katluvr, are their stairs at all where you can train? like a stadium of some sort?

that's what i trained on. we have high toboggan stairs here and i trained on those all summer. i did pretty good... except for the dang hail!! it hailed so hard on us we all had welts on us the next day. we walked 3 miles in pelting hail, it was awful. i did get dizzy at the top some, but i'm sure it was stress and weather related. i felt cheated that i didn't get a nice finish with nice weather like i see so many others have.

you are walking/hiking with alot of other people... be aggressive with your walking and pass as often as you can. if you get behind someone who is slow, pass them, LOL!!... but don't over do it too early.

i wish i had a more exciting finish to report for you, but i don't, uggh. i think the most difficult part was being dizzy at the top and the rain. if it hadn't been for the rain, i think it woudl have been awesome. i do remember my breathing becoming shorter... like when i would breathe in, my lungs would fill up sooner type thing, lol... but i did okay. i just didn't over do it, but i was consistent and persistent on my walking.

you'll be fine... but do train hard... if you can find some stairs... that might help.