YOU CAN DO THIS! Novant Health Charlotte Marathon weekend features a race for every goal and pace! Join us for the Queen City’s ONLY Full marathon, half marathon, or the Chick-fil-A 5k. All Novant Health Charlotte Marathon events start and finish in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The scenic, winding marathon …
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YOU CAN DO THIS! Novant Health Charlotte Marathon weekend features a race for every goal and pace! Join us for the Queen City’s ONLY Full marathon, half marathon, or the Chick-fil-A 5k.
All Novant Health Charlotte Marathon events start and finish in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The scenic, winding marathon course takes you through some of Charlotte’s most historic, eclectic, and Instagram-able neighborhoods! From the heart of the Center City, to tree-lined boulevards, arts and cultural districts, and more; you’ll see it all on your way as you Run Charlotte!
For all the fun with a little less run, take on the half marathon or Chick-fil-A 5K! You’ll enjoy all the perks of a big-time event – like the Health and Wellness Expo presented by Fleet Feet, Finish Line Festival, and race day excitement – with fewer miles!
Your participation in the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon events benefits the Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital. Their talented and dedicated team provides comprehensive, remarkable care to babies and kids, delivered in a child-friendly environment.
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Hilly, Beautiful Neighborhoods
Well organized with great weather. The course goes through some of Charlotte's prettiest neighborhoods. The rolling hills were a challenge for me coming from a flat hometown, but it was … MORE
Well organized with great weather. The course goes through some of Charlotte’s prettiest neighborhoods. The rolling hills were a challenge for me coming from a flat hometown, but it was a welcome challenge and gave the race and the scenery its own character.
Love the Queen City
I really enjoyed the Charlotte Marathon. The beanie, medal, and food bag were top notch. It was a mostly well marked course (one issue was at the 18/20 mile spot). … MORE
I really enjoyed the Charlotte Marathon. The beanie, medal, and food bag were top notch. It was a mostly well marked course (one issue was at the 18/20 mile spot). The hills were really unforgiving so that was something that may lead me to picking a different travel race next year. Great experience overall though
Challenging
This was my first half-marathon and boy did it challenge me. The energy from the crowds was so fun, people were all over the course with signs, snacks, and moral … MORE
This was my first half-marathon and boy did it challenge me. The energy from the crowds was so fun, people were all over the course with signs, snacks, and moral support. It seemed to be pretty well organized for how many people participated, including the expo. I had to wait about 20 minutes in line for my packet, but I had gone right after work.
The hills were brutal, especially for a first-timer. The courses were stocked with water/gatorade/and gels, and the volunteers were very kind. The finish line “party” area was fine. We received a bag of snacks along with a cute little CLT marathon branded beanie. I wish there were other options for a celebratory snack or drink aside from alcohol (you had to pay for anything else).
Overall, it was a wonderful experience, so much so, I’ll be running it again next weekend 😉
First Half Marathon & Road Race!
This was my first road race, so I don't have anything to compare it to. However, I really enjoyed it and it inspired me to run more races. The bib … MORE
This was my first road race, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. However, I really enjoyed it and it inspired me to run more races.
The bib pick-up and expo was well organized with tons of vendors and free swag. I definitely felt like my registration fee was well-spent. The post-race snack bags and vendors with giveaways were also nice.
There were tons of supporters on the sidelines. Overall, nice scenery through the neighborhoods of Charlotte + NC is always so nice and sunny so the weather was great! Having “warm” bathrooms in Truist Field pre-event was a huge plus. There were plenty of aid stations, but I didn’t stop at them due to the flow. I did feel like my corral was too slow – I’m not sure if that was an error on my end because of what I put as my starting pace or if the organizers messed something up. Regardless, I had a blast and it made me want to run more races!
Not A Bad Urban Race for NC
I did the marathon in 2023 and 2025: Pros: - It's a solid NC race if you want urban/don't want to deal with renting a car. Everything you need is … MORE
I did the marathon in 2023 and 2025:
Pros:
– It’s a solid NC race if you want urban/don’t want to deal with renting a car. Everything you need is in uptown (albeit pricey, but big city means big city prices, even in the South)
– Generous deferral options — I had to defer from 2024 to 2025 due to injury and there wasn’t a cost to do so, even at a week before the marathon.
