Last year was the inaugural race and they had issues with timing/distance. It seems that any first year kinks have worked out and the half distance was spot on; I haven't heard of any issues with the full distance.

This was my sister-in-law's first half marathon so I decided to run it with her, since I'm usually the running instigator. I love doing any race in Chatt because it's so accessible to Atlanta, it's a great town to visit, and I have several free places to stay. :-)

The website provided clear schedule of events, shuttle bus/parking info, and course maps, so everything on race morning was very clear and simple. There's plenty of parking at the finish area at Finley Stadium and they provide school buses from the finish to the start line. It was clear but chilly that morning. Starting in downtown Chattanooga was great though since many of the local businesses were open and we were able to stay warm in a coffee shop right at the start. There were plenty of port-o-johns as well as several public restroom options at the visitor bureau, aquarium, and local businesses. It's not the prettiest course through Chatt but I very much enjoyed the varied neighborhoods and rolling hills. There's definitely a high point in the middle of the half course that made miles 5-7 kinda tough but overall I think the course can run pretty fast because you get a lot of great down hills and rollers.

The finish line was seriously impressive, with a veritable red carpet experience. The finish chute food was set up just like a mini grocery store, with everything neatly stacked and ordered on shelves. It was seriously impressive; great job Food City! After the race, bib tickets can be used for meals at several different food trucks, as well as free beer tickets. I gave my beer tickets away since they only offered Bud Light (beggars can't be choosers I guess).

I'll definitely be adding this race to my spring rotation and will consider doing the full course next year.

Final Verdict: This makes for a great Spring getaway to an amazing southern city. DO IT!

I've run the Publix Georgia Half Marathon and handful of times but this was my second time running the full distance. The race was definitely different from my first time running it; I was pacing the 5:15 group this time around and in 2014 my husband proposed to me at mile 22 so I seemed to forget how difficult the course was until this year. Atlanta Track Club took over the race management last year and I think they're set to build a world class destination event for the South. It was way long overdue for Atlanta to have a marathon to be proud of; we've reached the era of Atlanta marathons with greatness promised in the future.
The course itself is definitely a challenge so be prepared for some major hill training. If you're a first timer, think hard about this as your choice of race, but know we had several first timers in our training program and they all made it through Publix with plans to run more marathons. Surely that's a good sign. The new Ultimate Peach incentive sweetens the deal (Peachtree Road Race, Atlanta 10 miler, Atlanta Thanksgiving Half, Publix Marathon). Ultimate Peach finishers get extra awesome swag, this year including an engraved watch, plus a private tent with food, mimosas, and massages. It's a great motivator to have goals year round.
Final Verdict: While difficult, nonetheless, the swag, course layout, and beautiful neighborhoods, make this a worthwhile adventure.

Pros:
- Expo --> There's vast disagreement here, but I LOVED the intimate expo experience. In my mind, most race expos are monstrosities with the same stuff that I can easily buy on discount through Amazon without dealing with the anxiety inducing crowd. None of that BS at Publix this year. Expo was set up in a small circular fashion with a quick in-and-out bib pickup situation, easy crowd movement around the circle, and just a booths, including Atlanta Track Club gear store, Publix race gear store, Tesla, a rowing studio, some fun snacks, a Publix booth with extra swag, and a handful of others. Definitely saved time, stress, and money but there were many people (about 50/50 among my FB friends) who were disappointed because they wanted a big expo. I give full points for this expo experiences; others may give few points for the same reason. Just know what you're expecting.
- Race start --> Centennial Olympic Park is nicely appointment, easily accessible via MARTA with many parking deck options as well around the area. The start area is spread out in a way that allows easy navigation, bag check, access to both public toilets and port-o-johns. There's also a Starbucks right near the start line that's open and allows athletes to hang out; especially nice during poor weather.
- Corrals --> Easy access; your assigned corral is on your bib but I didn't see much policing of that. They may have been more strict in the front corrals. There's a generally policy against CamelBaks now ( something that most major races are implementing and being dictated by FBI/police policies) but there were still a few seen on the course since, again, I didn't see a good way of policing for those. Just be aware that it's against the rules so bring at your own risk.
- Course --> HOLY HILLS BATMAN! If you've not run in Atlanta, know that it's mantra is "heat, hills, and humidity." While the race this year only included the hills (we had beautiful weather) there is no point on the course where you get a break (except downhills of course). I'm giving it 4/5 difficulty because I've run a fair amount of trail races with much more elevation. Also, I'm running Mad Marathon in VT in July and I think those hills may end up worse so I'm leaving room here for "improvement." ;-)
- Aid stations --> Every 2 miles, almost like clockwork. Well appointed and included several different food options spread throughout the course, including sport beans, gels, cookies, oranges (OMG the best!). The volunteers seemed well trained in terms of handing out drinks in a way that was helpful and not obstructive. For a race with not great crowd support (Atlanta residents need to get with it), the aid stations were fun zones that broke up the course nicely.
- Course scenery --> I'm a huge fan of Atl neighborhoods. The houses are beautiful and each neighborhood has it's own flavor. One star off for the shit miles from 22ish on (after Piedmont Park) that are boring/awful IMO running through GA Tech and then the last mile slightly uphill to the finish on industrial Marietta. Blah.
- Mile markers --> Many people probably won't care about this (the course as a whole was marked accurately) but as a pace team leader the true course mile markers are important for maintaining correct pacing (Garmin pace/distance is always slightly off). Unfortunately, mile markers 23-25 were missing creating a situation where I was convinced I was behind pace. By time the next mile marker popped up at 25 I realized that I was 2 minutes ahead of pace. Frustrating to say the least. Considering I'm friendly with much of the Atlanta Track Club staff (and other pacers noticed the same problem) I'm confident this won't be an issue next year. *I hit the finish at exactly 5:15:00 anyway. :-)
- Post Race --> Due to a computer issue with matching race registrations to Ultimate Peach qualifiers, ATC discovered during the expo that they had underestimated by about 50 runners. Several friends of the ATC including myself were asked if we'd be ok accepting our Ultimate Peach swag a couple weeks late so they could order extras. I have no problem with this and feel that the ATC dealt with the situation as best as possible. As a data scientist I'm aware how difficult these data systems can be and I'm not surprised by the issue. Outside of that situation, the finish area is well-appointed with everyone receiving a box of snacks, variety of drinks (including chocolate milk - chug chug), medal, heat sheet, etc. Centennial Park provides a great finish area as well, especially on a nice day, due to to the open grassy areas great for relaxing/picnicking after the race.

