• Make hotel reservations early. The close hotels fill up fast.
• Go to the pasta dinner. The food is delicious and the speakers are usually very good. Besides, the local restaurants are typically packed.
• If you get closed out of the pasta dinner, post a note on the Air Force Marathon Facebook page, and you might be able to get one that isn’t being used.
• The expo can be tight. Try to arrive at an off hour.
• Arrive early to the race. There are only so many ways to get onto the base and to the starting line. Traffic can get backed up.
• There are plenty of port-a-johns near the starting line. You can skip the long lines at the ones along the way.
• At the start of a race, I usually try to line up according to my real pace, but in this race, you might want to go a little closer to the front than usual.
• This race offers women’s shirt sizes! In previous years, they fit perfectly — this year it is a tiny bit too big.
• When getting your race medal, pick a line that has a high-ranking officer.
• You cannot re-enter the food tent after you have left. Be sure to have enough food and fluids before you exit. The LaRosa’s pizza tastes great, but is usually too heavy for me. Look for the chocolate milk. It isn’t always easy to find.

That’s all I can think of right now.

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