The DONNA Marathon Review

This was my first 26.2 with Donna marathon. This is the only marathon in the United States dedicated to finishing breast cancer, benefiting the DONNA foundation. The marathon course winds through beach communities with the start and finish of all races at the Seawalk Pavilion. 

The course had plenty of aid stations with water and Gatorade and some offered Huma energy gels. Crowd support was great with some neighborhoods going all out with pink decorations and music. The course was well marked for the turns. 

The Athletes Village offered a variety of things like food, drinks, gear check, music, and the post race awards ceremony. There were plenty of porta-potties. 

I am not a fan of a two loop course — seeing mile markers for miles I hadn’t hit yet plays with my mind. If you have run the Erie (PA) Marathon before, you know what I am talking about.

I ran strong and placed 3rd in my age group with a time of 3:23:59. I have never been on the podium at a marathon before so this was such a nice surprise. I got another BQ too!

I also ran the 5k on Saturday morning as a shakeout run and finished with a time of 25:52 and got 8th in age group.

I highly recommend this marathon. The weather this year was cold with record breaking temperatures. It was in the low 20s with a feels like temp of 8 degrees at the start. Hopefully next year and after will be much warmer. I actually didn’t mind the cold temperature.