This was a beautiful race through the area surrounding the Great Smoky Mountains. While the course does not go directly within the park, it's in the surrounding areas in a point to point race, finishing right by the entrance to the Smokies.

EXPO: The expo is really efficient as Vacation Races tend to be. The registration often has a long line for bib pickup, but it goes quickly. I had signed up for the Black Bear Double (5k and Half Marathon) so I got a special registration tent that had no wait where I could also pickup my double 'bonus gift.' Choices included a mug, tank, t-shirt, trucker hat, and I think one or two other items. You then went to the main race t-shirt table and handed them the ticket on your bib for your shirt size. They had a separate table to make any shirt exchanges if the fit wasn't right for you. You then go to the hydro-pouch table if you opted for one when you registered. All of their races are cupless to reduce race-day waste, and the hydropouch is a nice option for hydration along the course. They even have special water/electrolyte dispensers on the course that fill really quickly, so you only stop for a second to fill up. They had a few additional vendors and their traditional s'more station.

HALF MARATHON LOGISTICS: The morning of the race you could either be dropped off at the start line (parking there was not an option as the location is locked up as soon as the runners leave), or dropped off at the finish line where a shuttle would then take you to the start. It was only about a 15 minute drive between sites and my friend made the last shuttle (it left at almost 6:40 though they said shuttles would only run till 6am so she was very lucky to catch that one and they clearly plan for dire last minute exceptions). The start line had coffee, hot chocolate, porta-potties, a space for drop bags, and an announcer who was raffling off items about every 5 minutes. It was a beautiful morning and the time went by quickly as we waited for the race to start.

COURSE: The course itself is beautiful and through a rolling, quiet, paved road. Trees lined one side and you ran along the river on the other. While there wasn't a lot of space for cheering squads, I actually didn't feel bored or antsy on the course. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and the little houses and RV spots that dotted the side of the road. The road was open but there was probably more bike traffic than actual car traffic. It was not an issue in sharing the road and people would call out 'car up, bike back, etc' as needed.

When I originally saw the elevation profile for the course, I had major concerns, but I actually found the course to be really pleasant. Maybe all my hill training in Raleigh paid off, but I don't really feel like it was an extreme elevation gain. There were a couple of short 'climbs' but overall it was such a gradual incline that I didn't feel like I was trudging uphill the entire time. The last 3 miles might be considered the most 'intense' but only in the sense that it's back in Townsend and fully exposed to the sun. However, it was early enough and close enough to the end that I was able to plough through and use the environment as extra motivation to be done with the race.

FINISH LINE: The finish line was super efficient with the same morning announcer reading out names of the participants as they came through. You immediately received your medal and then proceeded to the snack table that had chocolate milk, bananas, and a snack box with various goodies (including several gluten free snacks!). Lots of water for your hydro-pouches and more electrolytes were also available. I didn't stick around too long after, but they did have a race merchandise booth and the table for the Black Bear Challengers to pick up their extra medal (complete with spinner).

OVERALL: This was a fun, well-organized race. They said about 25% of their participants were running their first half marathon there. I didn't have any big issues during the half about people being in the wrong corrals, though the course had the typical starting mile congestion. It definitely thinned out as I progressed (I ran about a 2:23 half). I would definitely recommend this race, especially if you're looking for beautiful, natural scenery and lots of activities to do outside of the race.

Here's my blog post on the full weekend experience: http://fitnewtonblog.com/great-smoky-mountain-race-weekend-recap/