Spinx Run Fest - Race Reviews

Such a disappointing event! There were not nearly enough aid stations (and quite a few ran out of both water AND gatorade), the swamp rabbit was very crowded with non-racers, and the trail is not clearly marked for runners. In addition to all of the other issues the t-shirt (a cheap white cotton long sleeve) and medal do not say 'marathon' on them anywhere. Would NOT recommend this race to anyone. Disappointing end to months of training

The course runs the Swamp Rabbit Trail which is a super nice surface and wooded environment. Great start and finish and well organized. As the title suggests, it is very flat.

After we split off from the half marathoners the course was practically deserted! Makes it very hard.

The route of the 2017 version of the race was changed and the name was changed to the Swamp Rabbit marathon, supposedly indicating the inclusion of more of the SRT on the run. Sad to say, there was LESS SRT than last year. Due to lack of staff helping to navigate the myriad of turns on the Furman campus (there had to be over 200 turns up there, no joke) I got off course and ran an extra half mile: not ideal when running a full. As last year, not enough fuel stations. I think there were six or seven but there was a five mile stretch when we were on HWY 276 where there was nothing. The course was awful. Way too many turns and most of the course wasn't even on the SRT. Lack of police protection so I was stopped by auto traffic three times. Huge disappointment two years in a row. I will not waste my money next year.

Greenville is a great city to visit and should be part of the experience. This is my second attempt (I got caught behind the train in 2014). The ball field start and finish is ideal for bathrooms, room to move about. The course is great and 'Flat Enough'. The huge incline over the railroad yard was significant but that's just racing. Beer at the finish is also ideal. I ended up with only one minor complaint but I think it was a fluke based on circumstance. The turnout was low for the marathon and I was running 3:35 pace. Most runners were gathered with the 3:30 or 3:40 pace group. I entered Furman with no one in eye sight in front of me at all. That continued through out the rest until mile 22. Despite the massive amount of volunteers I hit a few forks with no direction. Most turns had white taped arrows and other just students only. I had to throw my hands up and yell 'which way?'. This happened 4 or 5 times. I guess correctly or had someone direct me at the last second.I never expected to have that much distance between runners in a marathon.

There not enough fuel stations. There are a total of 6 for the full, which means you get fuel on average everage 4 miles. 2 of the stations, around miles 18 and 22, RAN OUT OF GATORADE! It was a record hot day so the extra calories would have helped. There was very little direction given on the last 10 miles of the race. Signs and/or cones were removed and no human was directing anyone. We had to stop twice to look at a map. It would have been more if there were no people in view. After running a marathon, the last thing I want to do is walk through a 100 yard cattle white with nowhere to sit. Then, we had to walk up 20 flights of stairs and another 50 yards to get the 'food' at the end. The food was bananas, yogurt, fruit, and a tiny sandwich. Spins is the host, so basically all of the food was gas station food. So bad. No sports drink or chocolate milk or even soda at the finish. Out of the 5 marathons I have run, this is the least organized. For $85 I expect way more. Medals and shirts are generic jokes. I'm guessing a 5k participant got the same thing as a full marathon.

The weather was ideal, 40's to start with overcast skies. Packet pickup was a breeze. The course was modified to avert trains, but one - I did not see or hear any; and two - we had to go over a steep overpass twice (near miles six and 24). The course needs to have more sports drink on the course, water is not the best for fluid replacement during a full marathon. I never knew when to expect the next water station, because the aide station map was incomplete. One of the gels handed out was a LOW CALORIE brand - for a marathon - really? Marathoners need real energy and real gels. Post race was just as bad, bananas, yogurt, fruit cups and water. That's it! No carbs or sports drink! Very disappointing. Having a few clocks on the course might be nice. The course itself is not bad, but frequently dodging the cyclist became annoying. There should be water at the finish line. Marathoners should not have to climb 40 stairs for post-race hydration - which again was very inadequate. I have run many smaller races between 5ks and halves which have supplied a wide variety of refreshments and drinks. If you decide to run this race be aware of it's shortcomings and plan accordingly.

