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Apr 28, 2024

Tobacco Road Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Tobacco Road Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.3

Organization 4.2

Spectators 3.6

Number of comments: 66 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

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G. C. from Flatwoods, KY (3/23/2012) "Great Race, Beautiful Scenery" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Tobacco Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 For a smaller event this was well organized. I was a little concerned after reading reviews of the 2011 event. The parking was well organized and there were tons of buses. We were parked, on the bus, and to the start line in less than 30 minutes. The run was beautiful although the trail is deceptive. It is flat but beware the hills are low grade and long. There was water and gatorade every 2 miles or so and they had gel at every stop. Nice tech shirt, monstrous medal, tons of pizza, and beer from a local microbrew at the finish line. It is really hard to find anything to complain about with this event.
Shane Tucker from Menlo, GA (3/22/2012) "Superb in all aspects" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have nothing bad to say about this race. The course was beautiful and easy on the legs, the volunteers enthusiastic and supportive, and the organization was outstanding. Thanks particularly to the two race directors who gave great advice regarding transportation at the expo and for being at the finish line to greet finishers. I would not change one thing about my experience in Cary, NC. Finishing time : 3:58:54.
S. L. from Chapel Hill, NC (3/21/2012) "Still working out the kinks" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Tobacco Road Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I have run this marathon (or the half) in each of its three years. In my opinion, the first year was the smoothest in terms of organization and logistics. The race expanded significantly in 2011, and along with it has come a series of kinks, some of which are yet to be worked out. For example, the serious transportation snafus encountered in 2011 (people left in remote lots without transportation to the start, two hour waits for buses back to the remote lots after the event) were very well mitigated this year. However, this year I witnessed MANY instances of cars leaving the race site as the half marathon was ending. The full marathon was still in process, and many cars were coming very close to runners who were still on the course. The police and volunteers did the best they could in directing traffic, but I have never seen so many cars weaving in and out of cones and coming perilously close to people during a race. This was annoying to the marathoners (to say the least) and potentially very dangerous. In addition, despite changes in the half and full marathon courses this year, the ATT portion of the race is still way too narrow to accommodate this many runners - particularly the slower half marathoners who I observed walking or slowly jogging several abreast, thus requiring the faster marathoners to pass them in very narrow circumstances. On several occasions, I thought I was going to be inadvertently tripped. Finally, it's inexcusable that the lead biker would overshoot the course at the turnaround point (and that it wouldn't be clearly enough marked), sending the top marathoners astray and probably costing them first and second place finish times. I love the concept of this race and the course is awesome, but I think the organizers have gotten too ambitious in terms of the size of the race. Options: 1) decrease the number of participants (consider going back to the 2010 size); 2) impose stringent limits on where spectators can gather (NOT ON NARROW BRIDGES); 3) do not allow non-registered runners to 'pace' their friends - at least not while on the ATT part of the course; and/or 4) hold the marathon and half marathon on back-to-back days. On a positive note, communication leading up to the marathon was great, instructions to runners was thorough and consistent, aid station volunteers were awesome, and the t-shirts and medals rock. Nice prize money, too, for a relatively small race! I wouldn't discourage others from doing this race; I do, however, hope that this feedback helps race organizers continue to implement improvements next year.
T. D. from North Carolina - just relocated from Ohio (3/20/2012) "Perfect, my favorite marathon so far" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Tobacco Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 9th marathon, and it was my favorite. Gorgeous scenery along the Tobacco Trail, soft running surface, and no worries about dodging cars on the course. The full marathon and half marathon runners separated after three miles, so then the full marathoners were free to just relax and enjoy the marathon, without a congested path. Low cost, fast packet pick up, easy parking, plenty of aid stations -the whole process was stress free. I did not need any pickles, PB & J sandwiches or bananas but it was great to know they were available ( I think they were at mile 19). I will be back next year!
R.L. Bynum from Durham, N.C. (3/19/2012) "Nicely done race, but not a lot of fans." (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Tobacco Road Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I've run this marathon all three years of its existence and plan to be back again next year. If you have to have city sights and fans lining the course, this isn't the race for you. But if you like a nice, flat course and a well-organized race, this is your race. Here is my blog entry on my race experience from with my 2012 race: http://runningtarheelfan.blogspot.com/2012/03/important-rule-of-marathoning-always.html
N. S. from Greenville, SC (3/19/2012) "Great for some but I didn't like it" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Tobacco Road Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 First off, I want to say that the organizers do the best they can but the logistics for out of towners is a nightmare. First off expo is a different part of town than race start and the parking is an different part of town. You will have to do lots of driving around town to get to expo, shuttles and your hotel. Parking is 15 minutes away from race start. You also have to walk about a half mile to get to the shuttles from the parking lot. This is all a hassle that requires you to be at the parking 5AM for a 7AM start and than afterwards all you want to do is get to your hotel and having to wait for a shuttle, taking the shuttle and than driving 15 minutes to hotel. (No Hotels near shuttles) Now if you are lucky enough to get a parking pass. They are limited and sell out fast so if you want to do this race and avoid these issues than you better be quick. Pros Nice Expo Lots of Port-a-potties Plenty of food & drink post race Lots of volunteers on course Great Shirt & Medal Cons Logistics Very crowded on the course for first 3-5 miles and no corral management.
