Advice for First-Time Marathoners, Part VIII: The Expo

Lesson #8: Get to the expo as early (by days) as possible to pick up your bib and anything else that may come with your race packet (such as a t-shirt and samples).  Waiting for the weekend can be absolutely chaotic with long lines.

Most marathons above probably a few hundred participants have an expo that is open to the public where you can get your race bib, buy merchandise, and maybe even get some samples. The small marathons have very little on this score (I've been to ones that had about 2 booths, and nothing else), but the large marathons can have absolutely massive expos. The biggest expos out there are certainly the World Marathon Majors, Walt Disney World Marathon, and Marine Corps Marathon.

Each of them has something to make them different or special. For example, Boston and London both have extensive speaker programs available. Germany and Tokyo both have special security measures to help guarantee the identity of the person picking up the bib at the expo and that enters the starting corrals on race day. Chicago has plenty of opportunities for those running the race to volunteer some time helping out at the expo. New York is simply massive at the Jacob Javits Center. (The first time I went 17 years ago, I had the opportunity to make a plaster cast of my footprints -- a neat freebie souvenir.) Disney is, well... Disney. And MCM has all those Marines.

In addition to these and other special twists, there are many things these and other large expos generally have in common:

• Official branded merchandise for sale
• A whole slew of vendors, ranging from other clothing, to food and drink, to running accessories, framing and race photography, etc.
• Any number of other marathons (or other endurance sports) promoting their events
• Kitschy paraphernalia to use to cheer on the runners (frame branded oak tag to create signs, to cow bells, small plastic megaphones, and other noisemakers)
• Pace group booth (note: Boston does *not* have pacers for their marathon, so no such booth)
• Many of the above will also have some sort of raffle or other game giving away minor prizes

They typically have a floorplan available in advance and at the entrance to the expo, for those who want to either plan out where to go, or at least make sure they hit specific booths. Personally, I just walk all the aisles, quickly seeing what's there and stopping at whichever booth grabs my attention (samples I want to eat or take for later, pace group to get a pace band, and rarely a piece of branded merchandise or other item for sale).

While I am generally jaded when it comes to the expos now (having run 42 marathons to date as of this writing, 26 of which comprising the 8 marathons mentioned above), this can be an overwhleming and very enjoyable experience. For the first-timer, make sure to soak it all in. Take your time and enjoy the atmosphere. All the more reason to go as early as possible. And if you like it enough and haven't hit everything you want to on the first day, go back for some more one of the later days -- nothing says you can only go once.