I was very pleased with the Ridge to Bridge Marathon! David and Rhonda did an excellent job of making the race was a success. You can tell that they spent countless hours preparing for the big day.

The course was absolutely beautiful! For several miles you have a beautiful view of Grandfather Mountain. The course has very few inclines and is mainly downhill. Some decents are very steep! You will definitely feel it in your quads. The course is mainly on dirt road, so be cautious as you are running. It is easy to roll your ankle on the rocks as you are descending.

The volunteers were awesome - especially towards the end of the race! They were very encouraging. The food at the end of the race was great: Homemade peach cobbler, pumpkin bread, BBQ, pizza, fresh-picked apples, and plenty of drinks. Also, I was very impressed with the prizes for those who placed. Someone had made pottery. The pottery was shaped like different kinds of leaves. The person who made the pottery actually used leaves from along the course and pressed the leaves into the pottery. Very creative and personalized. It is something that you can put in your home... a conversation piece, if you will.

Overall, I thought the race was a success. Thank you, David and Rhonda, for all of your hard work!

I ran this in 2008 and, although it's well managed, I could not recommend the race because I felt the run into Morgonton against leaf-peeper traffic was dangerous. The new course has completely removed that concern. I recommend this race and the Virginia Creeper Marathon as two must-runs for anyone who likes smaller races.

This is the best-organized race I have run. The organizers' preparations and attention to the needs of the runners are unmatched. Much of the course is in a national forest, and the scenery is spectacular. If I run another marathon, it will be this one.

This is just a great race, both in terms of the course and the organization. Crowd support in a non-factor in this race, but I could care less about that anyway.

Course: The first 6 miles or so are flat to rolling - nothing too harsh. Miles 6 to about 14 are downhill and really give you a great chance to bank time. The last 10-12 miles are mostly flat, with some downhill mixed in. If you are looking for a place to PR or BQ, this is the place. I've run the Tucson and Poconos Marathons before because they are supposed to be fast courses... and this is better than both. I finally got my BQ here.

Organization: Amazing. No one pays more attention to the details than David and Rhonda. Everything from the registration to the finish is well-planned and handled with care. You get a long-sleeve tech shirt, a ceramic finisher's medal, and if you place you get a handcrafted ceramic leaf with the race name engraved. Oh, and the post-race food was a choice of Papa John's Pizza or BBQ with peach or apple cobbler - not the bruised bananas and stale cookies they seem to have at so many races these days.

Crowd support: Not there, but it doesn't matter. This race isn't about that. You get to run through NC mountains in the fall, the last 10 miles or so being along a river. I was running pretty much by myself for most of this race... and I LOVED it. The volunteers were great and supportive too. Again... I really have nothing negative to say about this race.

Keep it up, Dave and Rhonda, and I look forward to seeing you again next year!

Unless you count enthusiastic hunting dogs as cheering spectators, there were few (actually there were only a few cheering hunting dogs). However, the spectacular course and race organization more than make up for it. While the course is challenging, it is manageable. You will be hard-pressed to find a more scenic course on the East Coast, and it is easy to forget that you are running a marathon for the first 15 miles; but if you do you will pay the price on the next 11.2.

The race organization was great. Everything was will planned and there were a lot of nice touches - too many to go into, but I'll mention a few: gloves in your tote bag, your drop clothes are waiting for you at the end of the race (I know its a small race but still), post-race food included pulled pork and apple cobbler.... I could go on.

Needless to say, after running this race, I am a big fan. did I run a PR? No. Did I have a great time? YES. Would I run this race again? In a heartbeat!!!

This is a very well run and organized event. There are spectacular views along the course with very little pavement to bang your knees up. The course was changed last year; most hills are gone - there's just one gentle downhill with a drop of about 3,000 feet. The volunteers were wonderful, and there was a feast at the end. This is definitely one you have to do. Beautiful scenery. Thank you, David - great job, and help me, Rhonda.

I ran this race in 2008 and I must say how inaccurate the description of the race was. The race was advertised as being full of extreme downhills (true) and "gentle, rolling hills" (100 percent untrue). There was nothing "gentle" about those hills. Painful, long inclines were a CONSTANT during the second half of the race.

