Registration and Parking
I registered for this in April of 2015, right after the race that year, for $50 plus a $10 parking pass. That’s eleven months before the race, knowing that the price goes up, the race sells out, and the parking passes sell out even faster. The race starts and finishes at USA Baseball Park in Cary. The parking is limited to 900 spaces, so for those without a parking pass, they must park at a nearby company and take a 15 minute shuttle to the ballpark. I live on the other side of the park, so it was a quick and easy 20 minute drive for me on an empty highway the morning of the race, with the parking pass.

The Race and the Course
Its official name in 2016 was the Allscripts Tobacco Road Marathon and GNC Half Marathon. They limit the races to 1500 full marathon and 2500 half marathon participants. In 2016, the half was again sold out, and there were limited full marathon spots open during the Expo.
Both races take place on two and a half miles of road near the ballpark and the rest of it on the American Tobacco Trail. Because they need to close the road near the park, race officials put a seven hour time limit on all races.
The ATT is located on the site that was originally developed as the New Hope Valley Railroad in 1905-06. The railroad (and tobacco industry) used this corridor until it was formally abandoned by them in 1979. The tracks, rails, and gravel were removed in 1983. Left behind was a long, straight dirt road. Parts of it were privately owned, and other parts were bought by NCDOT, the city of Durham, and the counties of Durham, Wake, and Chatham. It is now managed and maintained by the Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
The section that is used for the race is wide enough for about four people to run beside each other; since it is an out-and-back course, race officials on bicycles are good about telling people to keep to the right. It is covered with fine, crushed white gravel that can be sandy in some areas. On any average day, the trail is full of bikers, hikers, runners, and people riding horseback. It is lined with tall trees, mostly pines, and it passes over or next to some swampy, low-lying areas, especially on the southern end near the turn point. Also near the turn point, you run through a tunnel underneath a highway.
There are no running strollers allowed for children, due to the rocky terrain of the trail. However, participants of the organization Ainsley’s Angels of America are able to take part in this race. This group allows members of the special needs community to be included in races, including marathons and half marathons. Volunteers, or volunteer teams, push running chariots that an ‘angel’ can ride in.
The Tobacco Road Marathon (and Half) began in 2010 . It is marketed as a “flat and fast” course, and many people run the race in search of a “BQ” (Boston Qualifying) time. The race website states that up to ten percent of the racers do obtain a BQ. There is a special bell that racers are encouraged to ring at the end of the race if they PR’d or BQ’d. Also, once times are verified, people who Boston Qualify receive a highly coveted race shirt. In 2014, the race was named by Runner’s World Magazine as one of the nine top new marathons.
The full and the half run the same course for 2.5 miles to and from the ATT. The full has 21 miles on the ATT (first running north) and the half has 8 miles on the trail (first running south).
Even though the race is known as being “FLAT and fast,” it really is not flat! While it does not have the steep hills of the various other races that take place in the city of Raleigh or Umstead State Park, it has very long, gradual uphills and downhills. I felt like I was flying on the downhills, as it appears flat and feels easy. I felt like a workhorse on the uphills; my heart was working, and my feet were going but my legs felt heavy. Add in the fact of the crushed gravel, almost like sand underfoot. Most of the time, I felt this as cushiony and energizing underfoot, but every now and then, I would hit a deeper gravel spot, which causes you to readjust your footing, as if you are running on the beach. I’m sure this is part of the abnormal quadricep soreness I felt for two days after the race.

The Race Expo
The race expo for bib pick-up took place at the Embassy Suites Hotel near RDU Airport in Cary. It was easy to get to, even at 5:00 on a Friday, near the Research Triangle Park and Interstate 40 (notorious for horrible rush hour traffic). Parking was free (unlike when expos are held downtown at the convention center). I was in a bit of a rush, so I quickly went in with my bib number memorized so I could avoid having to look it up. I picked up my bib, parking pass, t-shirt, and water bottle easily. The shirts were short-sleeved and technical. It came in women’s and men’s specific sizes and colors, and there were also specific colors for both the half and the full. The water bottles came in clear, blue, and red. All in all, the race had great swag.

