Tacoma City Marathon

This is my third time in a row running this race. A great change that started last year, is that there was shelter near the start. Another good thing is that there is free parking during packet pickup and near where you take the shuttle. The course is similar to the last two time I ran this race. Some cool parts include running on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, through Point Defiance, and near the water on Point Ruston. There are only 9 aide stations, so make sure to drink more water when it's available if it is the same in the future. If I were to make suggestions for improvement, I would add more aide stations and add more porto potties at the stations. I think there were maybe one or two porto potties for some of the aide stations, and it can be annoying to have to wait in line if you're chasing a time goal. If you run this race, make sure you do some hill work in your training.

There was no expo for this race. There was nothing really exciting about packet pickup. We just went to the Silver Cloud Hotel and picked up our packets at a table. I did wish there was more to it to get people more excited about the race. On race day I went to Point Ruston to catch the bus to take me to the start. Since I am local, I knew the parking situation there and didn't really want to deal with paying for several hours for parking. Street parking is actually quite limited and one does have to pay for the parking spots outside of the lot. I think an improvement would be if the race could have more detailed information on parking, and could work out a discount or free parking for participants. The bus ride was fine. Got to the race start early. It was cold and raining, and I was with a group of people trying to stay warm under a shelter. The race itself was fun. It's a lot more dense until the half marathoners separate out. There are some great views, such as running on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, around Point Defiance, and along Point Ruston. I wouldn't recommend going out too fast initially because it is quite hilly. Also, it might be a good idea to carry some water. Not sure if there was a mistake, or there was a shortage of volunteers, but there was no aid station until around mile 8. It was consistent from then on. But 8 miles without an aid station is not good. Although it was cold and rainy at the start, it dried up and warmed up. It was sunny at the end. Great thing is that there are a lot of food options at Point Ruston to choose from after the race.

We had a chilly morning for the start and no place warm to wait, but there were lots of porta potties and there was never a long line! The course was more challenging than I anticipated, but yet it was very scenic. Even though there weren't a lot of spectators for much of it, the ones out in the neighborhoods were awesome and encouraging. We were fortunate that the weather was absolutely perfect for a marathon this year. I got a room at the Holiday Inn Express which was an easy walk to the bus pick up and from the finish line. The room was clean, well-equipped, and spacious. The staff were helpful and friendly. They even gave us a 2:00 pm checkout time. I would highly recommend it to anyone running this event! Even though this was a relatively small event, it was well organized and I enjoyed it very much.