I personally had a really tough race, but the organization of this race was great to be able to pull off a race of this size and magnitude in Arlington and Washington, D.C. The course was easy to follow, there were tons of spectators and there were Marines throughout the course. There were also a good amount of aid stations, and medical support was available throughout, as well.

Last year's colorful shirt with all the runners got a lot of complaints, and this year's marathon shirt was a 1/4 zip that was black with faint lines on it — a great shirt! The shirts are unisex and I got a medium, which fits perfectly. The medal is beautiful and looks like a high-quality medal.

I had the unique experience of running this race with a friend of mine that was part of the November Project Seattle group in 2019 when the November Project Summit (7) was in Las Vegas and partnered with RnR Las Vegas. That created a fun experience because we had a lot of friends out on the course, but regardless of whether you know 1 or 1000 people out there....you're going to have a blast!

However, it IS Vegas. And there's so much to see and do and drink and eat that it's another one of those "PACE YOURSELF" weekends so your race doesn't blow up in your face.

I have to say that the way in which you get to the starting line is ABSOLUTELY awful. They send you out in waves, so there's a good chance if you wanted to run with someone you're not going to get the chance. The folx that shuttle people into the waiting corrals are very strict, and for good reason, but it makes it challenging if you had a race buddy in mind. You could probably shift BACK a corral and be okay with it, but someone who is in a farther back corral cannot shift up.