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Apr 30, 2024

Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 4.3

Spectators 3.4

Number of comments: 181 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

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K. D. from Columbia, SC (12/13/2010) "Great race! You'll love it!" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 After hearing how hilly Thunder Road was, I had stayed away; but I ran it this year. Loved the course! Not as hilly as some have said. I ran Atlanta last year, compared to which Thunder Road seems almost flat. Great course, good medal, easy location, good shirt, and even some cheering sections in much need places! Oh, they have beer at the finish.
T. M. from Fort Mill, SC (12/12/2010) "Good race" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I have run this race 3 times. It is a good race and has improved a lot. There are a lot of good things about this race, but they still have room for improvement. Course: This is a very nice course. It is hilly, so be prepared for that. Traffic control is excellent. Charlotte is not a scenic city with rivers or bridges, so don't expect that. You do run through some nice residential areas, and NoDa is a great area to run through with all the fan support. Medal: Very nice medal. T-shirt: I ran the half this year and did not like the shirt. It was a technical, short-sleeved, unisex T. The unisex shirts are just not sized for women. The small is huge. Expo: I thought the expo was completely adequate. Enough running gear there that you could pick up anything you might need last minute and take home some stuff if you saw something you liked. It was not crowded so you could browse and really look at everything. The last few marathon expos I have been to were so crowded that you couldn't shop at all, so this one is nice. Food: I couldn't find the food afterward. I really didn't want anything, so that wasn't a big deal to me, but where was it? I did see a beer truck that allowed 2 beers per runner. There was also coffee at the finish, but when I got in line to get some they were having an issue with the coffee maker, so I never got any. The coffee is a great idea, though, because it is usually cold at this race. Convention Center: A HUGE plus for this race is that you have access to the Convention Center before and after the race. This is WONDERFUL in that you can stay inside and stay warm until time to line up and also use the restrooms indoors. I am always very cold when I finish running, so I was very glad to be able to go inside and change into dry clothes and warm up. Start: They need to start using corrals or something here. The start line was very crowded and hard to get access to with the fencing up all along the sides. You couldn't easily find a place to enter the start area. All the pace group leaders were jammed up next to each other like 10 feet apart so everybody was trying to go to the same spot in the start area right up front. Better organization at the start is needed. I did love the touch of the NASCAR car engines and the flag being dropped. I heard they are moving this race from December to November next year. I am disappointed because I live locally, and it was nice to have a local race in December to run without having to travel during the Christmas season. In summary, this is definitely a race worth putting on your calendar.
S. E. from St. Louis, MO (12/12/2010) "Toughest course (almost cruel) and conditions" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I think the organizers of this marathon should market it as one of America's toughest marathons. Having run Big Sur, MDI in Maine, Boston, New York, and St. George, this is at least as hard as any of those - if not harder. The hills, while not as dramatic, are constant, and by the time you get to the downhill, your thighs are spent and the pounding begins. Coupled with the cold and wind, it's a real test of will.
M. M. from NYC (3/29/2010) "Do it!" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I loved this race. I ran the NYC Marathon 6 weeks earlier, and was not pleased with my time. So I signed up for this race at the last minute. I love small-town races. If you are looking for a big-city race, with lots of people around you, don't run this. The course is absolutely beautiful - and TOUGH! The hills were challenging. There were many times during the race where I was by myself - no runners or spectators around - and I LOVED it!! Everyone was so friendly. Do it!
J. D. from Charleston, SC (1/8/2010) "Very well organized" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my fifth marathon and I really enjoyed this course. If you plan to run Thunder Road next year, be sure to study the elevation chart in order to have yourself mentally prepared to face the inclines. Kudos to the race organizers, Charlotte Police, and all the volunteers. I highly recommend this race.
F. L. from Littleton, NC (12/18/2009) "I made a mistake!" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 In my previous comments I said there was no NASCAR support. Guess I was wrong as several people have talked about the NASCAR Toyota as the pace car for awhile. Also, I friend told me he heard the roar of a NASCAR engine at the start.
A. R. from Atlanta, GA (12/18/2009) "Great small-to-mid-sized marathon" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first time running Thunder Road, and I was really pleased with the experience. Having the convention center right next to the start gives you a great place to relax before the race and out of the cold. There are a ton of hotels within walking distance of the start. We had great weather and there was plenty of water on the course. The course has a lot of rolling hills, but it's a challenging one. If you are looking for a good small-to-medium-sized race in the Southeast, I would recommend this one.
R. R. from Indianapolis, IN (12/17/2009) "Call it the "Tar Hill State" not the "Tar Heel Sta" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This course has a lot of hills and is a challenge if you come from a flat part of the country. None of the hills are killers, so don't let it prevent you from your from participating in this well done marathon. Just don't expect a PR time. I ran better than expected, but I don't think this would be an easy course to run in under three hours. My goal was to use this race as my NC race towards the 50 state goal. Participating in this race was very easy to do. A bus goes from the airport to downtown. Downtown hotels were very reasonably priced. Getting to the convention center and the packet pickup was easy and quick. The race might have gone too green because it would have been nice to have a race course sheet and an elevation chart to study the night before but no printed copies were available. The course goes through some really nice neighborhoods for over the first half of the race. The last part is a little commerical but by that time the typical runner is just focused on finishing instead of the sights. The medal was nice, but I nearly lost the medal part because of the thin treads that held it to the ribbon. It broke while I was wearing it but luckily a person noticed and told me. Spectators were few but those out on the course were very supportive. Police support and traffic control was excellent for this sized race. Starting corrals should be added because the start was hectic with many slow runners starting way too far up. Overall, I would recommend this race as a good choice for your NC marathon.
David Terrill, Sr. from Tarentum, Pa. (12/16/2009) "This one won't disappoint you. It's done right." (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The organization of this race is top-notch. Expo was typical, and packet pick-up was a breeze. Traffic control was as good as it gets. Charlotte's finest staffed virtually every intersection where man and machine might interface. Splits each mile were a nice touch, and aid station volunteers were on the ball. It was chilly, but that didn't seem to deaden the enthusiasm of the folks gathered in clusters to support the runners. The course visits a lot of the residential neighborhoods, is rolling enough to work all the muscle groups pretty much evenly, has road surfaces that were in decent shape, and was pretty much litter-free. It was a real plus to have the convention center open for anyone needing to stay warm or use indoor plunbing. Having the NASCAR Toyota pace for a block was cool. I myself have been a gearhead for almost 35 years, and the rumble of a purebred race engine is music to my ears. With the NASCAR museum/hall of fame next door, this makes a nice destination marathon as well. Race director Tim Rhodes and his staff have breathed new life into this race, and it is growing quickly into the premier marathon in NC. 50 staters, this one will not disappoint you.
S. E. from USA (12/15/2009) "Nice course, organized, but where was the food?" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my 5th marathon, and first Thunder Road. I enjoyed the course (mix of neighborhoods), the hills weren't as bad as expected, and organization was very good. Nice shirts - two of them. Most everyone was VERY friendly: pacers, other runners, even the cops holding traffic. Several CMPD cheered the runners as we ran by. Am I the only one who missed the food at the finish? Where was it...? Was a bit woozy, but I didn't see any juice, cookies, bagels or any of the normal fare. Thanks for the bottled water and a single slice of bread, and that was it. The green bananas were not ripe enough to peel. A race director was right there, and when I asked about the food, he apologized and said a vender didn't show but there was food for sale nearby. When i told him that I didn't run with any money, he apologized again. I was floored at the lack of food. Overall, glad I ran it, but probably wouldn't travel from the West Coast for it again.

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