This was my first full marathon but not my first race at all. I was overall very pleased. Beautiful route with trips through Greenville, Furman University, residential neighborhood and town of Travelers Rest. Most of the route is shaded which helps with the sun during the back end of the race. It's a flat course with very few hills. Love the start and finish at the stadium. Plenty of water and gatorade on the route. Gels available at one station you visit twice. Volunteers at the stations were wonderful and stations were spread out well. Loved the personal announcements as you enter the stadium for the finish line. Things that could use some improvements to make it better: More gels available at water stations, more support form the community, late checkouts from the hotels, cooperation with train company. Majority of runners were blocked by the train at some point. It's really beyond the organizer/sponsors control and they have tried every year to stop this. Also, some of the bikers on the second half of the race were little rude about marathoners being in the way. Once again, something that the organizer cannot control. Just be aware that you are sharing the path with others not racing. Also be aware that you will run a lot of it without much support and sometimes by yourself. Very pleased with this race. Great route for a PR or qualifying time due to terrain and small crowd. Would love to see this grow.

Funny that there was another train stopped on the tracks this year. Pretty much all the pros and cons listed for previous years are true. I had a good idea of what I was getting myself into based on the number of comments from prior yearsjust go into it with the appropriate expectations. Don't be uptight...unless a train is about to crush your PR at mile 23 or wherever it wasI suppose that would really suck.

This race has a lot going for it. Great city, start and finish at a minor league ball field with plenty of room and bathrooms. I read previous reviews about people getting stuck waiting on a train. Figured that was a fluke and long since fixed. I trained my 20 weeks and was going for my BQ time. I was feeling great and stayed 1.5 minutes ahead of the 3:40 pace group. At 23 I had it in the bag and was getting ready to speed up. Heard a train in the distance and sure enough a moving train going 5 miles an hour blocking the route. Never saw so many frustrated runners. After 2 minutes the train stopped. We ran 200 yards down the track and around but all was lost by that point. Anyone running 3:35 or over got screwed and my training was 3:38 turned to a 3:42. However good volunteers otherwise.

This race could use improvements. My partner could assist if interested. The involvement from local hotels and establishments need improving. It seems the organizers of the marathon woke up and said....oh Greenville let's host a marathon...yes let's do it.....tomorrow. 2nd the medals are a joke... 1/2should have their own medals and so should full. The city needs more involvement, while the course was great, the city establishments need to be more inviting. Hotels need to have a late check out. While I will entertain running the Spinx again I just hope it is more organized....lots of potential but will never grow due to the unorganized events of the previous years.

This event has the potential to be great, but there are just too many problems. Evidently proper organization is not in place to take care of all the details. PROS, Nice start, course and finish. Loved parking near start. Food/drink at the finish. Volunteers were great CONS, Could not believe there was no timing mat at the start or at the turnaround at TR. I don't need spectators to run, but many folks do. Not enough water stops. It was a good day to run with cool temps, but on a warm day this would have been a big issue. Not enough porta-johns. I ran into the woods twice. On their website it says that there will be complimentary beer and age will be verified from bib. Another fellow and I walked up to get a beer and were asked to show ID and the beer was NOT complimentary. How many people run a marathon with their ID and money? Handing you a bracelet at the turnaround is a joke. Was this to verify that you were really there? After the turnaround I saw 2 of the bracelets laying along side the trail. So were the individuals that lost their bracelets disqualified for not having it at the finish? No one was checking at the finish. Generic shirt and medal. It didn't matter if you ran the marathon or half you got the same shirt and medal. Finishing a marathon is a big accomplishment and the shirt and medal should say so. Before I went to the expo their website said to get your number online and this would speed things up at the expo. I got my number before I went to the expo and when I got to the expo found out that my number had changed. So it actually slowed down the process. Looked all over the website to see if there would be pace groups. Could not find it so I emailed the director and was told there would be. At the expo I looked for the table concerning pace groups. There was no sign or table or anything referring to pace groups. After searching around and not finding the pace groups I asked a lady sitting at a table and she said sure there is and gave me the info I needed. It shouldn't be this hard to get simple information. I now understand why so few people run this marathon. I sincerely hope that this was NOT a Boston qualifier. It does not deserve to be with someone being able to cheat so easily.

