This is my fifth Thunder Road and it continues to get better. Spectator support is somewhat scarce in some areas while there are wild parties in others. It was challenging with the hills, and yet there were some flat portions (never enough). I highly recommend this race for all types. If it's your first time, make sure you check the elevation maps.

Charlotte is a great town with wonderful people! Really good crowd support on a cold day! Volunteers rocked! Thank you so much for braving the cold to make our day better.

In this year's Thunder Road Marathon, a few things were better than last year, and and two definitely were not!

On the positive side:

* Most folks like the technical shirts better, and Charlotte changed to a very nice tech shirt,
* As a surprise, they passed out a second technical shirt at the finish line. Very nice!

But there were disappointments!

* Other then the name (Thunder Road Marathon) there was NO support from NASCAR. Not a single car parked on the course. No cars at the finish! No NASCAR drivers. Nothing! Why not just call this the Charlotte Marathon? I was disappointed. Last year, at least there were race cars parked at several points along the way and at the end.
* The finisher's medal was not dated! Just a plain medal with the words "Thunder Road Marathon."

But still, this was a fun race. I wish they could change the course to an out-and-back; the first half is BEAUTIFUL, but the second half not so much.

This was my second time running Thunder Road. I ran it last year also. I think it is time to start thinking about some limits on the race. I have no idea how many half or full runners there were (I heard someone say 9,000), but I expect there were at least three times more half runners, since the course was extremely crowded all the way to the separation point. If the race continues to grow but the same logistics are used every year, more runners are going to be finishing feeling very dissatisfied.

Three examples:
1. Not enough porta-potties on the course. Seeing 15-20 people in line to use a porta-pot at every aid station on the front half of the course is ridiculous. I waited 5 minutes to use the restroom at mile 6 and another 4 minutes at mile 10.
2. There were 5 gels left when I got to the first aid station that offered them.
3. There was absolutely nothing left in the finish line area except some green bananas, PowerAde and a Snickers energy bar when I finished. It looked like a ghost town. All of the tents were being taken down and they were pushing the NASCAR away. And I finished in under 5 hours. Did all the half marathoners eat everything? When a course says it will remain open for 6 hours, but there is nothing left in the finish area for the mid-to-back-of-the-pack runners, that is poor planning! Last year there was fruit, bread, hot chili, and BEER! Very disappointed. I did get another tech shirt shoved into my hand. Consolation prize for us slower runners, or did everyone get a finishing shirt?

I don't know what the answer is. Limit the half runners? Cut out the half completely? Start the half runners later? They run the Dowd Half Marathon in November; why do they even need a half mixed in with the full marathoners if they can't support that many runners?

Other than that, very well run marathon. The course is what it is. Scenic first half, and some good block parties going on in the second half. Loved that we got a tech shirt this year instead of cotton. Expo was good. Staying warm in the convention center beforehand was appreciated. Plenty of water and PowerAde on the course. Lots of enthusiastic volunteers and some spectators along the course. Good bands- the few that there were. I especially liked the drum and cymbals group under the bridge near the stadium.

Well, this was my very first marathon and overall I was pleased with the training I did to knock out 26 miles and 385 yards. Many of the long runs I did were on sections of the marathon course, and that definitely helped. Strongly recommend running sections of the course if you are reasonably close to Charlotte.

Yes, pace groups were present and they should help, in theory. I started off with the 3:15 pace runner and we held 7:12/mile. No, that is not the pace for a 3:15 marathon, but closer to a 3:09 marathon. Someone in our group questioned the pacer about this and his response was that he was going to get everyone who stayed with him qualified for Boston. Well, that's nice, especially since many of the group was younger than 35, but not so great for the folks in 35-39 group, of which there were a few. Consequently, many who thought they were on 3:15 pace were dropped, hard, around the 11.5-12 mile stretch up E. Morehead. The pacer crossed the 13.1 clock at 1:34:30. Yes, if you are running a race, you should wear a watch that works and know how fast you are running, and should be running to reach your goal time; but at the same time, if you are a pacer, you should run at the pace you are advertising, not faster.

The conference center was awesome with respect to location of the start/finish lines and infrastructure. Bathrooms were clean and plentiful. The physical location is readily accessible from the Charlotte Light Rail. It's a $3.00 ride, round trip, and there is a stop called 3rd St./Convention Center, which is about 120 yards from the Convention Center doors. If you are living in South Charlotte or have access to a place to say close to a light rail stop, you would be crazy not to take advantage of the light rail. The expo was decent. I didn't buy anything, but it was easy to get my registration packet and check/reclaim the bag I brought containing change of clothes and such.

The volunteers were wonderful. Lots of water and PowerAde Ion on the course, and GU was where it was advertised on the website. It was really cool to see lots of little kids handing out cups and stuff, especially since it was in the mid 30's or so for the race! The marathon medal really is first class, and if you complete the Dowd YMCA Half Marathon in November, in conjunction with Thunder Road 26.2, then you can received an additional 39.3 medal. The latter is not as large, heavy, or attractive, but getting two medals for one race is better than getting one medal for one race.

