Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon

Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon

Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon

( 45 reviews )
100% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Roanoke,
    Virginia,
    United States
  • April
  • 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon, Other, Relay, Virtual Race
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Ben Wachter

Bumpass, Virginia, United States
20 24
2017
"It lives up to the name 'America's toughest'."
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Ben Wachter's thoughts:

I'll start by saying that I won entry into the BRM this year and was excited to run it. This was a bucket list race and it is in my home state so it wasn't a long drive. I arrived Friday mid day and checked into the motel and proceeded to the expo. Being in the middle of a small, busy downtown parking was a ta premimum so I went back to my room and waited for the traffic to die down and went back. This time no problems. This is a very small expo so it went rather quick. After dinner and sleep it was race day.
The start/ finish is right in the middle of downtown in a park and had a nice hometown kind of vibe. One odd thing is the 10k, half and full all start at the same time, which makes for some congestion at the start but things shake out by mile 2 and the first hills.
They call this 'Americas Toughest Road Marathon' and that is not a joke. The first climb is the biggest, straight up Roanoke Mountain and right back down into another climb up Mill Mountain. There are plenty of aid stations so staying hydrated is not an issue. The third hill is the one that gets you. Once you reach the flat at the top there is another small steep climb before the turn around and you go back down into the valley. Part of the course is on the Greenway along the river so there is some flats to break up the hills.
The race this year was canceled around 4 hours 30 minutes due to lightning strikes so the directors did a good job making sure the runners were safe, even though some decided to continue on on their own.
Would I do it again? Yes.

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