This is one of my favorite marathons and this is the third time running it. I like smaller marathons and you definitely can tell this is run by a well-organized experienced crew. Pros Park right next to the course and real bathrooms at the baseball stadium Marathoners start first and have their own course Beautiful scenic course on the swamp rabbit trail and not many hills Wristband at the turn-around was a nice touch Cons You are by yourself part of the time because of the amount of runners Some of the mile markers were backwards  Kinda cute some of the volunteers messed up Looking forward to next year&

This was my first time running Spinx and I was excited, since it was in my home town. PROS: *The course is beautiful and the time of year adds to the beauty. *The run through Furman University definitely adds a touch of class and a welcome respite. *The course was clearly marked as we ran through Furman, and there were helpful volunteers every step of the way. Great job! *There was AMPLE post-race food & drink. CONS: *The packet pick up was very disorganized, with many volunteers who had no idea what was going on. *The turn-around in Travelers Rest was so awful, it soured the entire experience for me. There was an art fair ON the trail, and no one thought to coordinate? I was dodging pedestrians left and right, and there were no volunteers or police helping to protect runners. Very disappointing. *There were basically no fans the entire course, and precious few police in the second half. The Spinx Marathon, while set in a beautiful locale, still suffers from small town-itis. If the organizers can coordinate with towns along the way, and somehow rouse community/fan support, it has potential to become a great marathon. If not, it will be relegated to mediocrity, I'm afraid.

I have run Spinx twice and this year enjoyed the route , the morale along fellow runners. I was disappointed to hear about the train incident. That could have been avoided through communication and planning for this. Also , the bikers on the trail REALLY bothered me..I saw many trailing directly behind other runners. Is it possible to post signs to have bikers avoid the trail from certain hours on race day.. I mean they have 364 other days to ride. Also the car traffic at Furman was very unsafe..there were no police monitoring cars at the mall while runners were right next to them. My opinion is there needs to be more safety measures taken for the runners. Greenville is not a small town and would love to see better support from locals.. This race pours money into the city and lots of it! Businesses should post signs welcoming runners-it's a boost to them too. I don't mean to complain but I see a big need for improvements for 2013. Thanks

I had a great time. This is a good local race and I would do it again next year. This is not a big city race so if you need crowds lining the course cheering then you may want to you on look elsewhere. However, there were plenty of spectators along the course and plenty of cheering. I think there were 500 marathon finishers. Participants were friendly and chatted along the way. There are benefits of doing small races like this. For example I was able to park literally at the starting line in a church parking lot. This was my 5th Marathon and I've never had that luxury of parking so close to the start. The aide stations were good with enthusiastic volunteers handing out GU, Gatorade, and water. I would not describe this course as being hilly but there are some rolling hills and several long false-flats which can be challenging as you get tired. There was only 1 big hill which was about 100 feet in elevation around mile 12-13 and 1 small but steep bridge around mile 2/24 which I ended up walking on the way back. I ran in the 3:50 pace group but dropped off at the end finishing just over 4 hours. There was a steady stream of runners on the course but by mile 20 I frequently ran by myself. However, I was never alone on the course. Someone was always running within 10-20 yards or so. Faster runners would not have to deal with this. The expo was pretty small but that's not important to me. The tech shirt was fine. The medal was nice. And we got a pair of sport socks. I drove from Charlotte which is 2 hours away and stayed at the Clarion Inn & Suites which was about a 10 min drive to the start. They had really cheap rates and the room was exceptionally clean. This would be a good course for a 1st time marathoner provided you trained on some hills and didn't need the excitement of cheering crowds.

I wanted to buy gas at a Spinx gas station to support the race sponsor but didn't see one??? A big thank you to the nice man at the start and finish line who ensured our times were accurate because we were late to the start line. Sorry we were late. The trail was nice and the hill to avoid the railroad tracks wasn't that bad.

I just ran this marathon (2012) and was somewhat disappointed with it. PROS: Flat Course - The course was definitely the easiest course I have ever run. There were only a few hills worth any note and even those were smaller than majority of the ones I train on. Beautiful Course - The run was definitely a very pretty and scenic run down the swamp rabbit trail and through Furman. Probably one of the prettiest courses I have run. Price - The cost of the marathon is much better than most, especially if you register early. But even a late registration is not bad. CONS: Not enough Aid - I guess I have become spoiled in some of my other marathons, but they did not have aid nearly often enough. I was constantly needing more aid and would have to wait too long. Finish - My biggest disappointment was the finish line. I loved that we finished in the baseball stadium, but once I was done, I had to walk a few hundred feet, up the entire bleachers, and then another hundred or two feet before I could get any water or food. That was a HUGE issue for me. On top of that, the water was unopened cases of water in plastic wrap sitting on a pallet that runners were needing to tear at the plastic to get the warm bottles out. As for an alternative to water, they only had vitamin water, nothing with the calories or sugars that you need post race. For food they only had bananas and a small sandwich (with no vegetarian sandwich options). I really wish they had several more items to choose from. Spectators - The course is definitely not a spectator friendly course as most of it is done on a trail in the woods and is a straight out and back. I would not recommend it for someone who is bringing spectators in tow.

