This was my 10th marathon and my 1st time to run City of Oaks.

PROS

1. Nice, BIG race medal.
2. Very easy to find parking within walking distance to the start.
3. Little, if any, traffic concerns out on the course (helps that about 2/3 of the course is run on the greenway)
4. Well-organized spectator viewing locations along the greenway, complete with spectator parking. My husband was able to stop at multiple locations to cheer during the race.
5. Spectators and volunteers were friendly and energetic.
6. Ample hotels and restaurants in the area for out-of-towners like me.
7. Small expo, quick in-and-out to get your race number and technical shirt. Enough vendors that I was able to pick up last minute gels to carry along the course.
8. Chip timing mats provided at good, strategic locations to prevent people from cutting the course along the greenway.

CONS

1. The dreaded long lines at the Port-a-potties. I don't know if they didn't order enough, or if they initially did but did not account for the influx of displaced NYC marathoners.
2. We got caught in traffic going to the expo Friday, didn't anticipate rush hour.
3. No signs directing you to the expo entrance, we just followed other runners.

FOR CONSIDERATION

1. The greenway portion is a long out-and-back. Not a bother for me, use your judgment if that's too monotonous for you.
2. I underestimated the hills. I have to warn future participants to especially control their pace for the first 2 miles (you will regret not doing so later).
3. Basic finish line food plus a beer garden.
4. Ipods were allowed, so long as you could still follow race directions.

Overall I have a good impression of the race. I would recommend it for 50 staters looking for their North Carolina race.

I was worried when the race grew to over 5,000 participants but was pleased with the outcome. I have run the full in the past, but did the half this year.

Positives:
- Parking was nearby.
- Convenient porta-potties.
- Great post race beer.
- Started on time.
- Clear and loud announcements before race. I knew exactly when the race was starting.
- Great sponsors.
- Long sleeve tech shirts

Could Improve:
- Get the mile markers up higher. I missed three of them. At least consider tieing large baloons so you can see them coming up.

This was my first City of Oaks and my seventh in North Carolina (have done them all but two). The course was hilly and the placement of the hills was tough (miles 21 to 23). Nevertheless, on course aid was great and spectators were small but really encouraging. I agree-if you need a band playing every thirty yards, this is not the race for you. Medal was awesome-shirt was not cotton 'technical blend' and good-looking.

What I would change? The start was very congested and the beginning streets were narrow. Do not start the 10k at the same time.

Finally, post-race had pizza, smoothies, great beer, etc. If you need donuts, hot chocolate, expressogo to Golden Corral or Dennys.

It was communicated that the 2012 course had less hills, but it was the hilliest course I've run (8 marathons). The race had a small-town feel. Thus, I wouldn't recommend the race if it is your first marathon, and you need many spectators cheering you throughout the course.

The expo is quite small. Parking is relatively simple and approx. 5 minutes from the race start. Volunteers are cheerful which is always a plus.

The medal is one of the largest and most attractive. Even the half-marathon medal is larger than most full marathon medals.

It is not a marathon that I would return, but it was worthwhile. Finally, similar to previous comments many marathoners get post-race food scraps because there are many non-runners eating food before many marathoners can finish. Fortunately, I only need a slice of pizza and a smoothie after a 26.2 mile run.

Well Lets Start at the Beginning -The Expo is Very SMALL & Ive Been to 5Ks that Have Better Swag for Way Less $$. TShirts are Cotton - for $80.00!!
The Start was a JOKE & No One Was Ready for It. GO was IMMEDIATELY After the National Anthem.
The Course for the Half Was Changed 2 Weeks Prior to the Race & It Just Made It Worse. The Food at the End was Pathetic! Nothing was Hot Except the Pizza. They Need to Have Soup,Chilli, Coffee, Hot Chocolate! I'm Glad I Didn't Travel to Run this Race - I Know Why I Always Go to Better Races out of Town. Raleigh Can Do Better!

Expo was easy to get to and plenty of parking available. I love the shirt, but didn't realize they ran small, so will never wear it :( Race day had plenty of parking and was a short walk to the start....again, easy to get to. The course was very hilly, but I trained for it, so was actually easier than I anticipated. Not many spectators, but that is ok w/ me as I love the smaller races. I actually wore a water bottle for Umstead Park because I was a little afraid of going over 3 miles w/ no water, but the 'oaks' were so beautiful through that section I never needed it as the time went by so quickly. Open roads with no traffic were so appreciated, you really felt the race director put a lot of time and thought into protecting 'his' runners. The finish w/ the banana's, sticky buns and pizza were nothing special, but the medal made up for it as it was huge. The beer was all gone by the time I went back to the car to get some warm clothes on and came back to wait for friends. I felt that the runners who finished in the shorter races definetly got what they needed and the marathoners were kind of left w/ the scraps. Overall it was a fantastic race, but if you haven't trained for hills, you may struggle.