– Start and finish line are near each other, so nice for parking options. Also near the light rail station, so an option if that’s your thing
– Corrals are new and worked well (they started in 2024, so I ran in 2023 with no corrals and 2025 with and 2025 was a lot smoother), we were in corral F (I put down a 4:30 finish time estimate, so….) and hit the start line like five minutes after the race began.
– Shirt and medal are good quality — the shirts were tiny in 2023 and huge in 2025, so don’t size up unless you want something baggy. You can exchange after the marathon if they have extra.
– In the past they gave pulled pork sandwiches at the finish line, this year was a Publix (grocery store brand) bag of snacks and a nice beanie (hat) – I prefer the bag and the hat; I didn’t do the post race party b/c I wanted to get back to the hotel and shower
Facts:
– The front half of the marathon is STACKED with spectators. It’s loud, it’s crowded, it’s a good energy. And, as is tradition, once 3/4 of the runners peel off to finish their half and the 1/4 of us dumb enough to run another 13.1 miles stagger on, the energy and crowds drop off.
– The front half is really hilly, the second half has some flatter sections until some random “ah jeez really?” hills throughout.
– Charlotte isn’t really the South anymore, you’re not gonna hear any Southern accents while you’re in town. That part died around the same time they rebranded it from Thunder Road to Charlotte Marathon.
Facts:
– The first half of the marathon is too crowded. I couldn’t really make any moves or get around people in the first 10 miles – it’s just really tight through uptown and the rich neighborhoods. My husband is faster than me on uphills and we lost each other a couple times because he couldn’t step off to the side to wait for me / I couldn’t get any speed going downhill to catch him. Things finally opened up at mile 13, so make sure you put yourself where you need to be pace wise at the start b/c you’re not getting it in the first half.
– The expo was moved to the nascar hall of fame building in 2025, but they didn’t actually tell you HOW to get to the expo. It was a pain to find and we definitely met up with like 20+ other lost people in back stairwells / hallways trying to find where to go. Annoying.
– The front half is stacked with water stops, bathrooms, aid stations – it’s awesome. The second half is NOT. We couldn’t find a bathroom until mile 23 (don’t worry, that was like our mile 16, we had to run across the path of the 3 hour marathoners to get to the single portajohn), the water stations were sparse, the gatorade was watered down (the gatorade was a pale yellow, my pee was not.), minimal shade. A lot of community members made up for the lack of water stations by handing out their own at little neighborhood aid stations, which is always appreciated but also shouldn’t come down to somebody being generous enough to give me a dixie cup of water when I paid over $100 for a race
– the second half was sparse crowd wise in 2025 and I remembered it being busier in 2023. However, ICE was in town in 2025 and I think a lot of people opted to stay home out of an abundance of caution. We didn’t see them while we were in town, but I doubt they were going to be in the most affluent part of town. Some people in the second half did have protest signs as their marathon signs, so I think that part of town was probably more of a target.
The marathon keeps moving later and later into November and it’s still hot and humid. This year it was 40s at the start and got into the 60s/70s during the day. I finished around 4:45 and the announcer said there were still like 1000 people out on the course – I passed a LOT of walkers while heading back to the hotel. It’s irresponsible of the race to not have enough resources in the back half, especially when they push for this to be such a “you can and will do it!” kind of event.
So, all in all, I’ve done 2 of my 3 sub 5 hour marathons at this race (and that includes walking the water stops and taking pics), so it’s a good course/energy, but I think it’s a better half marathon than full marathon experience. And if you NEED supplies while marathoning, pack your own. My husband ran in a camelback and drank the entire thing over his 5 hour adventure.
Much Better Than I Thought!
I'm surprised the Charlotte Marathon isn't as popular as the other North Carolina marathons. I felt like tons of people came out to support us, the course scenery was nice, … MORE
I’m surprised the Charlotte Marathon isn’t as popular as the other North Carolina marathons. I felt like tons of people came out to support us, the course scenery was nice, and I had a great time at the expo.