The end was also dreadful because we were literally running on the side of the road, which was a highway. In other words, there were EXTREME dangers while running. You would think they would have at least blocked off the road while the race was going.

No fans at all to cheer for you while you're going through the first 24 or so miles. The volunteers were decent; however, some seemed very uninterested.

Even though all of the above is negative, I've saved the worst for last. I didn't hit my goal in the race, and when I posted something on the message board about my feeling that the course was very misleading in the pre-race description, the person in charge of the race basically trashed me by saying that I was "far too out of shape and set unrealistic goals." He said this in front of the entire message board. Way to trash the leader of your race for the first half, along with a paying customer. Keep in mind, in basically the shape I was for Ridge, 4 months later, I ran over 34 minutes faster in my next marathon. So that disproves his theory about me being in "bad shape."

I honestly feel that a lot of people give this good ratings because of the "homemade" cookies at the end. If you want homemade cookies, go to a darn bakery; don't make it your basis to give a race a good rating.

I've read reviews, and the course and organization have been described very well by others. My comments offer the personal perspective of a slow runner.

I did this race because it was nearby and fit into my plan to do 69 races by my December birthday. Found it on the 'net. RD responded quickly and positively to my questions and concerns. Even gave me requested number 66, which was on ID tags. Everyone got a nice fabric drop bag with attached plastic ID tag. Homemade cookies with personal note included catch your attention at pick up time, as does NC pulled pork at the end of the race.

Going down the mountain, I heard wind coming through the trees on my left and initially thought it was a vehicle. It was cool. Within the next few seconds, I felt warm air coming on the right side. This was amazing to me and I sang, "How great thou art." That run down the mountain was fantastic. I remembered what Chi running says, "Run like you did when you were a kid" and I enjoyed the heck out of it. The man on the bike constantly checked on us.

Once down the hill, I saw kayakers, friendly and unfriendly looking bear hunters, and even friendly (though frustrated) fishermen along the river, which was high from previous day's rain. Often a car passed and someone checked on me, giving words of encouragement or even history of the area. Volunteers along the way were absolutely wonderful. I stopped and chatted with some. Got a needed Coke from the visitor's center around mile 18 or so.

Finish line had recently met friends waiting for me, over 6 hours, and they didn't do the race! Very nice. The warm, friendly and caring attitude that came from those that put on this race was the best! I saw so many of my fellow 50-staters out there and that's always a good time for me. The food and handmade medals/awards were something special. I have one of each. But, the thing that really stands out and was such a pleasant surprise to me was this. Early in the race, at about mile 1 or 2, a pickup truck came down the road and parked a bit ahead of me. I thought the man in front was being checked on. Instead, the driver heads back to me. It was David Lee, the RD. He came back, gave me a hug and thanked me for being there. How the hell do you top that?? I intend to be there as long as I am able.

As I approached this marathon, I tried to think about it as running with 300 of my friends. I needed to take the pressure off because I wanted to qualify for Boston. It was exactly like running with a bunch of friends. I met some nice people. I felt like I knew David by the time race day came around. He is extremely organized and sends a lot of emails to keep you very informed. I loved that! The course is now one of my favorite runs of all time. If you don't like mountains, stay home. The views are beautiful. Running down a hard-packed gravel (but really sand) road was an ideal surface. There were water falls and a raging river that ran along the course. The river doubles as a terrific ice bath for those smart enough to get in it. I loved it. I'm not typically a marathon repeater, but I would do it again. And, I did qualify for Boston because it is a fast course, but you have to know how to run it. I would suggest driving it or running parts of it, but if not, just prepare as you would for any marathon.

This is a well organized small marathon on a fantastic course. The course is mostly on well groomed dirt roads, and is easier on the body than one on pavement. The aid stations were top notch; the scenery and fall colors, breathtaking; the buses to the start, well done. Yes, this race is very hilly and runners should train for hills - especially preparing their legs for lots of eccentric contraction. But, this flat-lander Floridian managed to train adequately for it by running causeways and by lifting weights at the gym. If you want crowds, look elsewhere. If you want a well-organized, smaller marathon, give this one a try. You won't regret it.