Great race: Great organization, lots of great food, beautiful scenery, glow plugs and LCD light to come down the mountain for your protection in the dark, great bus ride up the mountain, and a DVD of the event with video of everyone. David and Rhonda are the race directors, and they do an outstanding job. This is an out-and-back marathon, with no loops or circles. They take you 26.2 miles out and you run back. It would be impossible to stop traffic for the total distance. How many marathons run out and back, with no loops and only 2 turns? I did not feel that the traffic was any worse than at some other marathons I have run. This is a very fun, but difficult marathon to run, and very well organized. Every detail is taken care of. Great volunteers also! There are a few hills at the end, but they are manageable. I would recommend it to anyone. Expect sore calf and quad muscles for several days after! Very challenging marathon. Great job on organization and every detail.

This was my 1st marathon, and I ran it with my boyfriend. What can I say about the scenery? Just spectacular! I enjoyed the challenge of the course, and the pit stops were plentiful with water, Gatorade and gels. The organization of the race was 11/10!! David and Rhonda made us Canadians feel welcome, and always kept runners up to date for months before the run. The pre-race dinner and breakfast were very convenient at the hotel, I loved the small number of participants, and the people overall made our run quite comfortable. The option of an early start time was much appreciated as well; being marathon virgins, our goal was to complete the run under 5 hours, and we did! I definitely recommend this run in Morganton because you are not just a number in a pack of 1000's; you are recognized by name and you get homemade cookies and a cool race shirt in your pack!! THANKS, DAVID AND RHONDA!!! We will be back sometime in the future. :)

I absolutely loved this race. My legs hurt more and longer than after any other marathon, but it was easily my favorite. There were very few fans on the course, but I gave it 5 stars because I saw my family 14 times during the race. I'd much rather see my wife and kids than strangers yelling, "Yeah, go runners!" Due to the small field, and the open roads, it was easy for friends and family to follow.

The race started out in the fog on top of a mountain. There were no real panoramic vistas, but the course was gorgeous with the fall colors. The first 13 were downhill, and you can run really fast with little effort, but the downhills pound your legs and muscles. Even though I had stamina left, for the last 6 miles, my legs were gone. I had a PR by 4 minutes, but ran the 2nd half 20 minutes slower than the 1st.

There was a major hill between miles 17 and 18, but the second half comprised 13 very manageable miles. I don't feel it was as hilly as other posters made it out to be.

As far as some of the negative comments concerning the road not being closed, most of us train every day on open roads. It was no big deal, and I think it did not take away anything from the race.

You could not find a more personal and organized race in the country. No loud music or big crowds, but I would trade fall colors, hometown feel, personal touches, and a long-sleeve tech shirt over a big marathon (like those put on by Elite Racing) and their cotton t-shirts and commercialization any time.

This is my second year running the race, and I think it is one of the greatest experiences. The race organizers cover every detail, and truly go out of their way to accommodate runner needs. With respect to the course, it is fantastic, but it takes some training to enjoy. We did 3 training runs on various parts of the course, and it helped not only the downhill running, but preparing for the uphills. Their is one long climb from 17 to 18, and then several rolls through mile 23. None of the additional climbs are very long or steep, but if not prepared, it does seem like they go on forever. The key to limiting the aches is in the training. I was sore, but not nearly as sore as last year. I ran a large marathon (10,000+ people), and it was a great experience, but it does not compare to Ridge to Bridge. I hope to run this each year.

This was my second marathon, and the first that I trained for on a more serious level. As a 36-year-old male, I needed a 3:15 to BQ. Didn't quite get there. Hit 3:27, which I am still very proud of considering my first marathon was over 4 hours. The course is really fun. Downhill for the first 14 miles. But beware... those last 12-13 miles are killer!! My legs were quivering at the finish line, but really no worse than they were at the flat marathon I ran back in May. We started out in the dark at the top of a mountain, but as daylight broke we were headed down Highway 181 and the views were spectacular (especially with the leaves changing color). As for traffic... not a problem. The organizers did a great job of having local law enforcement and volunteers cruise back and forth along the course. Their presence seemed to be constant, and I never had any concern about oncoming traffic - even when I was near the front of the pack for the first several miles. There were plenty of water/GU stations along the way and we could even shed layers at the stations and have them brought to us at the finish line. The tee shirt was a long-sleeved tech shirt (one of the better race shirts I've ever received) and the medal was a ceramic leaf with the race name and year on it (also nice and particularly fitting for this race). Kudos to Dave for organizing a great race and I look forward to running it again next year!!

