Hi Mike,

I am it will be my 4th MCM!  It's a great race, I live in Wilmington NC.

The first hill starts a little before a mile and goes just past the 2 mile mark.  Not real steep but a steady climb of about 200 feet total.  There are a couple small dips at the beginning and it's slightly different between the left-hand set of lanes and the right.  This is definitely a place to curb your enthusiasm for the beginning of the race.  You can use up a lot of energy too early in the race.  There's a good downhill from just past 2 to about 3, then an on-ramp uphill approaching the Key Bridge just past 4 miles.  The second hill of note comes a little past 6.5 miles.  You run along the river, make a u-turn and go right up the hill: steeper but shorter, maybe 1/2 mile long, gradually leveling out, then a pretty nasty (short and steep) downhill before heading back to Georgetown (M Strret).  There's a bit of a downhill leaving Georgetown, just past 9 miles.  Then flat until you hit "the bridge" (14th St. Bridge) around 20 miles.  This is the usual up-slope you find approaching any large bridge.  Then flat once again, until you hit that last "little" hill at 26 miles, taking you up to the finish line.  It's really not a big hill, it just happens at a bad time.

Actually, this will be my 18th running of MCM since 1993. I missed one year when my wife was very ill and started but dnf'ed once due to injury. And I'm from Philly.

Hey Mike --- welcome to the MCM family.

I currently live and work in Massachusetts -- but I have lived all over. The majority of time would be in Connecticut. I have family on the Island but we don't talk about them too much as they are Islander fans.

This year will be my 7th MCM. My first was in 1990. This will be my 2nd time on the current course. The old course used to have the first few miles circiling the Pentagon, which was nice an flat. I do not know when the change happened but I suspect the new security needed caused by the events of Sept 11, 2001 has a lot to do with the current course configuration.

Len has the course description down. Those early hills are really nothing. If you're patient and not in a hurry to bob-&-weave your way through the crowd of runners during this early part of the race you'll be up and over that first hill before you know just by the momentum of the pack.

Good luck at the race.

By the way, I have never seen so many weapons out in the open, seemingly locked and loaded, as I did the day of that marathon, since I was in the Army.  Humvees everywhere, machine guns mounted, multiple helicopters overhead the entire time.  It was inspiring, and maybe a touch nerve-racking to think they might become necessary.  It was a great day though, very quiet going past the damage, but being cheered by the construction workers.