Cleveland Or Bust- Expo

Rob and I woke up bright and early on Saturday to head to Cleveland! We even left one minute ahead of schedule.

After some time in Pennsylvania we arrived in Ohio!

Yes, I am so excited that I am clapping in the background, and yes I am directing the camera man. The drive was pretty painless and we arrived right on time! My parents greeted us at the entrance and so did the hotel...

I am a marathon participant!! 

We tried checking in, but since we were early, our room wasn't quite ready. We decided to put our stuff in my Mom and Dad's room and head to the race expo. The Hyatt Arcade was the official hotel for the race and they offered a free shuttle bus to the expo.

We jumped on the school bus and traveled to the I-X Center which was near the airport, and a pretty good distance from downtown. As soon as we got off the bus there were beautiful, athletic people all over! The expo was huge and very well organized. We were given our bib numbers ahead of time but they had an alphabetized list posted as well.

Once we entered, we were surrounded by all sorts of cool products and merchandise. I headed over to the table where the official race gear was located but didn't find the finisher's jacket I knew I wanted. I guess they were only available for ordering after the race. Next up Dad purchased a 10k sticker since he would be achieving a new distance PR the next day!!

We then headed over to bib pick up and I got my bib. But that was it. No shirt or goodies or anything else. Weird. I headed over to where Dad was picking up his bib and the volunteer instructed him to proceed over to the next line where he would get his shirt and bag! Why didn't my guy tell me that?!?! Oh well.

Lucky number 13 in the middle! 

I am always nervous about my tech race shirts, I never know what size to order, especially when they offer a women's fit. The volunteer was VERY helpful in making sure I got a size that worked for me. I was a bit disappointed because I am not a big fan of white tech shirts, but beggars can't be choosy.

We then walked around the expo and checked out the different vendors and booths. I was excited to see that Road I.D. was there because I have been wanting to order other colors. Mom even tried to order me some for Christmas and didn't have any luck. So she bought me the colors I wanted and even bought a new color for Rob.

After we walked around we got a light (and expensive) lunch at the expo and headed back on the school bus to the hotel. Riding the shuttle to the expo was pretty neat because I got the opportunity to talk to other runners and listen to other running war stories. When we arrived back at the hotel our room was ready so Rob and I took some time to get settled.

Sweet souvenir room key!