2013 Gettysburg Marathon - My First 26.2 FINISH

Once I had an epic fail at The Empire State Marathon I was hooked. I no longer wanted to go the distance once to check the checkbox and move on. I wanted to learn everything I could about marathoning from any source that I could find. I couldn't fail twice. I needed to be as over prepared for this race as I was under prepared for the last attempt. (Note: This was written in 2021 for posterity, but I've tried to tell the story from a 2013 perspective) Everything Changed April 2013 I don't know what was most stressful, the race or the weeks leading up to the race. I had recently started a new job. A few weeks before the race, I had to travel to Nashua, NH. The trip was fine, but I had tried every manipulation I could to get the date of the trip moved by a couple of weeks. We had to pass through the outskirts of Boston on the way and I was looking for any excuse I could find to be in Boston on Patriot's Day to watch the marathon and maybe ge...