This year the Marine Corps Marathon turns 30–and she’s not even lying about her age. To commemorate this milestone (no pun intended), 30,000 runners are competing in this year’s event. We know you’ve been training for months, eschewing late nights at bars for eight hours of sleep, and beer and jumbo slices in favor of Gatorade and Power Bars. And now you’re ready for the ultimate test of endurance: waiting in line to pick up your race packet. After that, the marathon is a breeze.

Okay, so that might be a teensy bit of an exaggeration, but when DCist showed up last year to pick up our race packet, we were horrified to see the 5+ hour line, and we were pretty sure that standing around for hours on end was not the best way to spend the day before the race. This year packet pick-up has moved to the DC Armory, which we hope will be a smoother operation.

Running 26.2 miles is hard enough, so we at DCist decided to lend our
extensive experience as both runners and spectators to help you optimize your marathon experience. Why? Because we love you. And we hate blisters.