I received entry to the Tobacco Road Marathon as a Bib Rave Pro. For more information on becoming a Bib Rave Pro and to read and write race reviews head over to Bib Rave.
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| The course |
What is going on everybody, Ben here with a Recap and my thoughts on the Tobacco Rd. Marathon. This was marathon number 8 for me and my 7th completion, and I have to say it was one to remember. The course, and the town of Cary, NC are amazing.
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| The Bling! |
My wife and I arrived around midday on Saturday and went straight to the expo. It was super easy to find and there was plenty of parking. The Expo was broken into three areas. The first was mostly local races and area attractions showing upcoming events. The middle was where you picked up your bib, and verified it. They also had a station set up to check your chip and make sure it was you. The last area was vendors and sponsors and shirt pick up. I picked up my shirt, a nice tech T, and we proceeded to walk around and tried some local fare. Appalachian Brewery was there with samples of the after race beers, and we tried some bread from a local baker.
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| At the Expo |
After the expo we checked into our hotel and went exploring around town. There was a nice shopping center down the road from us so we had a dinner out and walked around, before heading to a local brewery for a night cap.
The race started at 7:00 and the weather was perfect. In the mid 30's and slowly warming over the course of the day. The half and full went out at the same time so there was some congestion, but split up after about 2 miles when we turned onto the trail. The Tobacco Road is an abandoned railway that has been converted into a trail system and I hope more towns start doing this. Since it was once a railway the trail was mostly flat, with any hills being hardly noticeable. The water stops were well supplied and manned and everyone was cheering any time you saw people. The trail has several neighborhoods that border it so there is plenty of access to it. The few road crossing were well handled by the police and volunteers and everyone involved did a super job. The course runs mostly through pine forest and is crushed packed gravel, but there are some paved sections.
Around mile 8 or so we turned around and went back across to the half route and continued until the turn around at about mile 20. The race had a nice downhill finish, and a short walk to the finisher party. The pizza was warm which is a first for me, and the beer was cold. They even handed out Chocolate milk to drink!
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| ME! |
Personally, this was my best marathon ever. I've always wanted to break 4 hours and finally did it. I also set a 40 minute PR. I have to say this is a race I would do again in a heartbeat.
That about wraps it up. If you're looking for a fun, flat, fast course and a marathon that gives back to it's community then I would definitely check into Tobacco Road.
As always you can give me a follow on Twitter and Insta @bwachter70, and check out the IGTV and YouTube Channel Run Bigfoot Run.
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