Great race. Great organization. Wish the out and back at 6 miles was a little longer so the finish could be as soon as you leave the road. Running through the cars to the finish is brutal. Make sure you train for the race. The hurricane messed with the weather this year

Race was well organized and food and support was great; course seemed rockier and ruttier than previous times and warmer also which made my legs very sore after down hill and had to walk run last 7 miles which I rarely do in a marathon; Surpassed my goal in training but missed it by 8 minutes in race. Even with that its one of my favorite marathons and I will be back again next year!

I am glad I was able to get in and made the trip for this one. The downhill part of the course is tough for a few reasons: 1) keeping yourself paced and steady, 2) Slipping on loose gravel/dirt (I almost fell once) 3) running the 'good lines' (there are a lot of curves and switchbacks, so you will run 'extra'. I'm pretty good about running the shortest lines & I still added almost 1/2 mile to the 26.2 distance.)
Also be aware the last 8 miles are more rolling hills then just a 500ft elevation drop, and after 18 miles downhill any hill seems like a 'big' hill.
Overall I would highly recommend this race for anyone looking for a nice quiet marathon that is very different from the huge city races most of us run.

If you can drive the course before hand it will help. One other suggestion if you are looking to do this race - I searched and was able to find a cabin to rent for the weekend- it was 5 min. from the start and about 15 min. away from the finish. It was a bit more then a hotel room, but we brought our own food (no eating out) and it had beuatiful views and was very relaxing.

A fun fast very well organized small marathon with a personal touch. Fast course IF smartly run. Gave the course 4 stars for the fact there was much more med/lg gravel & uneven surface than expected on the hard packed dirt road. It made for some sore feet and treacherous footing at times. Aid stations & volunteers were great. Not many spectators but that is expected through a national forest with a small marathon so no complaints. The spectators that were out get 5 stars. The downhills will beat your body up & temps were warmer than normal but I BQ'd & PR'd so I'm happy. Would definitely recommend this race.

Be prepared for dirt roads with a lot of rocks and dips from runoff. The leaves were beautiful (however I was looking down most of the time to keep from tripping!) and many times I was running by myself. Being that the race is in the middle of nowhere, there weren't any spectators aside from the volunteers at the few water stations and the cars passing by. But I must say they did a great job cheering us on! As I said, the road is not closed so be prepared to move over and breathe dust for awhile. The downhill really makes the miles go by fast, I actually was finally looking forward to an uphill stretch! No bathrooms along the way. The finish area was small but in a beautiful location. Also, bring the Dramamine for the ride to the start. This felt like a really nice small community event. I'm glad I ran it for my NC race.

I would to start this review by saying this course for me was beautiful and brutal at the same time. I had read previous years reviews that said the course was hard on the legs with the long downhill, but what I didn't take into account was the hard packed surface with rocks and dirt which really beat my body down. I trained on downhills by running Sams Gap on the NC/TN border which helped but didnt simulate the course conditions. The course itself was absolutely beautiful with the different color leaves that were still on the trees and the flowing creeks. It really helped in taking the mind off the pain my legs were feeling. I was on course for a 3:30 time but had to walk most of the last 6 miles with multiple cramps in the calf and quads.

Logistics wise the race director was absolutely fantastic with his flow of emails about the race. Didnt get to meet him personally but he did a fantastic job with the organization. The post race food was great with hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, ice cream, chocolate milk, beer, etc. I could smell the food for the last half mile of the race. The volunteers were awesome!!! Every aid station was full of enthusiastic people who wanted to be there to help.

Race hotel (Quality Inn) was also good with an easy check-in and an early bag breakfast. I didnt get an late checkout with them but they made up for it with quality care! The bus transport from the finish to the start was also first class with nice coach buses with bathrooms.

One thing I wish that could be changed was the flow of vehicles on the course. Had no problem with the locals going back and forth but one SUV in particular was following one women on the course and was constantly going by throwing rocks and dirt up causing a lot of runners to breath dirt for about 3 miles of the course. The race director had asked us in his emails not to 'crew' for any runner but there are always a few who don't listen.

Some suggestions for runners of future races:

Stay in Morgantown at any of the hotels but try to ride together or follow each other. It is about 25-30 minutes to the finish line to catch the buses.

Definitely ride the buses from the finish up the mountain to the start. Great way of meeting other runners and it is a long ride to the top.

If at all possible, run the course before the race to get a feel of what you are in for on race day. It wasnt enough for me to train on the downhill on pavement. Keep you pace under control going downhill. You will thank yourself at the end.

Sit or stand in the creek at the end of the course!!! After your heart starts beating again it will help in the soreness in your legs. I sat on a rock for about 20 minutes and it helped in my 6 hour drive back to the beach.

In summary, As a I am near the beginning of the 50 State project, I am glad I ran this one for the North Carolina Marathon. If you train right for this race and use caution on this trail marathon, you can come away with a BQ for this race!

I don't typically like to run the same marathon twice, but I hope to come back and do Ridge to Bridge again. The beautiful scenery really helped the miles fly by.

I listened to the race director's warnings about playing it smart on the downhill portion of the course. It paid off and I came away with a new PR!

This marathon was my first marathon ever so I don't have any races to compare it to but it was very well organized and maintained. The aid stations were located very close together with a wide selection to choose from refreshments to energy boosting snacks. The course itself is primarily flat to downhill with a few rises here and there. The only complaint that could be made would be the amount of traffic that was passing through on these narrow backroads. I understand it was mostly family and friends taking pictures along the way but it actually got so congested at one point that myself and a group of runners had to stop behind a couple vehicles due to no room to pass. This is a minor complaint and they ultimately controlled the traffic the best they probably could. The weather was perfect and they provided great food and drinks at the finish line. I would strongly recmommend this race to any first timer or someone searching for a new PR. I will be back next year and hopefully for years to come.

This is a wonderful, unique marathon. The scenery is beautiful, and the solitude makes for such a peacful run. An all-around pleasant experience.
The race itself is also efficiently organized and easy to navigate. Packet pickup was quick and the logistics simple. The finish area was also fantastic. It was in a pretty location and not congested at all - you could just relax, mill around, and eat when you wanted - something that is not possible in the big races.
My only caution for others would be on the course surface. If you are an asphalt road runner like me, the dirt road course was more challenging than I had anticipated. My issue though - not the course's. I just underestimated the unique challenge of a marathon on a dirt road.

Perfect day for a marathon and the Ridge to Bridge is a very, very, well organized event. Great get away from the larger events with thousands of people crowded at the start and running on top of each other during the race. Had some great conversations during the race with folks that were running at the same pace as me.

The run on paper looks easy (at least for a marathon). Rolling hills, long downhill, and then relatively flat. Be warned, the downhill was a killer on me. I was on pace for a 4 hour time and heeded past runners advice on not taking the long downhill too fast. On mile ~20 my left quad locked up. From then on, it was run a little and walk. Even with my disappoint in the last 6 miles. I consider the race a success. Great scenery, the volunteers and race organization is outstanding. Good food (peach cobbler) at the end.