Positives: 1. Great Organization, 2. Beautiful Course, 3. Awesome Finish at the Highland Games.

Negatives: Lots of pain.

When I drove into Boone on Friday afternoon I thought I was well prepared to run the Grandfather Mountain Marathon. I WAS WRONG! By mile 18 I was pretty much done 'racing' and shifting into survival mode. Sometimes you are the windshield and sometimes you are the bug - today I was the bug and the mountain was the windshield that I smashed myself against.

I don't think I will run this marathon again. I really don't mean that in a bad way at all. The course is beautiful and the organization is great, but it's kinda like 'been there, done that.' Personally, I get a lot more out of running when I have some success (other than finishing the race). After putting in months of training it is very frustrating to be reduced to a slow painful jog for the final eight miles of the run. so for me, I did it - I finished - It hurt alot - on to the next one.

For those of you who take up this challenging marathon in future years I wish you the best. If you have a 'do it because it's there' mentality - then this is a good challenge. However - this course will not permit a PR (or anywhere close to it). I was 41 minutes slower than my best and 32 minutes slower than my average time (and I was in at least average shape).

Positives: scenic but challenging course; nice start on ASU football field; nice finish on Highland Games field (if you can finish in under 5:30, otherwise you don't run the last 1/4 mile).
Negatives: Non-technical t-shirt (as compared to most other marathons which offer technical shirts); not enough aid stations (considering the typical hot, humid weather); poor logistics to get runners back to the start (pay for and wait for for one shuttle, then wait for another small shuttle - takes over an hour to get back to the start); no gels on course; a lot of traffic on the latter part of the course, no shoulder; not enough post race refreshments to last for slower runners; course is short by almost 1/2 mile (by my GPS which is usually very accurate).

Course: The course was beautiful; I would like to thank the organizers of this race for setting this up in such a beautiful place. The course is even prettier than the brochures suggest. The baby deer sleeping along the course were a nice touch.

Organization: Incomplete. I only saw one outhouse along the way, but the packet pick-up was easy. I thought $5 for a ride back was fair.... It costs more than that to park for the St. Jude Marathon. The cars were a bit of a bummer, but then again I was in the back of the pack. Any time you get that many people in the middle of nowhere traffic's going to be a problem

Spectators: I thought everybody was pretty nice, even by southern standards. There were not many - mostly old ladies in curlers and the folks handing out water. If you're looking for cheerleaders, this is not for you. Put some country music in your iPod and enjoy the course. No banjos, I promise!!!

Worth every minute of the 9 hours I drove to do it, and I am going to try and do it again next year.

Most everyone has said it all. This is no swag, no expo, tiny finisher's medal, you have to bring your own food, AND they charge runners to shuttle back to race start. You really cheaped out on us, race directors. I guess since this race fills up early every year, no effort is put into attracting new runners. I personally saw LOTS of bandits. Yes, this is a small-town race, but it's still really disappointing. All that being said, Boone is BEAUTIFUL, and the course is challenging, mostly uphill. The traffic was there but I was not nervous; you just have to be aware. Curves in the course do take a toll on the hips! There were plenty of water stops staffed with fantastic, friendly volunteers (but stops ONLY have water and Gatorade). Ending at the Highland Games was no big thrill; runners seem to be treated as a pesky afterthought. HG attendees could not care less about the marathon. The race tent was too far away from the finish, and it was stocked only with Little Debbie's and make-your-own PB&J sandwiches. This race needs some sponsors!

This course truly is awesome. It's tough but not impossible. The first 9 miles are the hardest. The last six miles are glorious, as is the finish at the Highland Games.

The course is beautiful. I did better after the steep downhills were over. It is a tough course. Most of the drivers were ok, except for several speeders. The people working the aid stations were great. If I run it again, I will be rested, and not coming of another marathon. I suggest that you have more age groups. The 29-and-under and the 60+ age groups put a lot of runners at a disadvantage. The busses took forever coming to pick us up. Have the race officials ever thought of having the marathon when the highland games are not going on? You could draw more runners, make more money, and it would be safer because there would be less traffic. This could become a large race without the limitations caused by the Highland Games.

This was my first GMM. Most of my other marathons have been predominantly flat and I live at sea level, so I wasn't as prepared as someone who lived at elevation running mountains all the time. That being said, with taking a few walk breaks on some of the tough early inclines, it was pretty comfortable until the last 5 to 6 miles. It was tough, but I loved the race, and the course is amazing. Finishing at the track for the highland games is awesome!

I would highly recommend this race to anyone; just don't expect a PR, because this isn't the place to get it.

Also, bringing your own hydration is good. I had a belt with two water bottles that I filled at the support areas and that worked really well for me.

This race lived up to its billing as the "toughest marathon." It is very challenging, but it has enough downhill that you always recover from the climb. The views are awesome, volunteers are great, and there's something cool about starting in the ASU stadium on the track, then finishing on Grandfather at the cinder track. Bring water bottles - it gets hot - and then just enjoy your adventure.

This is by far the toughest I have run but the scenery takes your mind off of some of the pain. Weather was perfect. No crowd support other than at the Highland Games, and even there it was minimal. Running on the parkway was a neat experience but some of the blind curves on the course were scary. Highly recommend this one.

A wonderful event beginning with dinner the night before and ending in the midst of a spectacular Highland Festival.