Sign up early since this fills up in less than 2 weeks (for very good reasons). The race directors, David and Rhonda, are off the scale. Rhonda actually drove up and down the course, encouraging runners BY NAME throughout the run. Check out the message board on the website; it is full of information about downhill training required, other training tips, the course, other runners and more. David even scheduled a free marathon on the route several weeks early to allow runners to see the course. Finally, believe the comments: "You will never be as sore as you are after this run."

I have to agree with the comments from both X.X. and B.R. posted before me.

The Good:
The race director (and his wife) went out of their way to make this a great experience for all. It is a friendly town, and the scenery in the mountains was absolutely spectacular. The environment is family-friendly, and it makes for a nice getaway weekend.

The Bad:
Now I'm going to feel bad about the comments I'm about to make, but I want others to know exactly what they may be signing up for. To start, the first half is mostly downhill as advertised and pretty fast. The second half has A LOT of uphill sections that are very challenging. I was having an awesome race until then, after which the hills did me in and I was too wiped out to enjoy any remaining downhill sections. Do not expect to set a new PR or qualify for Boston unless you have done a ton of uphill training. As evidence, the FASTEST overall runner in 2008 finished at 3:04:10. That means there wasn't even one person to come in under 3 hours. For a fast course, you would expect a handful of runners to break 3 hours, but not so here.

The Ugly:
The comment about traffic is also true. You run on the shoulder facing traffic virtually the whole way, and many drivers are not paying attention, so you need to be quick on your feet at times. In addition, apparently everyone in that town drives Diesel pickup trucks, because I got my life time allowance of Diesel exhaust fumes during much of the race. That didn't help me as I was struggling to climb up some of the many hills in the second half.

In summary, if you are looking for a fast course, find something flat or truly downhill all the way. This course was simply too hilly in the second half and I was totally unprepared for that much hill-climbing.

This was my first marathon. The first 13 miles downhill were spectacular, even with the fog this year. This course was not closed, but the local police support was great. By the time I got to where traffic started building up, the runners were sufficiently spread out to be able to run single file.

All in all, I had a great time for my first marathon, and look forward to running this race again.

Nobody does it better! This 150+-person race fills up fast for good reason. This is a first-class event. I often go to do the Marine Corps Marathon this weekend, but we wanted to try this one based on its reputation for speed, scenery, and fun. It also is much less expensive trip and close to the same distance.

It exceeded my expectations in all respects. We stayed in the nearby resort community at Blowing Rock and made a long weekend out of it. Plenty to do in the area. Bring your camera.

The fall colors were near peak and the Blue Line Parkway where the race begins was magnificent. The weather was perfect. The first half down the mountain is both fast and a quad killer. It's so quick that I had a 15-minute positive split and still BQ'd. My mile splits ranged from 7:30 to 11:00's. But there was a price to pay on the hills of the backside. My legs were hurting the next day more than after any other race in 25 years (from all of that up and down), but it still gave me my fastest time of all my races in '08. This was my target race and I'm glad I ran a lot of hilly trail runs to toughen up my legs for this one.

From the bus ride to the start, to the pulled pork BBQ party at the finish, the race director, David, and his wife and volunteers treated everyone in the race as if we were old friends!

You'll not find a better or more inspiring race director. His personal contact with the runners through email, and then with a handshake to each runner at the finish, is unparalleled at any other marathon I've run.

The first 13 miles are as spectacular as advertised. But as you approach town, you're running on the shoulder into traffic on a busy state highway. The traffic was moving very fast and gave no quarter to runners. The last miles felt dangerous for an exhausted, wobbly runner. I can't recommend this race without better protection.