Good luck to all runners tomorrow! Here are a few pre-race tips.

First of all, GOOD LUCK to everyone running the Seattle Rock & Roll Marathon and Half Marathon! If this is the first time you've ever run a race like this, here are a few tips:

1. Have everything ready BEFORE you go to sleep tonight! Here's a minimum checklist of things to remember:
• Make sure your bib is pinned onto the shirt you're wearing for the race tonight! This is the first bullet item for a reason. There's nothing worse than scrambling around looking for safety pins the morning of a race. Get this done this evening so you can have a less stressful morning tomorrow.
• Make sure you have everything you're going to wear laid out and ready to go. Better yet, try everything on tonight just to make sure you have it and it fits/feels comfortable.
• Get all of the nutritional things (Gu, Shot Blocks, special drinks, etc.) that you're going to bring tomorrow all ready to go tonight! You don't want to be racing around the house looking for things tomorrow morning. Trust me on this.
• It's raining. Be prepared. Keep up with the latest forecast here. Know what works well in the rain? A garbage bag. Poke a hole in the bottom of the bag for your head and two holes on the sides for your arms and you've got an instant poncho that you can throw away right before the race.
• Did I mention that it's raining? Don't forget to put the body glide in a place where you'll see it (and remember to use it) in the morning. Enough said on that.
2. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Haven't been drinking water today? Go get some now.
3. Eat a simple dinner tonight. Tonight is not the night to try that new seafood restaurant! A group of us are meeting at the Spaghetti Factory at 5:30 this evening. Join us! For more information, see the wall of this event. Also, remember that alcohol dehydrates you. Just saying.
4. Set 2 alarms. Coordinate with a buddy and call each other in the morning, "just in case".
5. This is the 4th Rock & Roll Marathon/Half Marathon in Seattle, but it's the first that starts/ends at the Seattle Center. While this means that we don't have to bus down to that cluster____ in Tukwila, keep in mind that it will still be messy down by the Seattle Center. Here is a list of street closures. Give yourself extra time to get there, and then give yourself an extra 5 minutes beyond that.
6. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

If you would like to add anything to this, please leave a comment!