When my buddies and I signed up for this race, we had no idea that the Weather Channel had previously listed it as the 14th most difficult in the WORLD! https://weather.com/news/news/worlds-toughest-marathons-running-20121103#/3

I ran this race for the simple reason that I have family in the area, and I didn't have to pay for a hotel stay. We tried to drive the course the night before, but there were parts that were not accessible by car. The marathon is not sanctioned by the RRCA and not considered a Boston Qualifier.

The main rise in elevation takes the form of Blackberry Mountain -- and it is a mountain -- around mile 7/8. This didn't bother me too much since our regular long runs include many hills. The rest of the race is pretty much downhill except for a few short, steep inclines.

This year, the path by the river was extremely muddy, and we ran in slippery, shoe-sucking conditions for well over a mile. There is also a part of the course that is run on a golf course and a swinging bridge. The golf course wasn't that bad, but the bridge really shook the quads after running all of the previous miles.

The one thing I do remember is the heat and humidity. The race is in June and there is very sparse shade or covering for the runners on the course.

The aid stations were plentiful, with many themes and ICE WATER. This was great, given the weather conditions at the time.

The swag was nice as well. All finishers receive a medal, a tech shirt, a towel, a drawstring bag, and a mason jar with the race's logo that was filled with grapes by some nice ladies at the finish.

All-in-all, it was a great experience. I wasn't pleased with my time, but that was due to mistakes I made on the course with strategy and hydration/nutrition.

The race director is very attentive to each runner and readily addresses concerns in a timely manner.

This is probably not a PR race (especially since it isn't even sanctioned as a marathon), but many 50-staters run this in order to cover one of two states along the course -- KY and VA.