Marine Corps Marathon 10K

Yesterday I ran the first ever Marine Corps Marathon 10K. I had a pretty good race (especially since it was just a training run for next week) and I love the medal. The t-shirt is very nice too. The logistics of the race were crazy and I hope they improve in the future.

Logistical problems:

• Confusion at the start: 10K runners were in the wrong place since there were no pre-race instructions for us. We were lined up on both sides of a grass median behind the marathon runners when we should have all been on one side. They told us this after the marathoners had started running so many 10K people (myself included) had to hop over a couple of guardrails to get where we needed to be.
• All of us were facing the wrong way. We lined up ready to run in the same direction as the marathon but since the 10K runs in the opposite direction of the marathon we couldn't line up in the right spot until the marathon runners cleared the area. Loudspeakers instructed us to move beyond the red starting arch and then turn around and "face the sun". It was crazy. Nobody really undsterstood what was going on and people were wedged in like sardines and couldn't really do anything as the marines were yelling "turn to face the sun!". People on the wrong side of the timing mats so they kept telling us to back up while the loudspeaker kept reminding us the race had to start in 5 minutes (or whatever I forget) and that it couldn't be delayed. All of the confusion resulted in the slowest runners (who had been lurking at the back of the pack) being closest to the starting line and the fastest people were at the back of the pack. As an added bonus, they also thought it would be a good idea to drive a set of school busses through the pack of runners prior to the start. I have no idea why they did that.
• The reverse of the fast/slow runners made for a pretty chaotic start as runners were dodging slow people and the fast people tried to get to the front as quickly as possible. There is an element of this in every race but it was particularly bad yesterday. I might be exaggerating since I was really worried about having a mishap and falling/twisting an ankle or something that would screw up my race next weekend but it seemed very bad.
• Midway through the 10K the wheelchair marathon racers came up on the runners and this caused a huge problem! The 10K folks were totally in their way and were, unfortunately, very oblivious despite the screams of "ON YOUR LEFT" and "WHEELCHAIRS COMING" that were coming from the runners, the wheelchair athletes, and a bunch of marines.
• The race started late enough that there were still pretty many slow 10K people out on the course as the marathon winner came into the finishers chute. I don't think that was supposed to happen.

My time & splits:

Total: 1:07:50

M1: 10:53

M2: 10:51

M3: 10:32

M4: 11:24 (wheelchairs arrived and I stopped to walk and yell at people to get out of their way)

M5:10:41

M6.2: 13:26

I had time to finish my race, eat some food and then head over to mile 16 to catch up with Brian and my sister who were running the marathon.

More later...