Kinda-small marathon (about 450 running the full). The start could have really been simplified. There were banners about 100yds apart & Race Volunteers told us that the start of the Marathon was DOWN the street. After walking down the street, some other Race Volunteers said, 'NO, trust me... it's UP the street.' Even 3-4min before the start, folks were walking around asking, 'Where is the Start?' Finally everyone fell in & the Start went off okay. By mile 2, we thinned out significantly & simply followed the paved trail for miles & miles. I ran A LOT of this race all by myself. There is very little crowd support or even ACCESS to the trails. Even though my family knew the area, they were not ALLOWED access to a couple of the streets that accessed the trail system. So, I had NO family/friend support even though they tried to get to the 13mi point, then the 17 mile point, then the 20, then gave up. They BARELY made it back to the finish line to see me finish! Even at mile 25 when I was really hurting & striving for a PR, there was not a human in sight: no spectators, no other runners in either direction... just a long trail. Finally at about 25.5, I heard some cowbells & suddenly the trail spits you out close to downtown. That being said, the stadium finish was nice.

I highly recommend the Spinx Run Fest Marathon to both beginners and experienced marathoners. The course offers a few challenges throughout while giving you a tour of Greenville. The course starts on Main St. in downtown, runs through Falls Park and loops back through downtown onto the Swamp Rabbit Trail, which is bike/walking path with no traffic and a very very gradual incline. You stay on the trail for 6 or 7 miles and veer off into some neighborhoods and a golf course with some decent hills, challenging but nothing to worry about. After going through the neighborhoods you come back to the trail and head back towards downtown, but not before running 2 miles or so through Furman University. Once back on the path it is all downhill, literally, till the last mile or so. The last mile is uphill into the baseball stadium, where you finish at home plate. The last mile is brutal, but not impossible. After finishing you have to walk 15 or so steps up to the food and drinks, which is NOT THAT BAD. The expo on Friday was well organized, stress free, and easy to get to. Volunteers were awesome handing out water and Gatorade, as well as GU at one of the aid stations. The spectators were few, but enthusiastic. Restrooms were plentiful at the start of the race, and evenly placed along the course. The one and only complaint I have is that at the start you couldn't hear the announcements they gave over the PA before the gun, that's all. Like I said I would recommend this race to anyone, I will be back next year.

Beautiful course and fantastic volunteers!! The weather was perfect and I enjoyed the Swamp Rabbit Trail. I do not live in SC and opted to stay in the host hotel, thinking that made the most sense. Unfortunately, they would not accommodate a late check-out AT ALL (they required a 12p check-out and the marathon began at 730a) and they were a good distance from the start/finish with no shuttle. I had to check-out at 6a and did not get to shower before heading back to VA. I recommend out of town runners opt for a property closer to the stadium and check in advance to see if they will accommodate a late check-out. Additionally, perhaps the race director can work with the host hotel in the future to make sure they are more accommodating. The Swamp Rabbit Trail does cross many streets and some railroad tracks. The police were fantastic but there was a train that crossed the course between mile 23 and 24. The train finally stopped but we had to climb the ladders on the box car to get over the train. Getting stopped for a train and having to lift your legs much at all at mile 23 in a marathon are both quite strange events. I was not qualifying for Boston but I was on pace to PR ....until the train. Another posing mentioned that the medal doesn't say 'marathon'. They also didn't sell any clothing or posters with the race name on it, but they did have coffee mugs. No souvenir options, if you're into that. Loved the finish in the stadium but would have liked some music or an announcer or something. Again, BEAUTIFUL course and amazing volunteers. Great downtown area with nice shops and restaurants. It was a very clean city and I felt safe walking around.

Being a Greenvillian, I am thrilled to hear all the wonderful comments about our fine city and its' people! I'm also delighted that the other marathoners liked this course as much as I do. This was my first marathon and it was great to be able to train on the race route every weekend. The race itself was very well organized, the route beautiful, the (few) spectators enthusiastic! The state police were very supportive and encouraging as well!

