Benjamin French's Staging Area

Great Alabama race. A few thoughts/highlights:
– Highly recommend staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Downtown Huntsville; the hotel is located about 300ft from the starting line, so you can wait for the start in the lobby and have easy access to rest rooms. Also an easy 5 min walk to the expo and finish line.
– Excellent swag with this race. The shirt is long sleeve and comfortable. The marathon medal is HUGE and actually made of metal which is nice.
– Course is a bit dull at times, but has a few notable highlights such as the mile or so that is spent running through space camp.
– Excellent post race food. They had tomato basil soup, fried chicken, grilled cheese, grilled peanut butter/honey sandwiches, all sorts of bars, fruits, etc. One of the best spreads I’ve seen after a race.
– Finish line is indoors, so even if the weather is cold/rainy, friends and family can be dry while they watch and you can spend a little time at the finish line yourself to enjoy the food (see above).
Overall, this is a great race for those looking to bang out an Alabama race. Easy to navigate city with great hotel options and a well run race.

This race happens in summer in Mississippi so be ready for a hot and humid race. 2024 was 98% humidity and 75 degrees. Likely with this in mind, the race directors are smart to try and get this race done early in the day with a 5am start time, so much of the heat of the day is avoided. One tip I would suggest is to bring a head lamp because the first 60-90 mins are in complete blackness. The medal is solid. The race shirt is actually a hoody. The post race snacks leave a little to be desired… mostly just water, very little in the way of the usual bananas/bagels etc.
Overall, a good race if you need one in MS. Challenging course if only because of climate.

This is one of those races that everyone says you should do… and they are right! Extremely well organized, beautiful course (although the second half is the most beautiful, so for those interested in the half marathon, you’re still getting most of the views). Great shirt, great medal. Easy to navigate the city… the expo, buses to the start, and finish line are all right next to each other. The only challenge is securing a hotel reservation… make sure to do this 10 or more months in advance, although you can get on a wait list for many of the hotels as well. Definitely worth staying in Canal Park to be close to the action and avoid having to drive at all over the weekend.

This is a fantastic race. There is a lottery for about one week in August. If you get in, you get an email from the race director saying “we regret to inform you that you’ve been accepted.” Every few weeks leading up to the race you get “motivational” emails from the race director which are always beautifully written and very funny. The race is VERY hilly and the director puts up helpful signs throughout the course which say things like “300ft of gain down… 3300ft more” after the first big ill or “idiot” after mile 22. Had me cackling. All the tongue and cheek humor aside, he clearly cares a lot about the race and supporting the preservation of the forest the race takes place in. Everyone gets a personalized finisher shirt WITH YOUR NAME ON IT, a wooden race medal (swag got 4/5 for me because personally I don’t love wooden medals), and free beer at the finish line. Highly recommend.