Sarah Gohmann's Staging Area

This race was advertised as a luxury race experience that included a lululemon shirt and Kendra Scott necklace, continental buffet breakfast, and more. It was not. 3 weeks before the race, they announced on their FB page the swag had changed from what was advertised to a generic shirt and hoodie, generic necklace, towel, and tote. Outside of social media, there were no other communications regarding this. Tons of swag but not what was advertised and we couldn’t change our shirt sizes. 5 days before the race we were notified the course had changed and moved from running on the greenway to running more than half of the race in a parking lot. The course was poorly marked and many girls ended up running the wrong way. I had only clocked 12.93 miles since what was marked was not what was mapped. They did not set up the number of water/restroom stations as promised and there were no medical service tents along the course – 2 girls collapsed that I was aware of. Security had also stopped racers to allow cars to go through. The continental breakfast was no more than race snacks but we did get mimosas. It had started raining when I crossed the finish line so I put the bag with my boxed necklace in the back compartment of my hydration vest to keep it from getting wet. When I got back to my hotel, I found the necklace was never placed in the box. I had to make another trip back to the race (luckily they were still there) to see if I could still get one. This was a very expensive race that I was excited to be a part of. Unfortunately it was one of the most disappointing race experiences I’ve had.

After Hurricane Helene ravaged western NC just before this race, I was certain it would be cancelled. They Informed runners it would be postponed; and a few weeks later, I received an email the date had been moved only by 4 weeks! The race was incredibly organized and to have worked around the devastation of the hurricane was impressive. If you’re looking for lots of spectators/supporters, this isn’t that kind of race. You will rarely see any traffic since the majority of the race is in the greenway which means it’s a smaller race (there were 285 half marathoners). The race is flat for the most part. What hills you do experience are steep and challenging. The swag is amazing and the festival after is a great experience. Nice and relaxed, and a great race for first time racers. Outside of the race, the Hendersonville area is a great place to go. Definitely a race I will do again!