M. S. from Durham, NC (3/19/2012) "Problems Solved!!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Tobacco Road Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is the second year in a row I have run this marathon and the second year in a row I have written a review (i.e., see Nice Attempt, but Need to Work Out Some Kinks (about: 2011), M. S. from USA. At the end of my review I wrote, it's a good race but it's a new race. And with new races come plenty of kinks that need to be worked through. I have a good feeling that many of these issues will be solved by next year. It is next year and I am happy to report, as far as I am concerned, the issues I listed have been rectified with the solutions well surpassing my expectations. It's almost as if the race organizers read my criticisms line by line and discussed how they would be addressed. So I feel I owe the organizers a lengthy review. And my review will be somewhat bittersweet because I assume the number of runners will significantly increase for the 2013 race. This year I arrived much earlier to the race (as was recommended) and parking was a breeze again for me because I knew to purchase the parking pass. As many will recall, last year chartered buses were dropping off panicky runners from remote lots well after the start of the half and full marathons. If there were any issues this year with the buses, then I was completely unaware of them. As far as I was concerned the transportation plan appeared updated and was efficient. At the end of the race I actually saw several buses waiting for runners to board. This was in stark contrast to last year when runners were waiting very long times for the buses to arrive. Last year, the half marathon began prior to the full marathon and problems occurred when the fast end of the full marathon pushed up against the slow end of the half marathon. This year the half and full marathons started at the same time. I witnessed no notable bumping or bottlenecking. Problem solved. This year at the trail split (around mile 3) the full marathon runners made an initial right hand turn (as opposed to left) down the trail. For whatever reason, this seemed to work well and I really did not notice too much congestion this year with the minor exception of the very end of the race, when the running area on the road (marked off by cones) became a little narrow in some places. At any rate, the particular changes I just listed represent a huge improvement to the race. Like last year, the spectators were friendly, supportive, and energetic. And I think there were more spectators than last year. The drink stations were well organized and someone was taking note of my personal pet peeve because the water and sport drinks were handed out in different looking cups! And the cups were bigger! Last year the port-o-johns were located way too far from the start/finish line. But not this year! This time the port-o-johns were located basically ON the start/finish line. The only suggestion I would make about this plan now would be to turn the port-o-johns the other way (toward the streetlights) so that runners may see which stalls are vacant in the dark. Otherwise, supply lighting to where the queues form. And maybe rent a few more port-o-john units as the lines remained fairly long at race start time (causing some runners to enter the woods). The amenities supplied after the race were again top notch with beer and pizza. Also, the race amenities were located much closer to the finish line. The orange race shirt (which I did not comment on last year) is really cool and the medal is a nice piece of bling. Good job organizers! We offered criticisms and you responded. The best praise I can give is the following: I run way too many marathons which includes the other well known local marathon that occurs every November in Raleigh. If this is your first marathon or you happen to run only a few marathons per year, I would definitely choose this one. See you again next year!
Dominic Gagliardi from Hobart, IN (just outside Chicago) (3/18/2012) "Beautiful course - well organized race" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Tobacco Road Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Ran it today for the first time. Very nice course with 21 miles on the Tobacco Road trail - a nice crushed limestone path through a beautiful North Carolina coniferous forest. Very enthusiastic volunteers and plentiful, well-stocked aid stations (pickle juice at mile 18!). If you don't like major crowds (which I don't after 30 marathons), this is a good race. Not many options for spectators, but that's to be expected for a race on a trail. The organization was top-notch, and although I heard a lot about parking problems in previous years, I thought the bus system they had for off-site parkers worked well (nice, chartered buses and they even transported family & friends for free). Overall, a very nice, smaller race with great organization and very enthusiastic volunteers.
T. P. from Lee's Summit, MO (3/29/2011) "Pleasant Experience - Good Course" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Tobacco Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I had no problem with parking as I purchased a parking pass and left early enough to get a parking spot at the stadium. No one near me knew why the race was delayed so that was frustrating. It was cool at the start and when you are prepared to run at 7:15 and you have dumped your clothes starting late causes some shivering in your muscles which isn't what you want before a 26.2 mile run. Guess I'd rather be at the start shivering than waiting to catch a bus to the start though. I LOVED the course because I'm not a fan of the big city pavement courses. I was looking forward to the trail and it was what I had hoped. The spectators were enthusiastic. I liked having different shirts for the full vs. the half and even women fit shirts - NICE TOUCH! Medal is truly heavy medal - liked it lots! This was exactly the type of marathon I had wanted from NC in my 50-state adventure.
T. D. from South Pittsburg, TN (3/26/2011) "Very Nice Race" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Tobacco Road Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have no doubt that the race organizers will get all the problems of the buses worked out because it was obvious that they were working hard on it already in an e-mail sent out. I enjoyed the course and the medal was very nice and bulky. The shirt was nice, and the food/entertainment was a nice touch. I think a lot of people simply didn't know where it was since it was back by the baseball field.

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