I was really excited for this race. I didn't get quite the same experience as Chicago as I literally flew in on Saturday night, ran, and flew home on Sunday evening. I can't speak to the expo, but i did appreciate the fact I could have my bib mailed to me so I didn't have to worry about getting to the expo in time to pick it up. That is nice feature for out of town folks and something not all races provide.

The only compliant I have is about the long sleeve shirt for 2018. It is hideous and embarrassing and not sure who approved it, but someone should be fired. I was really looking forward to having a nice training shirt I could wear with pride, but alas it is not to be. The shirt was revealed on Friday and really put a damper on things - for me - prior to race day. It just seemed like the organizers were giving all the marathon runners the "middle finger" (whereas the 10K shirts were awesome and looked great).

Listen, do we run for the shirt...no, but it's nice to have and be able to put on remember. This monster will never see the light of day...thank God I run early in the morning so no one will ever see it. The only winner in the "great shirt debacle of 2018" was Brooks...who certainly sold a bunch more gear because no one wanted this shirt.

As for the race, it was a nice combination of flat and hills. The early hills were good and the final hill at .2 from the end is legit, but short and manageable with the crowd support. The opening few hills are up and down, but then it levels out pretty well and the only hills are the bridges and on ramps. The scenery was great, the monuments and the foliage made it a beautiful run. There are a few times where the spectators seemed to creep closer and closer to the runners, which seemed to create a bottleneck of sorts...particularly in large running groups.

I would definitely recommend this race for the crowd support and military involvement.