine Corps Marathon begins and ends in Virginia and runs through Washington, DC and its various landmarks and memorials. In your quest for 50 Marathons in 50 States, this marathon can be counted towards the State of Virginia. If you know anything about me, you know that Washington, DC is one of favorite places to visit besides Walt Disney World, Disneyland and a US National Park so this marathon was one of my "must do's/bucket list" marathons.
We stayed at the Doubletree hotel in Crystal City and packet pick up was a short Metro ride away at the DC Armory. Luckily we had been there before for the Rock-n-Rock 1/2 Marathon in March, however, us being us - didn't realize this until we came up from the underground.
The race expo was very good, but since this was my 14th event for 2012, my budget was limited to only the purchase of a Marine Corps Marathon jacket. So.... I made it out of the expo with the jacket, winter head wrap, a magnet and a visor. Hey, I refrained myself and did not buy any Running Skirts or Sweaty Bands and only spent $140!!
The race start began at the Pentagon which was a short 10-minute walk from our hotel. We had rearranged our travel plans, due to Hurricane Sandy, and checked out of the hotel a day early on our way to the start. We soon joined the herd of runners moving through Pentagon security to select our corral based on our anticipated finish time. At the Marine Corps Marathon it’s up to you to determine where you should line up. My running friends and I choose a 5pm finish corral. Our race plan was to run 2 minutes with 30 second walk. I had just come off a torn TFL injury and had fallen off a horse a week ago, so I wasn’t exactly in the best shape!
Glad you're doing your blog again! P.S. So happy we missed Sandy!
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