Real runner feedback on course feel, crowd support, aid stations, and logistics (parking, hotels, restaurants).
Yes there were rolling hills, but the only real hill was at mile 24, and even that one was not serious. I think this race will blow up huge- big city, beautiful course, mostly flattish, great expo.
Ok, at corral F, 320 S. Tryon is a food court called Lapatt Alley. It is unlocked and inside (covered). The restaurants are not open, but if you need shelter before the start for cold or rain, this is free and right at the start.
Airport is a $20 uber from downtown. Easy travel.
Really well organized. Map was available ahead of time, so you could see the elevation gain and loss. Lots of volunteers and amazing enthusiasm from the neighborhoods. So much fun!
Make sure to train on hills!
I knew it was rolling hills going into it so I trained for that. I was shocked by the record turnout and the amount of crowd support throughout the entire marathon.
I live local, which is why I chose to run this race for the first time. It was very well organized and the fan support was incredible the entire marathon distance! The finish line was great, lots of entertainment for spectators and finishers. Great time of year for race weather.
Hills! I live local so I do train on hills, but I don't care to race them. I decided to not race the course but relax and enjoy it, and I absolutely did. Don't plan to PR and plan to be a little more sore than your average flat course.
Check the race route before you decide to park to make sure you can get in/out before and after the race. Parking was not an issue even with thousands of runners.
Great well organized race. Everyone comments that the course is hilly but it really was not too bad. There were rolling hills the whole way but nothing super steep or too long. The course is well marked and there are a lot of volunteers at every turn. Good crowd support in the different neighborhoods. Awesome after part in a park downtown. Very cool!
I live in a very flat part of Ohio so I added a hill workout one day a week running back and forth over a tall bridge over a river. It was all I needed to get ready for Charlotte's hills. My time was 7 minutes under my BQ time!
Tons of hotels downtown within walking distance of the start, finish and expo! We walked out the front door of our hotel and right into our starting coral. After the race, there were tons of restaurants within walking distance of our hotel to celebrate! Awesome city for a marathon!
The marathon is extremely well run, and the first half takes you through beautiful neighborhoods with lots of crowd support. The back half SUCKS! The crowd support falls off; and the course is just a series of hills and quick turns - I felt like a rat in a maze. I live in CLT and I won't bother driving down town to run it again.
Beautiful course with rolling hills, awesome fan support, ample water/gatorade stations along the route and porte-potties, well organized, great finisher medal.
Train hills! No hill is super steep or long, but there aren't really many stretches of flat
Lots of uptown parking, you can even take the light rail in.
The first half of the marathon is awesome - beautiful neighborhoods, great crowd support, etc. but the back half gets a little lonely. There are some rolling hills but nothing too hateful; although I would say the final mile being uphill on a busy street was not particularly fun. Lastly, the two times I've ran this there has been a pretty strong headwind from about mile 11 to 18 so be prepared.
I had a problem with my GPS getting lost during the 2 times in the city so I showed as running 26.83 instead of 26.2 which really altered my perceived pace - I missed my goal by of under 4 hours when I finished 4:00:50
The Charlotte community was great. I loved the architecture and sculptures throughout the city. The marathon course was gently rolling, but the last mile was really tough, up a big hill, busy road, and (not the race's fault) very windy. It was a tough course as far as hills are concerned, but definitely easier than Atlanta hils.