The weather was great and the roads were closed - there were also an abundance of police / sheriffs / constables / conservation / etc officers on a variety of vehicles at each intersection across the course(basically anyone who wanted some overtime showed up!).

My splits were: 1 KM (5:51) 2 (6:01) 3 (5:41) 4 (6:12) 5 (5:11)- The 4th split could have been 20 seconds faster if I hadn't walked (or even grabbed a cup) during the water stop. I really wasn't that thirsty and the stop was past the 2nd mile post; I could have easily skipped it.

1. Don't fly cross country the night before
2. Don't forget hat and sunglasses
3. Bring a bigger (I brought a 6 oz) bottle of cherry juice - it is my secret weapon - it's a low-glycemic way to hydrate and get calories - if you can get past the tartness, it's one of the best juices out there!

All the above - I also spent the preceeding week walking through various tourist destinations in CA: Standing in line for several hours at Disneyworld doesn't count for training; does it? :-)


They also have a tots trot for ages 1 - 6: it's a kick watching the 1-year olds running / crawling / crying for glory!