This was my third year doing the race, so I finally felt like I "knew" it. The Expo is easy in, easy out, with great vendors and giveaways. The Navy Federal Runners Pack is a must-get for free swag. I think it's the best expo in the area, since MCM moved down to National Harbor.
The race itself starts with eight easy to find corrals, marked by an arch of balloons in a color corresponding to your bib. I'm a back of the pack type, so the corrals weren't being enforced too strenously back in waves 6 and 7. The race is strictly no earphones, but I'd estimate that 10% of runners still used them. I never saw anyone get pulled from the course.
The course ifself is a nice miniaturized version of the Marine Corps Marathon. The best part is crossing the Memorial Bridge (something MCM doesn't do) with the Lincoln Memorial in the foreground around mile 2. The bands along the course are okay. Quartets are great, but they rarely can carry the big sound. The Paul VI band at miles 6 & 7 (you pass them out, and back) is the exception, as long as they happen to be playing when you pass by.
The course is pretty flat, except for the late hills on the I-395 Express Lanes, which come after the 14th Street Bridge. Once you conquer these, you're home free. The Finish Line seems to have moved every year I've done the race (in 2016 it was windy, so it was hard to tell when I actually crossed the finish line), but it's a good crowd there.
The postrace is heavy on military tents, if you're into that, great.
Any fair review can't gloss over the ATM's very poor handling of the heat in 2017 - they turned it into a "recreational run" when people like me were 7-8 miles through, but no one knew it. The water stations ran out of gatorade well before our waves got there, but had plenty of water, which should be all you need on a 10 mile run. (On a full this would have been disastrous.) I think/hope the Army has learned their lessons on this, but we'll see.