The first half we run through the suburbs, which were also the hilliest part of the course. The second half has us run through a park for a brief period of time, to get to another section of the city + suburbs. I felt like this part was flatter. The most memorable thing for me was around mile 18 when someone in a Batman costume gave out beer!
The finishers received BBQ sandwiches, bananas, snacks, and beer! I would honestly say my least favorite part was that it was in the 30s when the race started, so it was cold.
Ehhh
Pros: Pacers, food at the finish line, free finish photos Cons: 6 hour cut off, very hilly, not clearly marked (I got turned around), police and some volunteers clearly not … MORE
Pros: Pacers, food at the finish line, free finish photos
Cons: 6 hour cut off, very hilly, not clearly marked (I got turned around), police and some volunteers clearly not interested in helping or even knowing the route
Where were the spectators?
This was my 29th Marathon and 19th State. We ran through some pretty nice neighborhoods and I’m shocked no one was out watching. Seemed like a great relay, half, full … MORE
This was my 29th Marathon and 19th State. We ran through some pretty nice neighborhoods and I’m shocked no one was out watching. Seemed like a great relay, half, full participation but lacking crowd support.
Nice Course, Brutal Humidity
Nice course, cool scenic view of Charlotte, albeit a bit suburban in many spots, some hills but nothing too bad, it was somewhat humid, well-run race and having the Charlotte … MORE
Nice course, cool scenic view of Charlotte, albeit a bit suburban in many spots, some hills but nothing too bad, it was somewhat humid, well-run race and having the Charlotte Knights stadium open to runners at the end was really cool. Great race to do for you North Carolina half (or full I guess).
Race with a lot of potential
Charlotte is a great place to run. I’ve done this race 5 times now and I enjoy it every time. The city of Charlotte is growing and I can only … MORE
Charlotte is a great place to run. I’ve done this race 5 times now and I enjoy it every time.
The city of Charlotte is growing and I can only imagine this race will too. It has a lot of potential to be the next big thing on everyone’s running list.
More uphill than downhill
I wouldn’t recommend this race for a first timer. I trained running hills in the PNW for months and still found it difficult to maintain stamina throughout for all the … MORE
I wouldn’t recommend this race for a first timer. I trained running hills in the PNW for months and still found it difficult to maintain stamina throughout for all the hills. As if there weren’t enough, they added an extra one in mile 25. I started my watch just as I crossed the starting line and my garmin read 26.6 when I crossed the finish line. There were areas in the back half of the course that weren’t clearly marked. Can’t say I’d run this marathon again.
Bigger Challenge Than Expected
The course was more difficult than I anticipated with a lot of slow climbs that may go unnoticed if not running a marathon. The first 8-9 miles were through attractive … MORE
The course was more difficult than I anticipated with a lot of slow climbs that may go unnoticed if not running a marathon. The first 8-9 miles were through attractive residential areas, but following these initial miles I do not recall any scenery of note.
The race was well organized and easy to navigate the expo, start line, and finish line.
Great race, great town!
Charlotte is a great town. The race is well organized and the city comes out to watch runners. Hilly! and this year it was chilly and really windy! MORE
Charlotte is a great town. The race is well organized and the city comes out to watch runners. Hilly! and this year it was chilly and really windy!
Fun race
Charlotte is my hometown so I'm biased but this race was fun and had awesome fan participation all over the course! Although, mile 25 was tough!! it was a gradual … MORE
Charlotte is my hometown so I’m biased but this race was fun and had awesome fan participation all over the course! Although, mile 25 was tough!! it was a gradual up hill, so beware.
First Race in my life
AS this is my first race struggled and disappointed when all the half marthons left me... MORE
AS this is my first race struggled and disappointed when all the half marthons left me…
Charlotte is a great place to visit/run
While there weren't a ton of crowds, the entire course went through beautiful areas - no industrial parts. Smallish race (less than 1,000 runners) which is nice. MORE
While there weren’t a ton of crowds, the entire course went through beautiful areas – no industrial parts. Smallish race (less than 1,000 runners) which is nice.