Charlotte Marathon (formerly Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon)

This marathon is okay for locals but you definitely shouldn't consider it for a destination marathon. It's pretty much a low budget gig. The course is okay and there are some spectators along the way but the expo is small, after race food is minimal (bananas), and the age group awards are cheap medals (I threw mine away). Having said all that, as a local I've run this marathon 3 times so it's not horrible by any means - just don't expect much.

Ran the full marathon today on a lovely day and enjoyed the superb organization and beautiful city. Your best bet for this Marathon is to run the half... The first 13 miles are beautiful and well populated. The next 13 are sparsely attended, seemingly all up hill, and you're stuck running among traffic for a good bit of the time.

I was worried on race day because I heard the six hour cutoff was strict and I also heard the course was hilly. Fortunately neither of these issues ruined my day. The course is truly rolling hills. As a New Englander, I never found any of the hills too steep and there were plenty of gentle long downhills to help with the course. The water stops were plenty and we have a few opportunities to grab candy and there were Gu packets at two water stops. This is a big bonus for me! The race starts and ends in the downtown area, near the host hotels and the convention center - very convenient. One thing to note is we were in the shade a lot and with low temperatures it was quite cool. On hot days or for hot runners, not a problem but I had to be creative since I didn't have quite enough clothing at the start. Be sure to plan for layers. The race is strict about the 6 hour cutoff and only allowed about five minutes leeway this year. We did have a six hour pacer who probably saved my day with her encouragement and supplies of alternative fueling options like apple sauce. There were several live bands on the route and the neighborhoods and parks we ran through were beautiful. Charlotte, thanks for a great time!