How not to run your first marathon... (Read 729 times)

how was the crowd and the support?

It was kind of lonely all things considered. Since roughly 2/3 of the entrants were running the half, the field of runners and spectators thinned out considerably after the half-marathon turnaround point between miles 6-7. There were several spots along the route that had spectators, but a lot of it was 3-4 people sitting in their driveway clapping at you (I appreciated their support, but it didn't give me quite the boost I was looking for). Also, there was NOBODY that I saw (except medics and volunteers) between miles 24-26, when I needed them the most. Most of the motivation runners got at that point was from each other and from the police who were stopping traffic. I heard, however, that there were more spectators for the finish of the half than for the full (which makes sense). There were some cool drummer guys at mile 12 (maybe?) that gave me a boost. The last 0.2 miles was pretty loud and exciting as well, so that was nice. Comments I have heard from some of the other folks is that it is a better half than a full, which is what you are looking for anyway. It was fun--hope you can do it next year!