October 7, 2017 – The Zagreb Marathon Expo Expose

Picking up my bib was very easy.  It was kinda tucked away in the first floor of this non-descript building with a very important sounding name – Europe House (or House Europe depending on which GPS map program you’re using).

 

I’m not entirely sure if my name is spelled correctly in the Zagreb system.  The guy working the computer kept calling me “Kelvin” and jokingly said he needed to see ID… then waved me off as I dug into my pocket for my passport.  He said, “If you could guess that name you deserve to run anyway.”  But my name isn’t Kelvin, it’s Kevin.  I’m not running a website called “runkelvinrun.com.”    (As of this afternoon, that domain is still available by the way).  I showed him my passport just to make sure he was pulling up my record and not somebody else’s.  I’d hate for Kelvin Hanna not to get to run because I took his or her bib.  He asked if he had to put in my middle name.  That wasn’t what I was worried about – in fact, I just waved it off and said thank you and took my number.

Purple is “the” color in Europe apparently.  There are two possibilities – it’s either the “in” color of the year or it’s the “out” color of the year and it’s the cheapest option as warehouses try and clear their stock.  Whatever the case, both Brussels and now Zagreb have had purple shirts for the runners.

I don’t know what the back says.  According to google translate, it means “I have such and work.”  Maybe it’s “been there, done that?”  Or possibly “finisher?”  Or ya know what?  I kinda dig a shirt that says, “I have such and work.”  It’s mysterious and impenetrable and yet packs a punch.

 

Outside of the pickup building, there was a race “expo” that had a couple of vendors hawking their wares on the square (at least I THINK they were related to the marathon… by the end of the day, the arch and various taped off lanes that I assumed were being setup for the marathon tomorrow were all mysteriously gone).  I thought this was where the start would be tomorrow but now I need to google search that as it’s something of a ghost town at the moment.  With a 10 AM start, there’s plenty of time to find the thing in the morning.  The website says it’s at Ban Josip Jelačić Square, Zagreb.  I think that IS where the “expo” was this morning.

It’ll be fine.  I have no idea what the course is like but having walked around Zagreb a bit here, there’s a possibility of hills and switchbacks.

Come what may, I guess tomorrow I shall such and work.