The most important thing about doing a marathon (for future reference) is to protect your feet! The marathon although a very enriching experience was also a painful experience at the same time. Why people put themselves through the torture I do not know why – I am still asking myself that same question. Well, I barely finished thanks to getting blisters early in the race – I was pretty much limping towards the finishing line. I think it was at the 8 or 10 mile mark where I got my first blisters even though I greased them before the race – I guess I didn’t apply enough. Plus the early downpour of rain didn’t help either – it kept everything cool but at the same time my shoes were soaked! But all in all it was an interesting experience –  there were a lot of people wearing costumes, everybody was in good spirits (in the beginning!). There was a guy from Japan who was wearing a geta (wooden sandals) -ouch! But all in all I was a little disappointed because of my inability to keep up a good pace – in the end I was limping because of my blisters – all the people I had passed in the beginning were overtaking me. A person jogging backwards overtook me! <sigh> I’d have to say that now while everything is fresh in my head, I would not do the race again just because of the sheer pain. But then again in time, I might just forget about the pain, and because of sheer stubbornness or stupidity, who knows, I might just do it again.