The course is very obviously laid out by runners.....it is a joy to run with some challenging sections. Not a lot of spectators but those that are there are GREAT. The only real problem I had was course support...GREAT food at the end but nothing on the course. GU was hard to find and I missed 2 of the stations it was apparently at....I guess volunteers were handing it out at the end of the water stops rather than put it on the table. Some fruit / pretzels / bagels or other small items at a few later stops would make a huge difference. Other than that it is a truly enjoyable marathon course with a great small city to enjoy after. Skip the race hotel....they offer very little and stay closer to the stadium. Definitely recommend this race....just carry a few packs of GU with you.

This isn't a huge event, but it's not small, with 436 marathons, 1269 half marathoners, and 935 5K runners. The city itself is great. The course for the full was changed, and it's quite scenic all the way now, though a long stretch is 'out and back' on bike trails with few spectators, so if you want huge crowds pick another race. It's very, very well organized and the finish is great. Word of warning: the courses for the full and half are all really hilly by most road race standards. Mile 8 of the half is 855 feet and mile 12.5 is 1030 with only one real downhill, so it's quite a climb at the end for that. Mile 9 is 70' of climb with no fall whatsoever. The marathon has most of its climb in the middle, with the worst mile being mile 8 with 68' of climb and only 1' of fall. It's not the course to BQ on if you're cutting the time close.

POSITIVES: Beautiful city, friendly Southern style hospitality, Course was spectacular, volunteers were awesome, finish in the stadium addeed a nice touch, nice technical shirt, enough support on the course, many other positives NEGATIVES: perhaps pickybut the medal does Not say Marathon anywhere on it, Could have had a MC calling out runners names as they were finishing. OVERALL would rate this marathon a A. It was great.

This is the third time I have run at the Spinx Runfest...I ran the half in 2009, the full marathon in 2010 and the full marathon again in 2011. Taking my specific goals in mind (qualifying for Boston) this was a great race. Flat except for maybe 5-7 miles of mild rolling hills, marathoners start 30 minutes before half-marathoners making it much less crowded and for the most part it was organized. There were some negatives, however. There was a lot of confusion among different race organizers of where marathoners were supposed to start, which was never an issue in past years. Another issue, which was a bigger deal to me since I am trying to qualify for Boston and every second counts, was that they decided after the race to not have chip times for the marathon runners only. Half-marathoners and 5k runners had chip times recorded, just not the marathon (and there were timing chips on the back of marathoners bibs). I asked the person who was in charge of the chip times why they had not posted any for the marathon and he said it was due to the low number of marathoners. What bothered me was that runners were never made aware of this and the difference between gun time and chip time could be minutes. Had I known, I would have been on the start line but because I didn't I was in the middle of the pack. As someone who is trying to qualify for Boston, this issue bothered me a lot. Advice for those who run the marathon next year and are potentially trying to qualify for Boston...e-mail the race director and clairify the use of chip times/gun times. Other than that, the race was great and the weather was perfect. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to put it together!

This is the second time I have run this marathon, I enjoyed it so much last year that this is one of my favorites. The reasons I like this race include; start marathoners first, early start time, beautiful scenic course, starting and finishing at the baseball stadium and being able to pick up your packet on race day. They changed the course this year and made adjustments to take the route on more rural scenic roads and hope they keep it the same for next year. All the volunteers were friendly and helpful. The only negative that I can think of is that it was a smaller race and I felt like I was running alone at times.

Greenville is beautiful and the people are very friendly. The course was tough but fair. The uphill at the end was a real challenge. The fans that were there were great but like all small races there are many sections where there are no fans. All the water stations and surrounding areas has boisterous friendly people. The only real negative was the colder than expected weather. It was mid to low 30's to start the race and the course was wet from the rain the prior day so my feet started cramping very early on. By mile 21 through 25 everything else was cramping (maybe I changed my stride because of my feet?). I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish but managed to hobble to the end. I would love to run it in 50 degree sunny dry weather.

There was a big crowd of half marathon runners merging with the slower marathon runner, several of us ran 1 1/2 miles before realizing we were going the wrong way. Too make it even worst none of the voluteers or police on site knew the acutal marathon route. Luckily we found someone with a map and were able to negotiate our way back to the course. The crowd was small but enthusiastic and the course was beautiful.