If you've read anything about this race, you already know what you're facing: hills throughout the course. The hills present a nice added challenge to the already challenging goal of running a marathon. This was probably the hilliest course I've run that didn't have 'Mountain' in the title.

While I wouldn't put Raleigh in the 'small town' category, the race definitely has the feel of one. The expo is small with about three dozen tables and the spectators are sparse along the course.

On this run, you travel through downtown and various neighborhoods, farm land and Umstead Park. I especially enjoyed running up toward the state capital building, along a winding roads with beautiful fall foliage, and seeing cows and horses in pastures.

Packet picket was easy and organized, with plenty of parking at the McKimmon Center. I was able to drive most of the course the day before, so I could get a preview of what I'd be running in the morning. Arrows pointing runners in the correct direction for turns were already up and easily identifiable, which made navigating the day before (and of!) simple.

Race morning, there was plenty of parking at the Cameron Village shopping center, a short 5 minute walk to the start on Hillsborough Street at the NC State Bell Tower. The start area wasn't crowded at all, so when I arrived 10 minutes before 7am, I had no problem getting a good position about 40 feet from the start line.

Runners could sign up for pace groups at the expo on Friday and Saturday, or jump in with the groups race morning. I started with the 3:45 group, but after running a 8:09 first mile and 7:57 (!!) second mile, I didn't stick with them since they were running further ahead of pace than what I knew I'd be able to maintain for the remaining 24+ miles. In the last mile or two, a pacer with 4:00 passed me, yet I finished in the low 3:50s, so the pace groups weren't running at the designated finishing goals.

Mile markers were difficult to spot (I didn't see 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 18, 21) since they were about 12' x 12.' I didn't care for the HEED sports drink along the course, so stuck with water, and saw gels at one station late in the course, so I was glad I'd brought along my own. I did really enjoy the beer station along the course, and while I didn't get any when I passed it the first time around mile 11, I did pick one up when I passed it on my way back around 22probably the best thing I drank along the course because it was ice cold!

The technical shirt was alright, but the finishers medal is pretty awesome, it was HUGE. The post race food was lame, bananas and pizza (much of which was being consumed by volunteers), but the very generous sized beers in beer garden were appreciated. Bottled water and foil blankets were available to runners are the finish line, but I didn't see any sport drinks (however, if it was more HEED, I would have passed on it anyway).

My wife and I ran the 1/2 (her) and full (me) race as a backup when our plans for Savannah fell through. We had trained for the flatness of Savannah, and were challenged by the considerable hilliness of the Raleigh course. The first 8 miles or so were in downtown Raleigh and surrounding neighborhoods, were very scenic, and had a good number of enthusiastic spectators. After mi 10, or so, the course turns rural and spectators dwindled. Doesn't matter much to me - I usually don't see many spectators on my long runs anyway! Around mi 17, the course turns into Unstead Park for a few miles of beautiful, wide horse trail. This section has a couple of pretty long hills. After exiting the park, another 2 or 3 mi of hills on a greenway before the course flattens out for finish back downtown.

I thought organization was great. We registered at the expo about an hour before closing. The only issue was that there were only XL and XXL shirts left for the marathon runners; they promised to mail me one in my size later. Good post race celebration area; somewhat limited food choices - pizza and bananas, but this was enough for me. Good locally brewed beer, however! Medals look fantastic!

I ran the 2010 full marathon and absolutely loved it, but I could see that it is not for everyone.

The course is very difficult; there are several very long uphills throughout the race, so make sure you can handle those before signing up. That said, the course is beautiful, especially miles 12-18 through Umstead Park. Within the park, miles 15-18 are on a dirt trail, but the trail is well maintained and packed down, so footing is not an issue (except for one icy bridge that nearly took me out).

The crowd support is okay but pretty small. I would say the same for the expo/packet pickup, small and okay, which also made it very easy. Both the crowd and expo are about what I would expect for a smaller race like this.

If you are looking for a fast course or strong crowd support, this is not the race for you. If you want a beautiful, peaceful, challenging marathon, then you will probably love it as much as I did.

City of Oaks is a good marathon, in my opinion. I won't be running it again, however. It was advertised as offering "No Packet pickup on race day." Therefore, instead of simply driving down on race day for the start, I made arrangements for my kids, rented a hotel room, and took time off from work, more than doubling the cost of this marathon for me personally. When I get to the start on race morning, what did I see? Packet pick-up! Thanks a lot; that's what I get for paying attention to what the director put up on the website. If you're going to have packet pick-up on race day, then say so.

I've already given my registration fee for this coming November's marathon to another event. I won't be back in Raleigh; there are other choices for good marathons in NC.