Latest reviews by William

(2016)
"Wet fun, volunteers were phenomenal!"
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Despite the construction and trying to find parking, the race was awesome. I loved the fact that it rained. It was a nearly perfect day to run. The race started out without rain and around mile 8 or 9 it started to rain. It was pretty epic! I've already registered for 2017! Woohoo! It seemed that I unofficially Boston Qualified when I crossed the line! Upon looking at the results later, they have me at 3:04:50 which is technically a BQ! NICE! I ran that last 10k like I had nothing to lose and it paid off. I ended up 43rd overall, 13th in my age group.

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(2016)
"Knoxville Marathon... definitely a fantastic event! Well organized!"
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Race morning came around and it was chilly out, but we knew it’d be a great day. My friend, Scott, wanted to hit right around 4 hours. That meant we needed to run around a 9:15 per mile or better. It was a hilly course, so we knew it wouldn’t be the fastest course. Scott had Boston Qualified on this course a few years back, so if the heat needed to be turned on, we could do that. It wasn’t until around mile 21 that we took off our under layers (picture to the right) as it was pretty chilly for the majority of the morning. But, it was a fantastic day to run! There was an excellent “aid station” at the mile 7 hill (Noelton Hill) that offered FireBall Whiskey shots. We participated. And then around mile 23 another “aid station” that had Pop-Tarts and Michelob Ultra. Scott had Pop-Tarts and Michelob, I just had Michelob. And then we continued. We were looking good at that point to hit hit just before 4:00.
**NOTE: Those were not official aid stations by the race director and organization. Those aid stations were kind people just having fun, offering goodies to runners.**

We hit the final hill, then it was just a few winding turns through downtown Knoxville and part of the UT Knoxville campus. Then before we knew it, we were in Neyland Stadium crossing the 50 yard line for the finish! 3:58:20! Boom. Surpassed the goal.

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(2015)
"Despite the confusion at the beginning, AWESOME race!"
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I ran in the Holiday Hustle Trail Marathon hosted in West Coast Trail Runs (WCTR). It was an awesome course, awesome venue. It was a two loop course on some pretty rolling hills. It felt like there was a lot more uphill than downhill, but hey, it was still fun.
Holiday Hustle Trail Marathon Race Recap WCTR hike run jumpI ended up winning the trail marathon with a time of 3:33:45. Not bad for a pretty hilly course and only having about 1.5 months of solid, consistent training in the books. It had lots of rolling hills. It was a two loop course and I loved it! Very scenic. Had to run through cow pastures, open and close the gates. It was neat and I would recommend their events for sure! I’d definitely consider doing the Holiday Hustle Trail Marathon again in the future. Also, I think WCTR does a spring and fall event, so that’s cool!
One of the most interesting parts of the Holiday Hustle Trail Marathon was the loop set up. At the beginning of the race, we had to run from the parking lot to the loop split and they said to follow the blue flags. Well, both sides (right and left) had blue flags. So, the runners sort of split off in two directions. I chose to go left with the lead group. At the top of the hill, the lead group that I was with stopped and looked back at the split. People were going left and right. It was kind of intense. Which way was correct?!
Regardless, I stuck with my decision and kept proceeding. After loop one, I thought I was in 5th or 6th place, but the guys ahead of me turned out to be in the half-marathon race. Cool! I was leading the marathon but had no clue where anyone else was in the marathon since it was a split loop race. I stuck with it and kept doing my best. At the end of the second loop, I still had about 1.5 to 2 miles. The folks at the last aid station said I was the first marathon person they saw, so that felt great! Legs hurt so bad but I was so close! I had to walk a few times during the last mile, I know, I know… but I ended up pulling myself across the line, running strong… and found out I won and was ecstatic!

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(2013)
"Hilly and gorgeous course"
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Definitely one of the more difficult half marathons I have run. I did perform my worst time there. But at the same time, in 2013, didn't register until last minute, so it was kind of a spur of the moment event. I ran a little too hard from the start, as I was running with some people I knew from one of the local shops. I blew up when we hit the first set of hills. Granted, if you train on the terrain properly (HILLS) then you'll be fine. I'd like to go back at some point and give the race another go. I'd recommend the race for sure!

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