Cherokee Harvest Half Marathon was my first race outside of Florida. I was looking forward to running in the mountains, as the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains are my favorites. It is a small town race with beautiful scenery throughout most of the route.

Packet pickup is simply at the race site the day before the race or on race morning. Not much going on there besides getting your bib and shirt. But, I didn't go into this one expecting any sort of expo. The shirt was a long sleeve tech pull-over half zip which is great. You also got a beanie and nice drawstring bag. I'd say it's some of the better race swag I've gotten.

Race morning, I got there with enough time to park and do a restroom stop (inside an actual bathroom, not a port-o-let!). I then lined up at the start with everyone else. The group wasn't large at all, this race is definitely the smallest I've done thus far. The race announcers greeted the runners with a prayer, and the National Anthem was sung. With that, the gun went off and the race began.

I was always at the back of the pack of this race. As a slower runner who does the Galloway run/walk/run method, I'm used to being toward the back, but there's also usually people behind me as well. I put on my iPod (which I only use during races I run solo), and did my interval thing. At this point, there were still some runners around me. I was with fellow runners for I'd say more than half the race easily. It wasn't until the last 5k that I found myself toward the very back after taking a fall.

Post-race, they had quite the offerings. As a vegan, I don't tend to get much during post-race festivities, but they had some vegetarian options at Cherokee. I had an amazing brownie, which I thanked the catering crew for. It was delicious!

The medal for this race was also unique, it's made of wood, not metal like most races have. I think that makes it stand out as well, and it is fitting for the location of the race. I would say if you are looking for a smaller race, check this one out! Less for one hill (which is like a half mile long), it's actually pretty flat for North Carolina.