Good things...
The course was challenging.
Spectators were great.
Volunteers were fantastic.
Water stops spaced frequently.

Not so good things...
No gel at first gel stop.
Only caffeinated gel at 2nd gel stop (not great for people with GI distress).
Ran out of t-shirts.
Ran out of pizza.
Wrote to organizers a few times before race and never received any response.

I will be back next year.... I ran the half and really enjoyed the course. The support and weather were fantastic - we started out at about 40 degrees. Crowd support was pretty good, especially for first-year race.

The first running of the City of Oaks Marathon went off without a hitch. Weather was perfect. The race started on time and there was no confusion along the course. Water stations every two miles till mile 20, and then every mile. Several handouts of Gu gel. Free pizza and beer at the finish. The volunteers were awesome.

Really, you can't ask for much more. I hope next year more folks turn out to cheer, but I'm very appreciative of those who did turn out.

The second half of the course has challenging hills. I've run the Cape Cod Marathon and I'd say it was slightly more challenging than that. A few folks I talked to who've run Charlottesville, VA said this course was *not* as difficult as Charlottesville.

I'd recommend this race to anyone looking for a smaller, challenging race with good organization and friendly volunteers. Don't count on super fast times or much crowd support and you'll be happy.

The Raleigh area proved that they can conduct a first-class marathon. Everything was flawless. Count me in for next year.

The former Raleigh Marathon came to an end about 5 years ago when a forecasted snowstorm never materialized, but caused the cancellation of the event. (Keep in mind that Raleigh gets such little snow that any significant amount wreaks major havoc due to not having the snow-removal artillery that more northern cities have.)

Thus, I commend the organizers for pulling this together and providing a marathon in the Triangle region of North Carolina (Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill).

The course is really quite nice, with no awful out-and-backs, and a very challenging second-half that goes through about 5 miles of a beautiful, heavily wooded park that many local runners use for their weekly long runs. And it's NOT flat!!

The problem is that to guarantee financial success, the event was set up to have 2600 half-marathoners and only 1100 full marathoners. So for those who take at least 4 hours and 30 minutes, companions are few and far between. Plenty of volunteers out, though, and you get a lot of encouragement from bikers, walkers, and non-event runners during the park stretch, and then from various housing developments along a 5-mile stretch down a pretty "back road" to the main thoroughfares that take you to the marathon finish. But this layout and limited number of runners doesn't lend itself to the types of "spectator zones" set up in many other marathons.

Other shortcomings:

1. Essentially no music on the course. Many other marathons hire several live bands to perform at various parts of the course.

2. Only 3 clocks the entire course: at the halfway point, the 3/4 point, and the finish. I've run in other marathons that have clocks every mile.

3. Some awful drink concoction I've never heard of called Ultima. I'm glad they had it at the expo, because I tried it there. It tastes ok, but 10 minutes after drinking it I suddenly felt really horrible. So I ended up carrying 2 large bottles of Propel to get my electrolytes and just drank water at the stops. Other than getting it free or for a very low price, I don't understand this new trend towards using PowerAde (wretched!!) and similar lower-calorie drinks instead of Gatorade. It's a lot more pleasant to get some calories (on top of carb loading prior) from Gatorade during the race, rather than relying almost entirely on Gus, which also leave me feeling unpleasant if I have more than 2 during a race. (Gatorade bottles, unlike Propel, don't lend themselves well to being carried.)

4. Speaking of the expo, it was by far the lamest of any I've been to. I had to go hunting yesterday in several stores to find wrist bands and heel cushions after not finding them at the expo. Very few other useful and neat extra products that you find at better expos.

Ending with a plus, the marathon used wraparound-with-Velcro chip-timers - much better than having to thread the most common type through your shoelaces in a way that you feel sure you won't lose it, while also not having it rub against or put pressure on the top of your foot.

What distinguishes a hill from a mountain? Okay, there were no mountains, but they felt like it by the time we got to the the 15th one or so. I'm from the Raleigh area and expected a hilly course, but I still under-trained and underestimated the size and number of hills AFTER coming out of Umstead Park. That said, this was a wonderfully organized marathon and beautiful course. My mother asked why they would put all those hills in a marathon, and the answer I gave is not the true answer. I said a marathon distance on any course is a challenge, and people run marathons because of the challenge, and this is just another type of challenge, and blah, blah, blah. The real answer is that Raleigh is just a hilly city and there is no good way to avoid them. The hilliness is magnified when you throw Umstead Park into the mix, and I wouldn't change that, since it gives the marathon its bucolic "character." So would I change the course? No. Was it a great marathon? Yes. Caveat emptor: it's probably not one that can be run for great time, but if the course is given proper respect, it's a wonderful marathon. I'll run it again but set my time goals accordingly. Congrats to the organizers for a great re-inauguration of the marathon for a wonderful city.

First of all, I would like to thank RRO for getting this marathon organized. It took a lot of effort and it was a good experience running in it and I'm glad I was there to support a local race.

It was almost as if I ran 2 separate halves, as both had several differences. The first half was terrific - a flat course, with nice scenery, going through the neighborhoods. Also there were many spectators. The second half was not so good. Despite the hills, of which there were many, there was a lack of spectators. The course route did not allow for any significant spectator activity. I cannot fault the organizers for this; the course just did not lend itself to many good spectator spots.

After the race: There was some stale bread, but there was also fruit and pizza. There really didn't seem to be enough water or any other beverages. I didn't see a massage tent, but maybe I missed it.

The beginning of the race and the end of the race was organized very well. It just wasn't a PR course and I knew that going in. I may do the Marine Corps Marathon next year because it is much flatter and there is more to see.