My local race that I have put off doing because of my aversion to hills. Well, I can't really be that adverse to them given that I live and train here, but after running the half last year, I swore I would never do the full. I feel like every runner knows that means that yes, I will inevitably be doing it. A big group of friends was participating in the full this year (a couple of them were first time marathoners) and I had to knock out 26.2 for the NY virtual marathon, so I figured I'd tag along. This was my fourth full but by far the hilliest. At least a third of my long runs were done at Umstead and all of my weekday runs were in my super hilly neighborhood, so I felt (somewhat) ready.

The expo was small but efficient. It was broken into two rooms which was a little confusing but it was a good surprise as we initially thought there was only one merchandise vendor because of the layout. The race swag was great: love the long sleeve tech shirt they give (I wear my shirt from last year all the time in the cooler months) and this year they also gave you a pint glass. Overall, we were in and out of the expo in 30 mins max after perusing the booths, picking up goodies, and taking pictures with the backdrop.

Race day parking for us was at a local bank. We normally park at the Teeter at Cameron Village but they were telling people they would be towed. I know they provide parking details but we didn't even look them up because it was just our usual parking routine, but we were able to adjust accordingly. We made it to the start line just in time to start the race.

The first half of the marathon is various loops through downtown Raleigh. Mile 6ish was a long hill but nothing too awful. Around mile 10 you split off from the half and head onto the Greenway by Meredith. Running down those first few hills is a good warning of what it will be like going back up. They were steep! You then take the Greenway out to Shelley Lake where you turn around and head back. The aid station at mile 16/19 was like a beacon of hope. The food tables were awesome and the course support was super encouraging. I snagged some banana bread and a bojangles biscuit for the long journey back. They also had a ton of timing mats on the course which was great to prevent people cutting it short and to track your splits. Those hills from 22-24 are just mean though. Thankfully the biscuit helped me drown my sorrows.

Crossing the finish line was probably one of the most satisfying feelings because of how tough this course was. The spinny medal hefty, and the perfect reward. We made our way to the post-race area where they had bread from Great Harvest (they were literally giving away loaves of it), Krispy Kreme donuts (also giving away boxes), bananas, oranges, pizza, etc.

This is a great, hometown race and definitely one to tackle if you want to try a challenging course. I think it might have broken at least one of my friends from ever doing a marathon again but hey, remember what I said at the start of this review? #neversaynever