This will be my third MCM. I think the packet pick-up issue is really a matter of timing. My first year I went late afternoon on Thursday and didn't have much of a wait, last year I went for the opening and ended up in a long line that just got longer by the time I left. I'll probably go first thing again just to get it over with and not have to worry about it. Like Disney, the rush for the official merchandise is amazing, and this year is the 40th, so will probably be bigger than usual.
For the race - that first mile is crazy. The corrals are not assigned, so you have to self-seed and hope the people around you have put themselves in the right corral. I just use that bit to make sure I got out slow and wait until things open up after the big Rosslyn uphill before I pick up my pace. Don't be like the yahoo near me last year who got impatient, bounded up onto the grass median loudly grumbling his disdain for us slow runners and promptly stumbled in a hole and rolled into a sign post. Ended his race less than a quarter mile in.
The distances you have to walk before and after the race are deceptive. Bag drop is in the Pentagon parking lot...but you have to get there and the slog from the street or the metro is significant, then you still need to cross the giant parking lot and work your way up the freeway to your corral. It will take longer then you think it will, so plan for that. Same thing at the end of the race. You cross the finish, get your medal, pic with the monument, and food...then you have a long forced march partly uphill to get to a place where you can meet up with others. The metro is a great way to get around but the platforms will be jam packed with people and they sometimes close the stations when they get to capacity at the end of the race. Last year I bought a parking spot just outside the finisher's village with Parking Panda and parked there Saturday evening so it was just a quck walk to the car at the end of the race. Way easier than waiting for a shuttle or to get into the metro station.
There's great support everywhere but the threee-ish miles on the 14th St Bridge, which is pretty empty. I carried my own water both times and that's the only place I actually used it.