Race Day
I was on the road before six. I arrived at the park (in the new darkness of that hour, the first day of daylight savings) before 6:30 and was able to park easily. I hopped out to stand in the restroom (real plumbing in a building that was part of the baseball facility) line, leaving my pack in the car. I was wearing capri tights and a thin racing singlet. It was in the upper 50s/low 60s. You could already feel the damp humidity in the air. It was a rather long wait, but we did have 90 minutes to kill until race time at 8:00 a.m. (The normal time is 7:00, but with DST, they moved it up for just this year). Then I headed back to my car, put my pack on, and walked the 0.3 miles up the hill to the start area.
At the start area, there were plenty of porta pots without long lines. I walked to check out the beer garden for post-race refreshments. I met some friends, and the four of us hung there until about 30 minutes before race time. We walked out to the start line and chatted there until the national anthem. At three minutes before eight, I activated my gps watch, and we were off. There were no corrals or starting order; you just kind of followed the pacers’ signs, falling in where you felt you should be. We wanted to get with the 2:20 pacer, but it was too packed to make our way there, so we got in behind the 2:30 pacers.
The start line is on a downhill, then there’s a quick uphill to get out of the baseball complex. There are about 2.5 miles of road running before you hit the trails. Things got warm from the start , but because I like heat, it was comfortable for me. The hills before the trail running went well, and once we hit the trails, I felt like I was flying. We had a slight downhill for a long bit, a mile or two (which I knew was going to make the return difficult, and that I really should slow down). Also, the crushed gravel beneath my feet felt awesome. A running coach told me in the past that I would feel more energy than normal while running on this surface . . . and that later or the next day, I would feel more fatigue due to the actual energy being spent. He was not wrong.
At some point in that section going south, the fastest half marathoners began to pass us going north again. Four or five guys and then the first girl. I loved hearing all the runners going in my direction cheer her on with “Go, Girl!”
Momentum was still good for me at that point, even as we hit a long, slow uphill grade. I knew that some friends of ours were probably going to be at the next road/water stop intersection, so I was looking forward to that burst of energy. Sure enough, when we came to the last road intersecting with the trail, we saw a pack of familiar faces.
The turnaround point was just south of that water stop. The friend with whom I was running started to surge ahead of me, and from this point, I was on my own. I saw a few friends who were going north on the return trip ahead of me, and I continued to see others I knew throughout the race on my way back north.
After that, my race reached the stage where it was just Work. Just plain, hard, heart pounding, keep-my-legs-moving, try-to-maintain-a-decent-pace Work. I knew I was on track to finish with a good time if I could keep moving at a decent pace for the rest of the race. There was a lot of gradual uphill grades, and the sandy surface was really becoming fatiguing. Around mile 8-9, the first marathoners started to pass me on their way south. I found it both inspiring (they were so fast! And so fit and lean, most of them running without shirts, men and women, many of them wearing college race singlets from around the country) and tiring (again, they were so fast! ).
I finally reached the right turn onto the road surface. A few hundred meters down the road, a neighborhood had tents set up with loud music and a party atmosphere that sounded fun, and that did give me a little more energy to move. I was able to get my pace going again where I wanted it to be in those last few miles.
Finally I saw the entrance to the ballpark facility, so I knew there was just about half a mile left. Going into the park was a big downhill, and then 0.3 miles uphill to the finish line. The finish came into sight.
I let someone hand me a medal, and I took two bottles of water from a volunteer.

The After Party and My Recovery
After stretching for a few minutes, I walked toward the beer garden. I got in line with a friend for some pizza. In the beer garden, Natty Greene, a local craft brewery, was providing the beer, unlimited glasses of it per runner. I grabbed a wit beer, which tasted amazing.
I hung with some other friends in the beer garden for about an hour. The weather was warm, and the beer kept tasting great. There was a band singing ‘80s cover songs by some of my favorites, Journey and the Outfield. However, as much fun as it was to hang out, it cost me some recovery pain over the next few days. I am usually not sore much at all after a race, just physically fatigued from the effort exerted for a few days. But this time, I was really sore for two days after the race. Normally, I stretch a long time after a race. After this one, I spent a little too much time napping on the couch and was stiff and sore when I did get up to move around.

Will I run this race again?
Definitely! I registered for 2017 as soon as registration opened. I’ll be running the half marathon again on March 19, 2017.
For the full length version of this race recap, see my blog post at https://therunningfrenchprof.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/tobacco-road-race-recap-march-13-2016/.
I was interviewed later that day by a fellow member of an online running group that I am a member of, Marathon Training Academy. He had run the full marathon that morning and wrote an article about it. My quote and his race review can be found at this link:
http://marathontrainingacademy.com/tobacco-road-marathon

References:
http://www.tobaccoroadmarathon.com/
http://www.triangletrails.org/american-tobacco-trail