Act 2: Pre-Race

It had been agreed upon long in advance. Long Shots was flying into Dulles around 0900 hours on Saturday, would be in the early start wave on Sunday, and would catch "g" at the finish line around 1400 hours. There was no way they would miss one and other. They were cell phone equipped!

The night before the race, "g" prepared his traditional spaghetti and meatballs dinner (minus the turkey meatballs which gave everyone food poisoning last May on race day). Marathon Jeannie and "g" had their race arrival strategy locked-in and their alarm clocks set for a 0450 hours wake-up.

RB One Kenobi (Jedi Knight) had the LaBella Cheering Squad race course shuttle schedule mapped out. They were set for a departure time of 0830 hours.

Act 3: Race Morning Reality

In her excitement (or was it pre-race jitters?), Marathon Jeannie forgot to adjust her alarm clock to Day Light Savings Time. Instead of awakening at 0450 hours, she was perky and ready to rock at 0340 hours. Ughs.

With carb gels stuffed into their running shorts, bib numbers pre-pinned to their shirts, and somewhat bleary eyed, they drove to the Vienna Metro Station and joined hundreds of runners and spectators heading east to Runners Village and the start line adjacent to the Pentagon.

The weather was perfect. At start time, the temperature was 55 degrees with beautiful skies over DC. With the first wave of 12,000 runners having started at 0815 hours, Marathon Jeannie and "g" walked to the start line with the remaining 18,000 runners at 0830 hours.

Long Shots, on the other hand, started his morning with a pre-race jog! Stuck on the Metro because of track delays, he hopped off prematurely and jogged to the Start Line... just in time! Like... 5-minutes before Start Time! (Whew!)

And, the LaBella Cheering Squad? RB was up at 0600 hours. With Slammin' Sarah as his assistant, the twins were diapered and dressed, and along with Rachel and Sam... stuffed themselves into the Caravan at 0845 hours. Their first Metro stop along the race course: Foggy Bottom at Mile-9!

Act 4: Potties, Marines, Blaring Rock and Smilin' Faces

As runners and spectators walked from the Metro to Runners Village (the holding area for runners awaiting their start time), Marines lined the walkway and offered handsome encouragement. Powerful music filled the air as folks walked past the Pentagon, checked out views across the Potomac, and felt the history of our country through national monuments that peeked through tree tops. Even better... Runner's Village offered about 500 porta-potties for runner pre-race jitters! An extra special feature of this race for 30,000 was its gear shuttle arrangement with UPS. Based on the first 2 numbers on one's bib number, runners could have extra clothing, etc., deposited in one of UPS's 30 trucks at Runners Village and then delivered to the finish line - a real advantage for an anticipated cool morning when runners would shed warm clothing just before the race!