The food was ordinary in the finishing chute. Smaller, local races in the Charlotte area had tastier treats with more variety. With such a huge NASCAR presence only a stone's throw away, I am a little surprised that one of the sponsors wasn't a domestic brewery. Oh well. The volunteers in the chute were awesome at making sure you had PowerAde and/or water as quickly as possible, and the girls who took the old-school Champion Chips off of the shoes were great. On a greener note, they did go with an email virtual goody bag to eliminate unnecessary printing and paper.

Marathon #2 is on the horizon and it probably will not be Thunder Road 2010 simply because I want to run the next one on a flatter course. Tough course for a first marathon, but I will probably run it again in the future. If you are a seasoned marathoner, you should definitely give Thunder Road a go!

This was my first marathon, so I entered it without expectations.

Being from Charlotte, I felt that the course did a fantastic job of showing off the town. I enjoyed running through downtown, Myers Park, Plaza Midwood, NoDa - all beautiful areas in their own unique way.

Crowd support was sporadic: not many people can out in the Myers Park neighborhoods, while those in Plaza Midwood and NoDa were throwing sidewalk parties! Lots of spectators were clustered downtown to see the runners come through.

I'm just not a fan of the combined half and full marathons, and this is the race where that sentiment began. It makes the start very congested and the race a bit discouraging when the half-ers are gunning it around miles 12 and 13.

The expo was pretty lame, and I hope that the organizers work to improve that for future years. It completely failed to pump me up for my first 26.2 mile run the next day.

The long-sleeve shirt was nice, as well as the finisher's medal. There was adequate food and beverages to refuel at the finish. The weather was beautiful; this is a good option if you're looking for a winter race. I also like the pace team option.

While I enjoyed this as my first full, I would not run it again.

I ran the 2008 race. It was very well put together and nice. The hills are not steep but they are rolling and constant. I cut about 12 minutes off of my PR, but I think it was the strongest race I have run yet. The hotels are close and very accommodating. The Garden Inn Marriott is literally the finishing line, which is nice after running for so long.

I ran the 2008 marathon. Its been two months and have not received my finisher's certificate.

I liked the race. Run Charlotte; you will like. Not all races can be NYC or Chicago. This is a quality smaller marathon.

Pros:
1. The first 13 miles are VERY nice and show off Charlotte.
2. Tim Rhodes is a quality race organizer and is building a strong marathon.
3. Neat MEDAL that follows the theme.
4. Ran a PR, even with the hills.
5. The convention center is right on the start line so that you can stay in warmth right up to the gun. You also do not have to use porta-lets.
6. VOLUNTEERS with plenty of water, sport drink and GU.
7. I liked the long-sleeve shirt; I have worn it several times since on cold run days.
8. The expo was ok - I do not go to buy my running gear, so I am only looking for other race info and new products.
9. Plenty of HOTELS in walking distance.
10 Got to run the race with my daughter who lives in Charlotte - LIFE is so GOOD!
11. They were having a large kids run to promote fitness with well over 1,000 kids starting after the marathon. With obesity so prevalent in kids today, it was great to see the local organizers working to change kids' habits. KEEP up this GREAT work, Tim!!!

Cons:
1. The second half of the marathon runs through pretty plain urban miles, BUT very few cities can put 26 continuous miles together that are exciting.
2. HILLY, but not nearly as bad as I had anticipated even though I train in Orlando, where there are no hills.
3. Thin on FANS, but consistent; it was neat seeing people in front of their homes having early morning cheering parties.

This was my second race organized by Run for Your Life in Charlotte, and I have thoroughly enjoyed both.

It was first time doing Charlotte, so the elevation chart scared me a little, but I thought it was manageable. Crowds were small through the neighborhoods, but they motivated the hell out of me when I need it coming back into the city after mile 21-22. Highly suggest you train on some inclines to prepare yourself! I PR'd but it still hurt a little.

Cons:
-Expo could've been better, but good for the marathon's size.
-Marathon's logo gear was very limited (was looking forwarded to buying a jacket but only had XL's all weekend).
-Runners were packed together and few folks abided by the runners' seed pace integrity creed. LOL.
-T-shirt was ok but could've been better.
-The temperature was 31 degrees at the start!! LOL. (But after a mile warm-up, you'll be ok.)

Pros:
-Course was nice as hell.
-Medal was awesome.
-Highly suggested you stay in the city (Hampton) because after you're done, you can still see runners from your room run motivated at the finish line.
-Waiting inside the Center as long as you wanted for the race to start.
-The stretch coming back into the city is most definitely motivating!!
-Race is small enough they say your name coming up the stretch, which is definitely a bonus when your body's on empty.

I would recommend the marathon not just for time, but for the challenging course to say you did something that crazy.

I thought the course for this race was the absolute best course that could be laid out in the city of Charlotte. The second half may not be through the upscale neighborhoods like the first half, but all cities have areas like that. And NoDa in the second half was the best spectator area in the whole race. They were having a ball over there. This is a very nice race and well-organized. Plenty of police support and traffic control. The medal is one of the best I've seen in a marathon, very high quality. There was plenty of GU and fluids on the course. Plenty of food afterward. Being able to stay inside at the Convention Center before and after the race was a real plus, considering the temperature was quite cool. I am used to being staked out in the cold at most marathons, so to be able to stay warm before and after is a real plus. This is a great race that everyone should put on their race calendar.