Marathon Expo

   Time is moving by pretty quickly and Monday is approaching fast!  Saturday morning marked the day that Renee and I were going to go to the health and wellness expo at the Hynes Convention Center.  For those of you who have never been there, its basically a huge convention center filled with marathon memorabilia, new running equipment (shoes, water bottles, sports bars, etc) and lectures about running, nutrition and injuries.
    Based on our experience last year, we decided to get to the convention right when they opened up because the place gets packed!  Just imagine how crowded it would get if half of the marathon runners and their significant others showed up ... you are talking upwards of 25,000 people!!  Right when we got there we went straight to the bib number pickup.  This section is divided up by number and since Renee and I were in the 24 and 25,000 range, we were all the way down at the far end of the hallway.  In hindsight, its probably easier to board an international flight than it is to get your number.  In order to officially acquire your number you have to: 1) Present the number pickup card that was mailed to you, 2) Present a photo ID with accurate address, and 3) Sign a release form.  Its quite an intense process and actually reminds you that they reason they take such care in handing out the numbers is because they are ridiculously hard to get.

Its official!!!

Renee with her official number!

     After we got our official number, it was time to head into the expo and do some damage to the checkbook.  Renee and I were actually luck in the sense that we were able to get the official marathon race jacket and fleece from a local store in Boston using a 15% off coupon (which I think saved us about $60).  Despite the fact that we had already gotten the jackets, it didn't stop us from buying tons more stuff.  Included in the stuff that we got at the expo was a Boston Marathon Duffle Bag, flip flops, T-Shirts, energy packets for race day, marathon pint glasses / key chain and of course the picture frames to commemorate our running of the race!  Honestly, it was one day where price really didn't matter. 

This is the Adidas section of the expo, which only makes up a small chunk of the actual event.  You can see from the picture how crowded the place gets!

This is me sporting my new bag.  The bag was filled with stuff that we had already bought.

Renee holding up the pair of flip flops that we each bought.

    Once we had finished buying stuff at the expo we were able to meet up with our friends Tom & Lyn for lunch.  We decided to head to Atlantic Fish since it was located right out on Boylston.  Marathon season is always a good time because we are able to spend a lot of time with them.  I think in the last few days, they have introduced us to more people than I can describe!  Its pretty ridiculous how many people they know.  After lunch, it was off to "The Naked Tour" where we would meet some more incredible people (see next entry)!!!