First, I wanted to thank the organizers and the volunteers for their outstanding job and support. As it was my 1st marathon, I read a lot of the former runners comments about this race and found they were very valuable to me. I had to admit that my goal was to survive regardless of how long it would take me. Fortunately, I actually finished in 4 hours and 17 minutes. It was sweet and also an amazing experience to me. I'd say that the supports from the race organizers and the volunteers was the key to my finish of the race. As I benefitted so much from the former runners comments, I'd like to share some of my thoughts with those who may not be familiar with this course.

Family-Friendly: There were a plenty of parking spaces on the race start/finish site. We drove there at 7:15 a.m. from the hotel and found a parking space next to the museum right way. Three shuttle buses continuously ran and took the spectators and family members to the battlefield in 3 stops during the race. My wife and two daughters (13 and 7) really enjoyed it. They saw me and cheered for me at two different locations along the course. My younger daughter ran with me in the last 20 yards and crossed the finish line together. After the race, the runners (along with their friends and families) lay down on the grass lawn, listening to the live band performance and enjoying post-race food. After lunch, my family visited the Tennessee Aquarium while I was lying down in our minivan for a rest. Thereafter, we drove back to Kingsport in northeastern Tennessee. It was a good family activity and vacation.

Excellent and Thoughtful Organizers: Right after I crossed the finish line, a very nice lady handed me an impressive medal. Another nice lady with a camera handed me a plaque (that had my bib number and my name on it, recognizing my 1st marathon) and took a photo of me. It was a sweet surprise and an honor to me. While I'm still curious about how they figured out those 1st marathoners among so many that were crossing the finish line, I'm convinced that they must have spent much time and effort to plan this race. They were very thoughtful and gracious. The volunteers at the 6 aid stations (serving both water and sport drink) were outstanding.

A Medium, Rolling Course: In the former runner's comments, there were different opinions as to whether this course is hilly or flat. As I regularly run in the Warriors Path State Park in Kingsport, TN, I'd like to use it as a reference. The Warriors Path has an USATF certified 10K course. The State of Franklin Track Club (SFTC, the local club) rates this course as "MEDIUM ROLLING." So, I would say that Chickamauga Battlefield course is medium rolling. But, it is a very demanding course. In my recollection, the section from ~6.3 to 7.8 miles (~17.5 to 19 miles) on Viniard Alexander Road was ~1.5 mile long steady climbing (but not extreme at all). During the 1st loop, it seemed not a big deal. But in the 2nd loop, it was a challenge to me and some of the fellow runners. There were also several uneven sections (i.e., the road surfaces significantly tilted from one side to the other side) because of the curves; I could feel that it hurt the inner side of my left knee, especially in the 2nd loop. So, training on an uneven road will definitely help to run this course.

I'll come back again!

This was a well organized race with rolling hills, great scenery and a nice post-race party.

I hope to do it again sometime.

Check-in was a little unorganized. I had pre-paid for a pasta meal, and they didn't have my information (but I finally got a ticket to eat). I had received email about a refund on my meal, but no one knew anything about it. Not a big deal.

Race day everything was great. Course was/is awesome. There were way more rolling hills than I was expecting. Aid stations had everything needed. I liked the bike riders and golf carts out scouting the course.

Not many spectators, but the ones there did a good job cheering us on.

This is a great, smaller marathon in a beautiful, historic setting. Could have used another water stop or two. Other than that, great post-race food and nice finisher medals.

Great course if you like a natural setting. Few spectators, but aid stations were cheering. Continuous rolling hills were tough on a flat-lander like me. Overall, it is one to run.

I absolutely loved this race. It was well-organized from the first email for registration and continued that way until I ate my post-race tortilla soup at the tent. I am a back-of-the-packer and there were not many people with me when I finished, but all of the volunteers on the course were still cheering and positive even after 5 hours. The scenery and weather were beautiful! I put 4 stars because it is a two-loop course and I find that discouraging, but it was two loops of fall colors, trees, and open fields. We stayed a couple of exits down and even that hotel was very welcoming to runners and even opened the breakfast area early! There aren't a lot of spectators, but there is a shuttle for families to come see you, as mine did, every four or five miles. Lovely Georgia hospitality all around.

This is my 5th year running this marathon. It is a consistently good race. The course is beautiful. There are none of the hassles of an overly crowded race. However, I will say that I think the shuttles maybe have had the opposite effect of what was intended, with the number and enthusiasm of spectators going down. Still, there are some lovely spectators, but the last couple years have seemed to be less populated with them. Still, a fantastic race, easily beating many other much larger races, and I intend to be back every year to keep my streak alive.

Great course, great people, great shirt. This race had it all. Everything was well organized and ran smoothly. Just don't get fooled, runners: this couse isn't "as flat as can be" like you hear. Offers a lot of rolling hills and some long gradual inclines. I'd definitely do it again. Great job, race organizers.

The race could benefit by: having more clocks along the course for runners to see their split times; and having larger, more visible mile signs. Overall, a very beautiful course. I enjoy seeing the deer. I hate that the race fills up so quickly. Please let more runners run!

I flew down from Wisconsin to run this race with my brother. I did Ironman Wisconsin just a couple of months earlier and was feeling burnt out. My brother had never run a marathon before and he forgot to train. So we just ate a ton of fattening Southern food and ran slowly. The best part of the race was the cannon at the start. It was super loud and scared the crap out of people. The food at the finish was good too.