As well organized as last year, if not better! Give this race a year or three to get the word out to the marathon community and it will be one to mark off on your calendar months in advance. The course is scenic and a great vehicle for runners who have never visited Charlotte before. Police support was great, as well as support stations. Once again, crowd support was weak; however it was extremely cold (for Charlotte) which deterred a lot of curious first-time spectators. For 50-Staters, this is your race for North Carolina!

There was no thunder in Charlotte, only the chattering of teeth. The weather has always been the thorn in the side of all race directors and it is the one part of the event that I never blame them for. It was a balmy 18 degrees at the start. The website touted an average of 51 degrees. Not this day. However, weather aside, everything else is fair game and in this race it was easy to find a lot that was lacking.

The expo was lost in the bowels of the Convention Center with poor signage - an indication of what was to be found on the course itself.

When a race runs out of race shirts it's a pretty good indication of poor planning. This is especially true when you have registered months prior. No excuse. Another indication of poor planning or at the least a concerted lack of imagination was that when a race advertises a theme, we as runners expect to see something remotely related to that theme. Thunder Road Marathon and the aborted tie-in to NASCAR and racing was, in a single word, abysmal. From the pre-race hype, I was extremely disappointed when the only tie-in I saw was on the wrong-sized shirt.

A little imagination could have had one of the coolest start lines in the country. How about a half a dozen NASCAR race cars at along the start line and all wired for sound that could have been piped in surround-sound fashion around the runners? You should have vibrated in our frozen shoes. That would have us talking positively! Thunder by nature is not a quiet and timid event. It should roar! But sadly didn't.

As for the start and finish lines, you should take note as to how Nashville does their finish line. It is at the Titan's stadium with plenty of parking. You have a huge stadium just blocks away. Having to trek multiple blocks just to get back to your car at the end is unnecessary.

Every runner has their day. Equally true, then, every runner has their bad days. It happens to all of us, but it is indicative of the quality of a race to view how they take care of their runners on their bad days. Water tables that were closed early and rent-a-cops yelling at runners to get on the sidewalks are not a good thing - especially when the sidewalks were dangerous. They were uneven, and had low-hanging trees and of course the ubiquitous garbage bins and bags of leaves.

It was highly unusual that the police doing traffic were downright rude and were only looking to get out of the cold. From a PR standpoint, if I were the Mayor of Charlotte, I would be embarrassed.

Crowds were simply nonexistent. I waved at a few residents peering through their front windows as we passed. Granted it was cold.

The finish line was packed up and we were informed that they had run out of medals. The gent there tried to explain that they had "too many last-minute registrations." Again, poor planning.

Every race director across the planet should be required to be the DLR (Designated Last Runner). Bring up the rear and see how the race is done on the course - not as a frontrunner, not in some back office, or not just at the finish line, but at the absolute end. Race directors - your job is not done until the very last runner is welcomed across the finish line - just like the first!

Interestingly there was some tie-in or association with Run For Your Life, but it certainly was not evident from the course's website. There were folks at the rear who were indeed running for their lives. OK, maybe they weren't the young ones, but they were indeed trying to improve their quality of life. Also, for a race to be sponsored by a hospital (Presbyterian Heathcare) you really should not abandon folks at the end.

Also, the website touted itself as a Boston Marathon Qualifier and even had a link to see the qualifying times. Of the 841 marathon runners, 133 qualified. That's not really an impressive percentage (15.8) when you realize the overall small size of the field. This race will never be a serious or popular contender. And, because it is always a subject of discussions, the hills were tougher than Nashville, or Cincinnati, but aren't nearly a high as the haughty attitudes of the people who misrepresented Charlotte and presented this race.

Finally, this race gave the overall impression that we runners were in the way and they just wanted us to go away. OK, I did and I will not return. Neither will the money I spent on airfare, hotel, rental car, restaurants, parking, gas, or registration fees. This was pitiful. This is the 12th race I have done this year, but you can be assured that as I plan for next year and beyond, I will not return to Charlotte.

The Charlotte Marathon was very well organized at the water stations (except that they offer water then PowerAde - it should be the other way around). My biggest gripe is they need to keep spectators off the course at the end or anywhere else. When I finished I got to follow behind some runner who was running with their pre-school children at the finish line. Therefore my finish-line photo is less than desirable. Also keep spectators out of the finish area. The food at the end was very poor.

