This was my first Brooklyn Marathon, and Kim and I signed up for it as an adventure run. We stayed in Brooklyn for the first time, and when we got off the subway and started walking to our hotel, I was a little alarmed by the area we were in. It felt like walking down Albany Ave in Hartford.
We checked in and went out to grab some lunch, but I said to Kim, "We’d better get dinner and bring it back to the room because I don’t feel safe walking around here after dark." So, we ordered pizza to go and headed back to the hotel.
That night, the music from the room next door got louder, and people were banging on their door all night long. I was terrified I’d be murdered before morning! Luckily, we made it to daybreak.

The next morning, we walked to the start line and met Susanne and her son, Michael, who offered to share their Uber with us. Michael was running his first marathon!
We got to the start, and I saw that it was a small race with three small loops, five big loops, and one final small loop at the end. It was daunting seeing the mile 22 marker next to our mile 3 marker. But we pushed through, and thankfully, we finished.
Afterward, we walked back to the hotel, sweaty and wearing the thin white jackets they gave us as swag. We also had our heat shields. Dressed like that, I actually felt safer walking back to the hotel!
We checked out and headed back to Connecticut. What a race—would I do it again? God, I hope not!
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