Knoxville knows how to host a race! This was well organized and supported from start to finish. We stayed at the host hotel which was a good choice for this race. The expo was in the hotel and the race started on the street in front of the hotel. The expo was average, I was able to find a 26.2 sticker to put on my car the next day! I liked the logo on the shirts, but wished our color had been gray or navy like the others. Bright neon yellow is just not my first choice. I knew the course would be hilly from the course map and it is in east TN, however the route is totally doable if you train well. This was my first marathon and I was able to handle the hills. I even ran the big hill that the course is famous for just before mile 7. The spectator support on the course is amazing! There is a contest each year among the various neighborhoods to see which one can be the best. The race has something for all runners (kids, 5K, relay, 1/2 and full). The crowd of runners was managable. Even running on a portion of paved trail I never found myself blocked in or "jockeying" for a space to run. The full only had about 700 runners so once we split from the 1/2 crowd at 12.5 miles the course was wide open. The second half of the course is more industrial and a little lonely at times, but there are several neighborhoods that came out to cheer us on. The race also has music acts all along the course in the same way a much larger race series does. The finish is tough! The last 1/2 mile is uphill before entering Neyland Stadium for the finish. The medal was awesome and receiving a finisher's hat was also nice. The post race food was adequate with pizza, trail mix, fruit, protein bars, etc. The post race party is dry, so if you want a celebratory beer you will need to head to a local restaurant or have one on ice waiting in your hotel room :) All in all a great race that should be on your calendar for next year!