Not only did they hand out space blankets, but they also were handing out terry cloth towels with Air Force Marathon stuff printed on them - see picture below. Another Air Force guy was handing them out and kept shouting: "Towel up!" If you look at the middle to top right of the picture, you can see trees - I believe that is the top of the hill you climb in Mile 2 (about 160 feet higher than the start)