I chose 7 Bridges for my 7th marathon and I am so glad I did! I have never run a race in TN and we researched several before finding this one. Located in Chattanooga, TN, this race offers runners a chance to run over 7 different bridges crisscrossing over the TN river. Not only was the course beautiful, but it was a bit challenging too. The start of the race is at dark, which I prefer. It was the perfect way to see the city lit up and to cross a few bridges just as the sun was coming up. Most of the course is concrete which was a challenge and I felt it after the race on my back and joints. There are a few places of significant climbs up to the bridges (mile 15-16) and mile 25 (hilly and steep!). Other than that, the course was mostly rolling along the city streets and greenway section.

The course was well marked, although my Garmin and mile markers were off, but that's expected. I'm not a good tangent runner. The aid stations were plentiful, about every mile and fully stocked with not only water and Gatorade, but food. Mile 23's pickle juice was a huge hit with me! The shirts were nice and different. Love that they have words and pictures from areas on the course. Definitely unique! They offer women's and men's sizes and allowed you to pick your size at the packet pickup. We also got a huge poster of the city with the turns for the course at the bottom. Really cool! As far as other merchandise to purchase, it was pretty limited and from previous years. I really wanted to get an every day shirt to wear with the race logo, no luck! The medal is huge and spins! All runners also received a filled water bottle at the finish line which was such a great touch!

Overall, my two complaints would be with the timing and finish line pictures. I finished (and PR'ed) but my time was not recorded. It was a frustration! It took about an hour for the timing company to figure it out, but they were nice and professional about it. And finally, I have no finish line picture. Nothing. I was bummed when I went through the pictures (which were free), but I didn't have one at the finish line. I saw the photographer with his camera, but he was checking the screen and not taking any pictures. There were a handful of us that came in at the same time and they didn't have pictures either.

All in all, I would recommend this race to anyone who wants a great city to visit while running a race. Chattanooga is amazing!! We definitely ate our way through that city. :)