The Tobacco Road Marathon and other Rail-to-Trail Marathons

Kathy K

On Saturday, March 17th, I ran the Tobacco Road Marathon -- a beautiful, tranquil rail-to-trail course in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. 

The race features both a marathon and a half-marathon.  What makes the event special is that more than 20 miles of the marathon are run on the American Tobacco Trail. 

Photo: traillink.com
(Erie Canalway Trail: Little Falls to Albany - Mohawk Hudson Bikeway, New York State)

Rails-to-trails is a nationwide network of recreational multi-purpose public trails and paths created from former railroad corridors. The trails can be unpaved or paved. They are most often flat or follow a gentle grade, they traverse urban, suburban and rural America. They are ideal for many uses, such as bicycling, running, walking, cross-country skiing and equestrian use.  The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy reports that there are 20,000-plus miles of rail-trail throughout the country, and more than 9,000 miles of potential rail-trails waiting to be built.

I have now run the Tobacco Road Marathon twice.  Raleigh-Durham is an easy city to get to from New York.  There are frequent non-stop flights, and the price is usually reasonable.  The weather is comfortable, and it is  easy to get around.  The host hotel, Embassy Suites, Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle, is a very nice hotel with an airport shuttle.  The expo, held at the Embassy Suites, is good for a small race.

The race organizers and volunteers do a good job at setting up the races, and of providing support (water, Gatorade, GU, medical and enthusiastic cheers) along the course.  I like running on the flat, packed unpaved course. To me, the scenery is lovely.  I don't find it repetitive or boring.  I think its cool to follow historical paths. Most days of the week, I'll gladly trade the hoopla of the big city marathons for the serenity of a peaceful trail marathon.

WOW!!!

I've run two other marathons that took place largely on Rails-to-trails: The Mohawk Hudson River Marathon, in upstate New York, and the Deadwood Mickelson Marathon in South Dakota.  Both were beautiful and memorable.  I think that I would like to run some more rail-to-trail marathons.  Below are some links for websites for Marathons that are run on rails-to-trails.  It is only a beginner list - feel free to comment below with more links. 

Tobacco Road Marathon (North Carolina)
Rails-to-Trails Marathon (Wisconsin)
NCR Trail Marathon (Maryland)
B 'n' A Trail Marathon (Maryland)
Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon (South Dakota)
Mohawk Hudson River Marathon (New York)

Please click HERE if you'd like to read my full report posted on my blog.

-Kathy K.

Blogmaster's Note: Kathy, as a travel and running blogger, is competing in a KLM contest so please check out her entry and "like" it if you like it so that she may win -- you can click here for the link to her contest entry. -Dave K