At the end of October, I ran my final race of the year- the MCM 10K in DC and Arlington, VA. This race was actually a belated Christmas gift from my dad for the 2020 race which was ultimately canceled. But we had a fun time running a virtual marathon around Bedford that year instead. I was originally signed up to run the full marathon this year, along with my husband Barry, but I ultimately decided to drop down to the 10K distance.

We stayed near the finish in Rosslyn, which meant I had to catch the Metro to the start line in DC. I was up dark and early on race morning to walk the half mile or so to the Metro station to meet up with Charlotte and Katie. It was slightly chilly out, but also kind of humid. While waiting for them, I paced back and forth on the sidewalk for about 10 minutes from a mix of race morning nerves and trying to stay warm. There was an Arlington policeman on the sidewalk, and around the 20th time that I walked by him he said “Are you okay?” I said that I was just waiting for my friends and was nervous and he chuckled and said “Well you’re making me nervous.” A few minutes later Charlotte and Katie arrived and we headed into the Metro – I’m sure the cop was happy to see me go.

Our Metro trip went really smoothly and we arrived at the National Mall area in DC. We walked over to the race start area and hit the porta John’s a few times.

I got separated from Charlotte and Katie before the start. But before I knew it the race was off and running at 7:50 AM. It didn’t take too long to cross the start line and then I was on my way.

The first mile took us around the National Mall area and I liked running by all of the Smithsonian buildings. We headed straight toward the Washington Monument and then hung a left toward the 14th Street bridge. On the way, we ran by a couple of music stations and a really neat drum group. When I saw them hours later, they were still rocking out.

From there, we headed onto the 14th Street bridge. It was nice to hit the bridge without 20 miles on my legs. No death march like last time. However, just like last time, it was quiet on the bridge compared to DC. I actually bumped into Charlotte and Katie on the bridge and ran with Katie for a bit – funny how that happens in a sea of thousands of people.

We crossed back into Virginia and came down off of the bridge, passing the halfway point of the race. From here we made our way through Crystal City. Just before mile 4, I saw my dad. I waved and said hi before continuing on my way towards the finish.

As we left Crystal City and headed toward the finish line near the Pentagon and the Iwo Jima war memorial, it got quiet again. I think I had music playing in my earbud and I just kind of chugged along and enjoyed my tunes. We ran under a couple of bridges where there were a few people out cheering.

The last few miles passed fairly quickly and next thing I knew we were turning left to head up the hill to the finish line. The finishing chute was lined with Marines cheering us on and giving us high fives, which was cool. I crossed the finish line in about 1:26. This was more of a low key day for me, just how I wanted it to be.

It felt like it took a long time to get out of the finish area. I had trouble figuring out where to go (probably my own fault) and finally found my way. I met up with my dad in Rosslyn and we hopped the Metro to head back to the National Mall area to cheer Barry on during his race.

We made it down to the Mall and saw Barry at mile 15 as he was coming off of Hains Point. He looked really strong and happy!

From there, Dad and I walked a little over a mile back towards the National Mall area. We found a bench in a shady spot and rested awhile and enjoyed some snacks. Then we walked back up to the National Mall and saw Barry at mile 19. He was still looking great, but I think the humidity was wearing on him.

From there, dad and I hopped back on the Metro and headed over to Crystal City. I was glad that all of our Metro travel went really smoothly that day. We were able to catch Barry one more time on an out and back in Crystal City around miles 22 and 23. He was definitely hot and tired by that point, as tends to happen in the marathon, but I knew he could also smell the barn.

Dad and I took the Metro back to Rosslyn and waited for Barry in the finish festival area. It was insanely crowded. Luckily, we didn’t miss each other in the crowd and were able to reunite with Barry. I’m glad he’s so tall because it makes it easier to spot him! It also helps that he chose to wear bright orange that day.

I was glad to leave the crowds and head back to our hotel. Later that night, we went out to a yummy restaurant where I had lobster Mac & cheese for dinner. Overall it was a fun race weekend and I enjoyed being back at Marine Corps and getting to see Barry run the full.

At this point, I don’t have any races on the docket for 2024. I’m planning to start off the year low key and just dial things back and run for myself. We will see where the new year takes me from there.