Excellent race organization and theme! Enjoyed the pre-race gathering and dinner in a very nice setting at the high school. Volunteers were fantastic and the road markings throughout the marathon were perfect. The hills are tough in the first half but that's the price you pay to see the stunning views of Kentucky/West Virginia mountains. Views are spectacular and lessened the pain in my quads. Aid stations were plentiful and made the miles go by so fast! LOVED the halfway crowd run-through at Matewan. What a great race!! Hatfields RULE!

Loved the race. Loved that it had no PR pressure. Met so many people from all over the country many of whom were Marathon Maniacs and fifty staters. Scenery was beautiful. Learned a little more about Appalachia. Support along the route fantastic. Sleeping over night in the Belfry Firehouse added to the good experience. And it was cheap for a marathon. All good.

Well run,tough,interesting,and fun. Great volunteer support,water stops,and local town and neighborhood encouragement

From the first contact with the race director I knew this would be a good time. The course was hilly, winding and not boring. Water stops were at about one mile intervals and well stocked and manned. This is West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky not NYC or LA, you can't expect thousands of spectators. That said, there were many people on their porches cheering us on and hosing us down. Not so sure how the golfers liked us dropping cups on their course but they were friendly at least.
I like that the pre-race staging is in a grocery store parking lot and that the store was open for business and their toilets were available and clean.
Anyone looking for a marathon (or half) in WV should consider this one. The people are friendly, the course is interesting and the post-race food is fantastic.

I competed in the 1/2 marathon race. The only problem I had was finding the packet pick-up since it was not in the Garmin. The race was well-organized, and the locals were very supportive. It was tough going up the hill, but so much fun running down it. I created a special place on my shelf for the mason jar. It is cute.

This marathon ia as close to perfect as one can be. David Hatfield and his volunteers are as friendly as they come. For a bargain price you get a nice pasta dinner with a nicely performed skit which chronicles the most storied family feud in US history, a nice t-shirt,very nice medal, and a unique mason jar trophy indicating your overall finishing place in the race. However, the greatest thing you get is a wonderfully uncommon race course that includes uphills, downhills, flats, asphalt, trail, golf course, swinging bridge, dogs, beautiful scenery, etc. The course, combined with the warm, humid weather is challenging. I would ask that the individual who ran the half and commented that the course was flat except for Blackberry Mountain come back next year and run the second 13.1. I believe their story might be a little different. This race is not really about time or PR's but go for it if you like. In my opinion, this course is the way marathons were meant to be run (for the joy of running and not having to dodge people every 2 feet). Don't expect throngs of spectators. They aren't there. There are scattered nice folks in their yards and on their porches who will tell you good morning and good job and dogs will bark in unison with your strides. There are friendly volunteers about every mile handing out water and Gatorade. That is a must on this course and David Hatfield, being the great director he is, recognized that. At the finish in Williamson you will be greeted by Hatfield and McCoy. Have your medal placed around your neck by the sweetest little old woman in the world, get an icewater soaked towel, enjoy some watermelon, grapes, bananas, barbeque, water, soft drinks, gatorade and then listen to some live music at the Festival. This is more than a race, it's an experience and it has quickly become my favorite marathon. This was my 4th staight year and I'll be back every year. I can't say enough good things about this marathon.

Tha majority of the course was flat, with only one steep elevation change (I ran the half). Most everyone, including the runners were very friendly. It's nice that they take a little piece of history and let it blossom into the race and festival. The waterstations were wonderful and offered gels and bananas after about an hour of running as well as water and powerade. At the end of the half they offered fruits, gels, water, powerade, cold, wet towels, and live music. I also went down-town for some BBQ & the festival. This is not big city race, nor should anyone expect that from this lovely little town. I hope to come back next year!! Happy Running!

I had heard lots of great things over the years about H-M so maybe I was expecting too much. Overall a basic event.
Bib pickup was a couple tables in a grocery store. Convenient to pick up supplies. Who needs an Expo? Volunteers however didn't seem too informed about what was going on, especially regarding the buses. I stayed in Williamson which seemed empty and I had a bus to myself to the start (did everyone stay at the Super 8 or commute to H-M?). The official start was someone yelling 'GO' in the Food City parking lot. The course was not closed and there should have been better control at the beginning when we crossed the highway, around the 1/2 finish in Matawan and the full finish into Williamson. Policemen just sat in their cruisers or patrolled the first 1/2 of the course and I didn't see any actually step out to direct traffic. You will never run by so many trailer homes. Trailers fenced in and posted with 'no trespassing' signs while dawgs howled from the porch. Very few people were actually out and about. The cumulative hill effect is tough but you are running mostly asphalt and shaded until later in the race when the sun is high. I read a lot of how scenic the course is proclaimed to be, but honestly, probably the most trash strewn course I've ever run despite the rural setting. Water stations every mile were well planned/stocked (and needed) although there were a couple later in the race left unmanned with everything left out on the table in the hot sun. I will mention though, other stations were manned with volunteers who kept the water and Powerade on ice (thanks!). Running into Williamson was a nice finish stretch with a Hatfield and a McCoy to high-five the runners at the finish. Loved the cold wet wash cloth too! I'm a little selfish with my finisher medals though, don't like sharing them with the halfers. It didn't seem that many runners stayed around long in town despite the H-M festival and that was too bad!

A challenging course but softened by the best aide stations I have ever seen. There 25 stations along the course and the people were the best.

Good: Everyone including race volunteers, organizers, sponsors, and runners was super positive and helpful. Speghetti dinner was fun. Shuttles were plentiful and timely. Wooden plaque with finishing place was a nice touch.

Could Use Improvements: T shirts were a plain cotton.

Overall a very fun race surrounded by great people.