In The Moment Running: Train Kept a Rollin' or Did It? Tobacco Road Marathon

There are a lot of choices for marathons in March. It took me awhile to decide which marathon to run. Generally, I use the early year marathons as supported long runs to help me have better marathons later in Spring. The Tobacco Road marathon could be considered my "home" marathon. It's held on the American Tobacco Trail (ATT), a Rails-to-Trails project that now consists of over 22 miles of pavement and crushed gravel trail from downtown Durham to Apex spanning Durham, Wake and Chatham counties. Frankly, it is a wonderful resource for runners, walkers, bikers, dogs and even equestrian. When we moved to the area in 2012, the section from Scott King Road to Southpoint Crossing had not yet been completed which included a proposed bridge over I40. Later in 2013, the entire trail had been completed and made for one of the best running and biking areas in the Triangle. In the summer, it is shaded providing coverage from the brutal sun and in the winter it is open enough to feel the warm sunshine. The greenway systems in the Triangle are the best I have ever seen and many races are held on them; RACE13.1 Raleigh, RACE13.1 Durham, City of Oaks Marathon to name a few along with the Tobacco Road Marathon.

We live just 2 miles from the Scott King Road portion of the ATT which is basically in the middle of the trail. Thus, I run on some portion of the trail nearly every weekend. That was the consideration. Did I want to run a marathon on the trail that I run on nearly every weekend? I know the trail and I also know how monotonous it can be in the sections where the marathon is run. Don't get me wrong, it is truly a beautiful trail through a tunnel of tall North Carolina pines but it can be quite monotonous and deceivingly difficult. Flat and fast is how the website describes the course. Compared to the other local marathons like Umstead, City of Oaks, Rock n Roll, I guess one could describe it this way. However, it is not Wrightsville Beach Marathon flat but it is not hilly either. So, what is it? There are long stretches of inclines that appear to just keep going on and on and on. Conversely, since the marathon has two turn-around points at mile 8 and 19, you'll be running down the same long inclines to balance the elevation changes. If it isn't the long inclines it might be the long straight stretches that get monotonous.

The event is one of the best organized I have seen. When there was a threat of rain, they put up big circus tents for the runners to take shelter in both before and after the marathon. There appeared to be plenty of port-a-potties, decent food, great volunteers, good aid stations and some unofficial beer and moonshine stations. Packet pick-up was easy at the small expo. There is limited parking at the marathon site so they sell passes for you to park right next to runner's village, otherwise it is a 15 minute bus trip from NetApp parking area. I had Cindy drop me off at the runner drop zone. She then came back to the finish around the time I was to finish and was easily able to find parking at the runner's village.

Cindy and the dogs met me at mile 8.7 which is the turn-around at Scott king Road for the first out and back. It was also an aid station supported by volunteers of our Parkwood Muslim community. It was great to see them sponsoring an aid station and they did it with diligence and enthusiasm. I didn't fair well in the marathon. It was warm and humid for mid-March. I knew by mile 8 drenched in sweat that the humidity was going to be an issue. Of course, my last few marathons have not been pleasant and this one was no exception finishing in 5:27. To me, it is hard to fathom the times from my last 3 marathons but it is what it is and I have still finished in the time allotted. So the train on the tobacco trail stalled but I finally pulled it into the station with Cindy's hand in mind as we both crossed the finish line together.

Would I run this again? Likely not as a marathon but maybe as a half. The only reason I wouldn't is because of running on the trail nearly every weekend. However, I would highly recommend it for other runners.

Enjoy the pictures.