I've tried to do this race for several years but this was the first time my schedule finally cooperated. This is one of the most popular races in the Xterra Georgia race series, and is organized by the fabulous folks at Dirty Spokes Productions. The half marathon is one loop of mostly rolling, single track mountain bike trails around Fort Yargo State Park. The full is 2 loops. I'm not a big fan of loop courses but it's a big enough course to not feel repetitive. My legs were feeling quite heavy from lots of long training runs lately, so I was definitely feeling a exhausted and unmotivated going into the second lap. However, I was lucky to fall into pace with another runner and we chatted most of the second lap, making it seem considerably faster and easier than the first time around.

Pros:
- Easy parking access, with plenty of port-o-potties and a few permanent park restrooms available.
- Coffee and some other goodies at the starth
- Friendly volunteers and easy check-in; swag bag includes a nice long-sleeve tech shirt
- Rolling, non-technical course; great if you're considering a first trail half or full marathon
- Medals; most trail races don't give medals so if you're into that sort of thing you'll be happier at an Xterra event
- Bag lunch; marathoners get a bag lunch when they cross the finish with PB&J, cookies, chocolate, and pringles. Nice combination of salty sweet for after a race and really convenient for my drive home.

Cons:
- Start waves; the full marathon starts at 8 with the half starting at 8:30. I get this is supposed to spread participants out but many of the elite half runners just run the slower marathoners over when they caught up. I had to move off the trail and stop running several times to let them pass.
- Aid stations; trail races typically have awesome aid stations with a great food/snack selection. This race had 3 aid stations on course, only 1 with sports drink and gels. The other 2 were just water. If you're used to the epic aid station fare of other trail races, you'll be very disappointed here. With that being said, carrying your own nutrition is always recommended anyway.

Overall: I really liked this race and will plan to add it to my yearly rotation, although I'll probably due the half in the future in order to avoid another 2 loop course. I think the management was great, with great volunteers, but it could definitely use some aid station upgrades. Give it a shot if you want an easy access trail half or full marathon in the Atlanta area.

This was my second year running Hot Chocolate Atlanta as BibRave Pro. There were a few huge improvements over last year's race that made this year great.
1) Location change. It's only a few miles away from the original start/finish area, but Centennial Park is much more accessible via public transit and generally a nicer place to start than Turner Field. There's several public bathroom locations around the park, plus the port-o-potties put out by the race so that alone kind of makes things nicer. I noticed there were a TON of potties this year and zero lines. Someone pointed out to me that this may have been leftover from the Women's March the day before, rather than race management. Regardless, it was amazing.
2) Swag: the chocolate bowl and medal were the same, but the jacket was definitely an upgrade. It's softer than last year, has a hood and thumb holes, and it's super flattering. I'll actually wear this one!
3) Expo: last year the expo was extremely crowded and there was a long line just to get inside. This year, it was much more calm, plenty of space, no lines, and I think they had more vendors. Besides navigating through the hoards of cheerleaders who also happened to be at the convention center, this was a stress free expo.

Even though the start location changed the course was similar to last year, with lots of rolling hills. Hill training is a must but know, for every uphill you get a nice downhill. I ran a 4 minutes PR over last year's race. I take one star off of aid stations because, while the chocolate and marshmallows are fun, it would be nice to have some normal race snacks as well. A gu or a pack of power beans would suffice. That said, the race runs through a variety of cool Atlanta neighborhoods, has great swag, and the management is spectacular. A must run at least once. I hope to be back next year!