Tobacco Road Half Marathon 2011
Sunday, March 20th 2011 at 5:00 AM 200 Brooks Park Lane Cary, 27511 NC- Distances:
- Half Marathon
- Weather:
- Local Weather
- Description:
-
The American Tobacco Trail is a recreational rail-trail located on an abandoned railroad corridor of the Norfolk Southern Railroad. Constructed in 1906, the original railroad traveled from Duncan to Durham near the New Hope River, transporting tobacco leaf from farming communi... read more
- Website:
- http://www.tobaccoroadmarathon.com/in...
Checking weather...
Race Reports
-
Need some logistical support...
The weather was perfect for running and the trail was awesome! It was great to see so many people out there! This could turn into a really great race if some logistical issues can get worked out...
1) Parking and Busses - there are not a lot of spots at the baseball fields so there were shuttles to a secondary parking location (NetApp). The bus drivers GOT LOST trying to get to the start line!! I found this to be absolutely insane. Turns out that they didn't even have radios to communicate with each other!! This caused such a mess that some busses had not arrived at the start line by the time everyone was in the corrals and ready to go. They DELAYED the race with everyone standing there ready to start!! Unbelievable!! I figure the people on the last buses could have just started whenever they arrived.They were getting timed on a chip so gun time didn't really matter. No reason to keep everyone else waiting for almost 20 minutes!
2) Return Shuttles - Again with the shuttles and parking. We waited for over an hour to get on a bus back to our cars. The weather was great for running, TERRIBLE for standing around forever after running!POSITIVES
by Felipe W.
1) The course was great and there were a lot more spectators than I thought.
2) Support throughout at the aid stations was awesome!
3) TONS of volunteers up REALLY early helping out (THANK YOU ALL!!)
4) Band at the beer garden (which would have been much more enoyable if it weren't for the chilly temperatures and winds). -
The best part was the middle...
Which was the RUNNING PART! :D
Usually, traffic is not even a memorable part of an event. Heck, we expect SOME congestion while folks are trying to leave. The bus situation was totally crazy though. We were also on a bus that got lost on the way to the start. Bus driver was TOTALLY nice, but I'm glad we didn't arrive any later than we did (5:30am) otherwise we would have been with the late starter folks. As a result of the start-delay, I ran the first 1/3 of the race having to go pee. Then stopped my run to relieve myself, having to wait in cue because others had a similar predicament. BUMMER!!!
Wasn't crazy about the band and only stayed for a couple songs. They seemed kinda folky-laid back and we're more fun-rock-and-roll-y type folks.
Trying to leave via shuttle bus was a nightmare. Easily more than an hour. Again, busdriver was super nice but GAH! FRUSTRATING!
******************************
The GOOD STUFF
******************************Crowd was awesome.
Volunteers were awesome. So nice. So encouraging.
Plenty of aid stations. Really, really pleased. I felt very supported.
Plenty of port-o-potties. Wish there was a couple more at the 3-4mi marker, but eh? What are ya gonna do?
Loved the bread folks.
I got a sweet women's cut tee. It's my fave so far.
Plenty of water to be had post-race.
Weather was great.Will I do it again? ***Probably*** I know this is a new race, so there's some bugs to be worked out. They may do good with sending a follow-up email to folks SOON to indicate how things will change for the next time to bring back "repeat customers". It seemed like just as much work to run as it was to get there and back.
by Rebecca P.
I would like to echo Felipe's comments. I really enjoyed this race and if not for the snafu with the buses, this would have been a perfect event. Couldn't have ask for better running conditions and area.
about 1 year ago