MCM gets a big fat ‘F’ grade for the parking, organization, packet pick up and expo.

Why didn’t they allow people to park in the lot across from the D.C. Armory that clearly was not full?  Mistake#1.  After combing the nearby blocks I was able to park by a school.

Mistake#2– Lines were ri-dic-u-lous. 

It took me an hour to get inside the tent to get my bib. I thought my bladder was going to burst.  I didn’t want to get out of line to use one of the 5…yes 5 porta potties set up.  The line for those were 20 people deep. 

Once inside the tent, the assigned Marine was very thorough in checking my I.D.  He gets an A. 

My question is what bottleneck was going on inside this tent to cause thousands of people to have to wait in line for so long?  Some people still had luggage from arriving from the airport.  This is how you do us D.C.?

Moving on.  Mistake #3.  Inside the tent we were given our bib# and a patch.   We had to go inside the D.C. Armory to get our shirts.  This included the marathon and 10k runners. 

Is this airport security or a marathon expo?  Guess I need to blame the boston bomber idiot for all of the security extras.  It took about 30 minutes to get inside the Expo.

Once inside I stood in line another 15 minutes to use the ladies room. 

The only fast line was for the shirts.  Kind of odd considering how people try on and compare sizes.  It’s the best race shirt I’ve ever received.  

Now it was time to peruse the four isles for goodies.

I thought I was saving the best for last when I approached the Brooks official gear area. 

I made up my mind to get a nice jacket for MCM.  Mistake #4.  Merchandise was picked over and sold out! 

The Brooks staff said they stocked $200,000 worth of extra merchandise.   I asked if the jackets were available online and she told me no.  I would be able to get some shirts in the finish area tomorrow.   Not fair!

More photos to ease the pain.

Finally, on the way out I ran into the MCM mascot.  Glad to end a bad expo experience on a good note.

♥Kelsie Lou♥