This was a really tough race for me but it's one that my mind keeps coming back to and I'd love the opportunity to run again.

Course: I had lived in DC previously and found the course to be a little strange. While you get the big landmarks checked off, you spend a lot of time on county highway, and you don't see very much of DC when it comes to the neighborhoods. The finish line is painful but the best.

Lodging: Had the good fortune to stay at a friend's apartment on the Red Line.

Food / Drink: Bourbon after the race for brunch. Rude awakening for this group of Minnesotans when we asked for a beer chaser and ended up paying $8 for a full PBR.

This was my first marathon and it was epic. The expo was a little too mobbed for my taste, but that's what happens when you get 25,000 people running a race. The Marines did an amazing job with the race day logistics - the bag drop, start line, and every water stop were perfectly organized. The course was wonderful, especially running past the monuments of DC. The crowds are incredible, especially the ones standing 4 and 5 deep on the National Mall. The finish of this race is something no other marathon since then (I've run 17 others) has come close to matching: you run uphill to the Marine Corps War Memorial (aka, the Iwo Jima Statue), the entire hill is lined with Marines cheering you on, a Marine officer places your medal around your neck, and then you get photos taken in front of the monument.