Charlotte just happened to have set an all-time record low temp for marathon day, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the runners or wonderful volunteers! First half of the course is dotted with beautiful residential areas and gorgeous homes. Spectator support was more than I expected as there were several small pockets every mile. The first half of the course is peppered with hills so hill training would be recommended. Second half of the course after the halfer's split was a bit more industrial and with sparse crowds, which didn't bother me. Second half is a bit less hilly but there is a noticeable hill at mile 24.5. There are enough declines to even out the inclines so a good race time is not impossible here. Only about 850 marathoners but never got lonely out there. Police did a good job of traffic control. Very well organized. Post-race food was a bit of a disappointment with only orange slices, breads and one other item which I forgot. Nice touch at the finish with d.j. announcing names of finishers coming in. Well organized and would do it again. Very enthusiastic volunteers and very welcoming city! Only suggestion: Switch to Gatorade and have a bit more variety food/fuel available at the finish line. I finished under 4:30 but there was no PowerAde left and only had water to drink. Kind of tough to refuel on water after running 26.2 miles!

This race is great! It was very well run and I highly recommend it. CLT came off as a very nice clean city. I will be back.

-RACE DAY PACKET PICK UP : ) Wahoo! I LOVE RACE DAY PACKET PICK UP. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

-This race even had a race-day expo that was open. Given the cold, this was great pre- and post-race.

-The NASCAR theme is great. Even the mile markers were the authentic NASCAR numbers (too cool!!).

-Easy access - no problems finding the race site and I drove from out of town.

-Easy parking at the race finish just a short 3-4 blocks from the start.

-Nearby showers at the aquatic center!

-The opening of the NASCAR HALL of FAME will be a nice tie in. Get a show car at the expo!

This one is a keeper! Run it soon, before it gets too big. Send the 8 car around!

There's nothing especially exciting about this race, and sometimes that's just what you want in a marathon. Course is all rolling hills - they just keep coming but it's not a big deal if you're used to it. The first half is prettier than the second half but it's all really okay, although it would be nice if they could fix that uphill finish. The crowds are small but friendly. There are a lot of turns, especially in the second half, so it's not a good place to go fast. The many intersections you cross in the second half are staffed by police officers who make up for the lack of crowd support. I've never had to say "thank you" so many times before in a race. The aid stations are right where they are supposed to be but the first few could be a little better organized. I liked that they had clocks at every mile. The course was accurately marked except that mile 25 was in the wrong place (.2 off), and that could really mess you up if you were trying for a specific goal. Some music on the course, also very pleasant. They could do a better job with the course maps as it was a bit confusing for the relay teams as far as getting to their starting positions. The expo was not much. They also should consider revising their race theme as they really aren't doing very much with it (Thunder Road) and they might as well be sponsored by one of the local financial institutions instead.

Having been from Charlotte (but not having lived there in 22 years), the marathon was a great reminder of what a beautiful city it is. The route showcases several impressive neighborhoods and beautiful downtown. It was neat running by the Carolina Panthers stadium right next to the Fox Sports RV (there was a game scheduled for the next day). Crowd support was pretty good, considering we had a record low of 17 degrees! The traffic control was SUPERB! NO CAR FUMES! The race and expo were well organized, but I have a few suggestions: 1. A more exciting finish - how about IN the Civic Center like they used to do for the Charlotte Observer 10K? That would be HUGE. 2. How about more tables of post-race food? There were loaves of bread where you could take a slice and fruit slices - come up with something unique like bags of Chex mix (checker flag symbolism here) or something and more to drink - hot chocolate?? 3. Have more race stuff with the logo on it - mugs, water bottles, key chains, etc.

Overall, the course was not difficult (I qualified for Boston) but we felt the hills "later." It is a great December marathon and I would recommend it.

Ran 1/2 marathon: Charlotte needs a first-class marathon. This will be it. This must develop into an exciting EVENT. The exhibition hall needs to have more directional signs to help runners before and after the race. The exhibition hall and finish line need food vendors, samples, race cars, music, drinks (think beer), etc., etc. and even more than one sponsoring clothing vendor. Keep developing it. Need a big sponsor.

I ran this race, my first marathon, last weekend. I don't have anything to compare it to, but as a runner it didn't leave me wanting anything else, other than by the time I finished there was nothing but some bananas, oranges and bread to eat. The course was very hilly and rolling, and the first half is much more scenic than the second half. Having water and Gu stops very often was great and the fan support seemed great to me too. There were people at almost every intersection cheering us on.

This was my first Thunder Road Marathon and probably not my last. The turnout was low for the runners as well as the community support, most likely because of the unexpected cold temps. All aid stations were well stocked and staffed; and there were actually four opportunities to take a GU, though all late in the race.

The course included some rolling hills, but nothing steep or long, something this Tampa guy was thankful for. All in all it was an enjoyable course. Not enough spectators, but the folks who did venture out were very enthusiastic!

The post-race area had bananas, oranges, breads, water and PowerAde... which was OK. But a nice hot bowl of soup would have been great. Even grilled hot dogs or sausages would have worked. Food for thought for future races.