Boston Marathon Expo Time!!

For the past two years Eric and I have turned Marathon weekend into a big event. Usually spending several days with Family and staying in the city, socializing, seeing a game, running the 5K (Eric) and having a really fun time.
This year shaped up a bit differently with both work and finances telling us to trim down a bit. While Boston is a bit of a drive from us it is close enough to be able to make an early trip down for the expo, returning on Sunday to stay with family living within easy striking distance.

So this morning, instead of waking up at zero dark thirty to dash to the 5K I woke up at home, and proceeded to put on all my new attire and drink coffee. Totally normal!

Love the mug!!!! And the jacket, which looks better in person.

Much to my delight, yesterday was Expo day! One of the best days of the year!

Fridays are not always the easiest day for me to take off but since I have had months to plan this outing I was able to work it all out and my Dad and I hit the road right on time to get there the second it opened.

Road trip yo.

After a rather amusing attempt at parking, which resulted in us throwing our hands up in the air and opting for Valet (so fancy) we moseyed up Boylston and saw the longest line ever waiting to get in.

Apparently we are the best at timing things, and smart not to bring bags, or just famous- because as we walked up to get in the huge line an additional door opened and they shooed us in! (it was obvious that the long line was a line with people who had bags- we are not the biggest line cutting jerks to ever live.)

In typical BAA form they kept the line moving smoothly and I was able to obtain both my bib and shirt in under 15 minutes which is delightful.

Good luck copying my bib with the big red X, bandits... :-(

 You NEVER would have thought  the short lines possible with all the people pouring in!

Just like that!

I had prepared a plan of attack for the expo itself. I am one who becomes easily distracted by all the pretty things and any plan I might have started with fails quickly. I had a feeling that my Dad might not be too fond of my distracted meanderings so I had created a list of places to go, where they were and exactly what I needed. Literally, turn by turn GPS directions.
So. Organized.

I was delighted by how pretty the finishers jacket was in person so I went off list a bit and splurged on one. I LOVE my jacket from 2013 and would love to keep it nice, so I did not feel guilty about this purchase! I collected my other hoped for items (track jacket and mug- I could not find the winter hat that I was wishing for...) All that shopping and we easily moved thru the Adidas booth in under 15 minutes. An absolute record- the line itself typically is twice that long!

Some of my Favorites. Official gear, HOKA and Oiselle!!

From there things went smoothly and as planned. Happy runners were everywhere but the crowds were polite and manageable. I enjoyed being able to talk to the reps and chat about the products that I use. In the past when I have been expo-ing things are so busy that I don't bother with chatter.

I had excellent luck at City Sports, grabbing the beautiful, limited edition Oiselle Boston shirts. I loved the color choices this year and was happy to get an extra as a gift!

I'm sure it comes as no great shock to anyone that I picked up my next pair of Hoka's. I got pretty excited seeing some of the soon to be released shoes- they are doing a nice job creating a great product which works wonderfully for me.  I love freebies so was pumped to be gifted a visor and shirt, totally made my purchase even more worth it!

Cheezin' it up. I'm such a geek haha.

After swinging through North Face for a couple more gifts my Dad and I went to the most important booth at the entire expo....!!!

Sam Adams. Obviously.

My cup had more beer than my Dad's and he was jealous!

It was the only line that we stood in all day and only about 90 seconds long. We enjoyed our 3 ounces of beer, I picked up a pint glass and an opener for my collection (it is an utter travesty that they did not put openers in the swag bag this year...) We took some selfies which is important.
As we made our way out, my Dad made friends with many of the husband/Dad types who were in dire need of a beer! The tiny cups are not inconspicuous. 

Impressively, we were walking out with everything I had hoped to find (and in good spirits!) two hours later. My Dad was an excellent expo buddy, very helpful in the navigation department, excellent at carrying bags and (as always) good at making new friends. And he helped to drive which was key!

From there we hit the only slight bump in the road when first, the Valet seemed to have lost my car (yeah. he did. but we found it!) Then of course, we hit some traffic but it was no big deal.

So great success! A very fun expo trip!
While it is a bit odd to be back here in Maine working on Marathon weekend it is totally fine for this year. The camaraderie of the thousands of like minded people is something that you don't get to experience that often and certainly is what I miss most but I'll have a few hours on Monday to enjoy it!

So until Monday comes, I'll be staying out of trouble and (sort of) off my feet!

Good luck Everyone!