As someone that lives in FL, the mountains and hills that I experienced during this course were beyond what I could have ever prepared for. That said, I would absolutely head back to Roanoke any time the opportunity arises to run this race again.

To address the 2-star review of the parking/access. I stayed at one of the hotels that was a few miles from the race start/expo that was advertised on the accommodations page of the race website. The write up said that there would be shuttle service available Friday afternoon/evening for the expo, and also on Saturday for the race. When I checked in on Friday, I found out there was no shuttle available on Friday, but that there would be on Saturday morning. However, the shuttle wouldn't start running until only about an hour before the start of the race. I assumed that wouldn't be an issue, since the trip would literally only take a few minutes.

When I came down to the lobby, there was no shuttle. And the hotel staff knew of no shuttle that would be available throughout the day. Thankfully, someone from the hotel was willing to give me a ride, and it ended up working out, but I literally was dropping my bag in the bag check as the National Anthem was starting. It added a level of stress that wasn't ideal, but it wasn't enough of an issue to prevent me from wanting to run this race again or to recommend it to others.

Everything else about the race was absolutely top notch. Well organized, great route, tons of local spectators. I definitely plan on running this race again at some point, and can't wait to have a chance to hang out in and explore Roanoke a little bit more next time.

You can read my full recap, and view some in-race video, on my blog. http://www.dizruns.com/blue-ridge-marathon-recap/

Link to this review