Greenville is a cool city which is big, yet has small town Southern charm. Pros " Course is very nice a few miles in the city then you hike the bike path and right about the time you get bored you exit the path and into a nice neighborhood. The start and finish at the baseball stadium was different and running inside the stadium for the finish was a nice touch " Good pasta dinner at nice hotel " I stayed at the Hilton and they granted me a 2pm check out which was great " Race shirt was nice, however lose the sponsorship on the shirt or make them smaller, Runners DO NOT LIKE shirts that are billboards. Improvements " Spread your h20 table groups I ran with a pace group and it was crowded to grab H20 " Have the GU 100 yds prior to the H20 stop not at the end of the table " Get quality pacers, putting a 'call out' is not the optimal way for pacers. By having professional groups this can help attract more runners. " Louder PA system and more directions at the start, runners did not really know where to line up " Get the locals out!! We ran through a neighborhood and no one was really out, support the runners, we are putting money into YOUR community This race has great potential, with continued improvements should be a an A+

Greenville SC is a neat small city with a beautiful downtown and great trails. The race starts and finishes downtown and most of it is run by parks or on a long greenway. Traffic control, race materials, organization, volunteers, were all top-notch, and I would not hesitate to recommend this race to everyone. I appreciate being able to get the packet on race morning instead of having to go a day early to get it. Many thanks to the Greenville Track Club for a superb job!

This has to be one of the most scenic marathons in the country! The route makes the run a pleasure, plus the very efficient expo and start/finish set-up. The aid station volunteers were very encouraging - true Southern hospitality! Not many spectators given the bike trail route but that's OK by me.

This was my first marathon. I know, kind of an odd choice, but I wanted to do my first one on my birthday! Previously, I had run four half marathons. The organization was top-notch. Getting in and out of the expo was easy, as was parking on the day of the race. The course itself was a mixed bag. The first 13 miles or so were absolutely gorgeous! Not too many hills, and there was plenty of room to maneuver through those first few miles. We went through some impressive parks and it was just an enjoyable run. After that, we went through what amounted to the ghetto. It seems like such an odd choice considering how many cool areas there are in Greenville. Plus, from mile 13 to around 19 I ran a gradual uphill that just sucked the life out of me! Miles 20-25 are on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, which was very enjoyable and easy on the legs. The finish in the stadium was cool. I appreciated the medal and hat being handed to me at the finish, but where's the water? Walking up the stadium steps to get water was very painful! The spectators were great throughout the race and very friendly. My thanks go out to the woman who said, "Just a 5k left. Any day of the week!" That helped me through the final 3.1. Great experience overall, and I would recommend it!

I wanted to do this race in 2009 but they were not able to hold it and then I had registered for the Myrtle Beach race in Feb 2010 only to have it snowed out, so I was overjoyed that the Spinx race was going to be held in 2010. I registered as soon as I could. The packet pickup was very easy to get in and out of and it gave you a bit of a view of the finish line area on Saturday. The course elevation was tougher that one would think because some of the "uphills" are not steep, but they are long. The first half was beautiful and I spent some time taking pictures along the course. The traffic control was outstanding. It looked like they had every local and state law officers on hand controlling the intersections. The finish line was pretty cool too as you ran the outer warning track of the ball field and then came down the 3rd baseline toward home plate. Lots of after-race food and water. The Ed and Jane did a great job.

The Greenville Track Club is awesome, and they made their marquis event shine. Race co-director Ed Hughes was superb and co-director Jane Harlan put together lovely acoutrements. Ed's pre-race promo and website were a work of passionate art, just as the entire event is  a moving, grooving work of passionate art. I plan to do Spinx Run Fest annually and highly recommend it to all (there is an event/experience for everyone)!

Nice course, especially through park and along the rubberized trails. Good support; good organization; nice finish in the stadium. Just wish we didn't have to climb the stadium steps. I'll be back.

This is a really well orgainzed and executed event. An interesting course through park paths, city streets and county roads. There is also a nice surprise to us out-of-towners: several miles of a cushioned running path donated by local corporate citizen Michelin. There are just enough hills to work all of the muscle groups. Nice medal and a unique finish at a beautiful, minor league baseball stadium. All in all, I believe that support for this event will grow as runners discover this great event.