The Charlottesville Marathon & Half Marathon is one of the oldest and most coveted races in Charlottesville. It has been defined as America’s Destination Marathon because of its scenic beauty and historical background. A true community event, the race showcases the area’s natural beauty, engaging running community, historical background, architectural …
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The Charlottesville Marathon & Half Marathon is one of the oldest and most coveted races in Charlottesville. It has been defined as America’s Destination Marathon because of its scenic beauty and historical background.
A true community event, the race showcases the area’s natural beauty, engaging running community, historical background, architectural heritage, vibrant music and nightlife, and booming wine and craft beer industry. The course has been voted as “One of the Most Scenic in the East”. It starts and finishes in downtown Charlottesville. The course is comprised of quiet roads and bike paths along the Rivanna River and scenic Charlottesville neighborhoods. Thousands of local runners use these roads every day: come join them!
Charlottesville, nestled below the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains, is located in the heart of Albemarle County. The city is famous for its history, culture, traditions, and stunning natural beauty. Home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, The University of Virginia, the Virginia Film Festival and the Dave Matthews Band, Charlottesville has activities for every taste.
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Race Organization Lacking
This course is challenging in a wonderful way - very hilly. Charlottesville is a great city with so much scenery to offer. Unfortunately, the race doesn't capitalize on this. Course … MORE
This course is challenging in a wonderful way – very hilly. Charlottesville is a great city with so much scenery to offer. Unfortunately, the race doesn’t capitalize on this. Course only marked every 5 miles and occasional arrows on the footpaths. Volunteers tried to help but at one point I was sent in the wrong direction and finished a mile short of a marathon – I had to take a DNF for the first time to no fault of my own. A little bit of extra support and mile markings every mile would have avoided this. Plus there was a lot of little out and back loops through neighborhoods that could have been marked better. Roads were not closed and presented a danger. All that being said, the volunteers were kind and the police helpful.
Bad course, poor organization
I echo the comments of the others, but the course is not good and the race is poorly organized. It is clear if you see the course map, but there … MORE
I echo the comments of the others, but the course is not good and the race is poorly organized. It is clear if you see the course map, but there are 5-6 U-turns and a few roads where runners run in both directions. Some turns are downhill, so it is not easy for competitive runners to run safely. Some roads runners run in both directions are so narrow and poorly signed that you may need to avoid runners approaching you. You could also take a wrong route since signs are only on roads and poorly marked. The race has the name of the city, but it is organized by a private business for its profit. The registration is not cheap, and the race support is limited.
Race production lacking
Ran this during grad school, and boy, was it hilly! Other than that though, the course ended up being over half a mile longer than a half marathon. Also, the … MORE
Ran this during grad school, and boy, was it hilly! Other than that though, the course ended up being over half a mile longer than a half marathon. Also, the race expo was extremely small, and my boyfriend and I both got different shirts (we ran the same race). They had food for sale at the end of the race, but I don’t think they had much or any post-race snacks at the end. It felt like the runners were an afterthought at times, so this won’t be a race I return to.
Hills, and Production Lacking
As a race vacation destination, Charlottesville was a great deal of fun. The weather on race morning was just about perfect and the course was scenic enough to make the … MORE
As a race vacation destination, Charlottesville was a great deal of fun. The weather on race morning was just about perfect and the course was scenic enough to make the run enjoyable. However, as noted in previous reviews of this race, several production problems keep this from being a top-notch race.
The race started in downtown Charlottesville, though not where the online course map had the race starting and finishing! In fact, with the start and finish line moved about 5 blocks, the course ran about a half mile long for a half marathon. I confirmed this with other runners to make sure that it was not just my watch. Be prepared for some elevation gain as well, a little less than a thousand feet for the half, with a good chunk of that climb occurring in the final 1.5 miles.
Also, the start line was a bit hectic for a couple reasons. First, it was a mass start for the 8k, half, and full, with no corrals or pace groups. Second, the toilets were placed just past the start so that the mass of people waiting to use them ended up filling in the the very front of the starting chute.
This just does not seem to be the race it must have been at one point to garner all of the rave reviews the company posts online. It is clearly not the same course. Lots of residential running now, with several nice miles along a paved trail. Swag was limited to a T-shirt and a medal that was shared for the half and 8k.
Overall, I would probably run this race again because Charlottesville is such a fun town and none of the issues with the race were deal breakers for me. Still, for those searching for a destination race, this might not be the best choice for everyone.
Great scenery, poorly organized
This was a destination run for us, and we were very excited to see beautiful scenery (which was great even on a rainy day). That’s about where the pros end. … MORE
This was a destination run for us, and we were very excited to see beautiful scenery (which was great even on a rainy day). That’s about where the pros end.
They reused the medals from the 2020 race, which was disappointing. We’re sure this was due to the 2020 race being cancelled, but the medals are usually beautiful (judging by photos of previous medals) and were highly underwhelming this time. Other than the mediocre swag, the course was not well organized. The roads weren’t closed to cars, so we had cars speeding by and almost hitting us multiple times. We started just running in the grass to avoid them altogether.
ONE port-a-potty on the whole course around mile 4. So if you had to use the restroom for about 9 miles of a 13 mile course, too bad! Also, don’t run without a watch, because they don’t have any mile markers.
Tough course, not the best organized
The Charlottesville Marathon and Half Marathon was a "destination" race for me and I ended up being a little bit bummed to have spent a weekend traveling for this race. … MORE
The Charlottesville Marathon and Half Marathon was a “destination” race for me and I ended up being a little bit bummed to have spent a weekend traveling for this race. The website shows rave reviews from notable runners/running publications, but I have to wonder if those are from when the race was owned by a different company. While the route itself was very scenic most of the time, the race was poorly organized. For example, the expo didn’t have nearly enough volunteers, and there were no vendors there when I arrived (about 15 minutes after it opened). For the race, there were no corrals or pace groups, so it was confusing to know where to go at the start. On the course, the mile markers and directional signs were very small and easy to miss! Luckily, the course had very nice volunteers to point you in the right direction. With the exception of the friendly volunteers, I found the course support lacking, in that there wasn’t enough water set up at each aid station and there was only one aid station with bathrooms. The course was extremely hilly, but I knew that going in so I tried not to let that factor in to my review of the race! But really: don’t run this race if you don’t like hills!
Hills upon hills, and a PR to boot!
For a flat-lander like me to come in and run a PR marathon when the whole course was a sequence of ups and downs, I'm still amazed. The scenery was … MORE
For a flat-lander like me to come in and run a PR marathon when the whole course was a sequence of ups and downs, I’m still amazed. The scenery was very nice, although most of it was through neighborhoods–passing by some historic areas near downtown Charlottesville / UVA and other quiet streets out in the surrounding area. The marathon had several out-and-backs including one stretch along the Rivanna River trail. This meant there was a huge climb for all of mile 24 to get back to the elevation of the start/finish line.
The race was well-organized and the people were friendly. One of the runners I met at the start (a local police officer) told my mom of a heated lobby nearby where she could wait comfortably for me to return. It was a cold drizzly day, so this made her spectating experience much more enjoyable. (In case you’re wondering, it was the local police station!)
Afterwards, the post-race food provided by the race and vendors was delicious. It was nice to have something cold to drink and warm to eat while waiting for the award ceremony. The finisher’s medal was big, and the age group winners got a choice of a pint or shot glass and a certificate.
This race billed itself as America’s Destination Marathon, but to me it felt more like a mid-size town just putting on a big annual event. Make no mistake, it was very good and I am glad to have done it. Just be ready for those hills!