Let me start by saying, the only reason I would not recommend this race is because of the second half of the course - it is entirely along a highway, and you often find yourself completely alone on it. It is a mentally hard race to run, even though the elevation is ideal and the aid stations are frequent and friendly.

Bib pickup was a breeze, just like it was when I ran the half in 2016. Several local running stores have booths at the expo, selling great shoes and gear at a discount. I picked up a pair of shoes while there, and the shirts this year were dryfit t-shirts, pink ones for the womens cut and blue for the mens cut. All of the distances that the race offers (10k, half, full) share the same shirt. Like last year a drawstring backpack was also given out, although this one was more standard than the high quality one they gave in 2016.

Race morning i got dropped off near the start line. The weather was nice, cool and a little overcast - perfect for racing. There's no corral system, so runners just group around pace signs at the start, which leads to lots of people being misplaced, and a crowded first mile.

The first half of the course is the same as the half marathon, but when the half marathoners turn to go back into esienhour park, the marathoners go out onto Wantagh parkway. Very few runners do the marathon compared to the half, so as soon as you split the number of people around tou dramatically decreases. There are aid stations every mile of the marathon along the parkway, but it felt like it took forever to get to the turn around point with the never changing scenery. As the race progressed the runners became more and more spread out, and by mile 15 I was basically running alone. I had family waiting at miles 14 and 17, and the were a sight for sore eyes when i saw them cheering. When i finally got off the highway and started heading back to the park, it was almost eerie how empty the town was. On the final stretch in the park there were a few race photographers - there were none along the highway - and eventually I made it into the finish chute and over the finish line. I was very happy to be done at last!

They were handing out snack bags that were great, including a black and white cookie, a muffin, a bagel, fruit, and water.

The porter potties at the finish line were gross...I opted to not use them. It was a long hobble to the car, which was parked on the other side of the park.

Before I did this full, I had a friend warn me how hard the highway section of the race is, and i did not heed her warning. While I could see myself running the half again, it is unlikely that I will run the full again.