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Marathon Details - Asheville Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > NC > Asheville > Asheville Marathon

Asheville Marathon

Asheville Marathon & Half Marathon

Asheville, NC USA

March 15, 2025

http://ashevillemarathon.com

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Race Details

iDaph events presents a 26.2 mile racing event, unlike any other, taking place in Asheville, North Carolina at Americas largest backyard on Biltmore Estate. Inaugural Asheville Marathoners will wind through leafy hardwood forest, crayon-hued meadows, spring bloom-crackling gardens, and brand-new views of the Biltmore estate on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013. Runners will traverse over paved and dirt roads including running in front of the Biltmore house, by the lagoon and through vineyards on the west side of the estate. The breath-taking marathon course is gently rolling to flat and will be an unforgettable, well-supported marathon experience.

Contact Information

Name:	Daphne Kirkwood
Address:	PO Box 1466 Skyland, NC 28776
Phone Number:	828-450-7514
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (58)

Course 3.5

Organization 4.2

Spectators 3.4

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Number of comments: 58 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 > ]

M. B. from Wisconsin (3/20/2024) "good organization, poor course" (about: 2024) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Congested at start. Ran part of the course 3 times including 2 out and backs and one longer out and back on same running/bike trail. Lots of congestion on bike trail including people walking and biking. Some dirt trail with lots of roots. Good support but would not recommend this marathon and will not run it again. My Garmin read 27.4 miles for the course and others agreed it was long. Part of this may have been because it was too congested 1st 9 miles to run tangents.
T. Y. from Ohio (3/19/2024) "Probably better options for NC" (about: 2024) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 First the good: Well organized and volunteer supported race. Good communication pre-race. Solid crowd support for the first 8ish miles in town, then a little more sparse based on road and bike path locations. The course is fairly up and down over that first 8 plus miles, but not too bad, especially if you have any hill training. Things I didn't care for: Very congested start, road was wider than starting arch so it bottlenecked pretty bad as you crossed the start mat. Also a bit of a bottle neck when going from the street to the bike path around 1.7. Miles 8.5ish through 15.5ish were decent though you run with vehicle traffic in the bike lane when you're not on the sidewalk/bike path. Then back to the bike path shared with the half runners. Which wasn't bad until around mile 18 when you enter the somewhat demoralizing double loop just after passing the finish area. The worst parts in my opinion were the two way runner traffic both as you approach the half turn around, two way runner traffic on what felt like a narrow bike path with that many runners doing their marathon loops, and then the narrow, rutted, rooty dirt path around the baseball field as you come back to run with the half marathoners again. Considering the rain the day before the race, this stretch could have been worse, but the conditions were still not great if you needed to pass. Then you do it a second time. There were also other park activities going on which increased the non-race vehicle and people traffic which made for more frustration than necessary (credit to the volunteer that held car traffic clearly wanting to get into the parking lot regardless of race participants crossing the driveway). Post race food was eh, except for the biscuits and cupcakes which were awesome. All in all, if you're a 50 stater, I'd probably try to find a different race for North Carolina.
K. S. from MN, USA (3/18/2024) "Focus Is On Half Marathon - Marathon Secondary" (about: 2024) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I want to start by saying that I felt the event was well organized and the volunteers were all very kind and helpful. However, I do feel that the half marathon is treated as the main event and the marathon is kind of secondary. The race had a mass start for the half and full, and the course was really fun with a lot of crowd support up until the time the full split from the half. The full then had to do a fairly dull out-and-back on a street open to traffic, then another out-and-back on a greenway being used by the general public. There was not as much crowd support, as the half marathon had many more runners than the full. The full finished up by heading in the direction of the finish line, where the half marathoners had been 2 hours previous. Most of the half runners were finished and there were a lot of people hanging around in the park and on the trails where the full marathoners still needed to do two out-and-back loops. Part of the course was off-road which was a challenge. The multiple out-and-backs were mentally difficult for me and caused some congestion. I would definitely go back and do the half marathon, but I don't believe I would do the full again. The medal was beautiful and I really enjoyed visiting the city.
Brittany Williams from South Mississippi (10/17/2021) "Beautiful course and so much fun!!" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Asheville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Asheville marathon is one of the most beautiful race courses. A little challenging if you don't have many hills to train on at home but so worth it and so rewarding! The views are incredible. Very well organized. Plenty of fun and encouraging spectators along the way. Definitely a must on your race bucket list and even an annual tradition!
Deanne Avery from Morganton, North Carolina (10/15/2021) "All time favorite race weekend!!" (about: 2019) 4-5 previous marathons \| 3 Asheville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I love everything about this race!! The scenery is absolutely amazing! It's pretty spectacular to run this many miles all on the beautiful estate of the Biltmore House. There is no traffic, just open fields, pastures of animals, blue skies, deep forests, a gorgeous castle like home, fountains, ponds, gardens, lakes, no noises aside from the sound of the river moving softly alongside sections of the route and the sound of feet and heart beats as other runners move alongside you. It's absolutely serene! If you are looking for a half marathon or marathon that is truly one of a kind I highly recommend the Asheville Marathon!
Danielle Burch from North Carolina (10/14/2021) "One of my FAVORITE races EVER!" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Asheville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run this race several times, and each year, it somehow gets better; more nostalgic, more family-like, and always simply beautiful! There's nothing quite like the camaraderie of a great race that is well-loved by locals and non-locals alike, and this one TOTALLY fits the bill!
K. A. from WNC (10/13/2021) "Everything about this marathon is too notch!!" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 6+ Asheville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The location of this marathon is spectacular. The entire marathon is ran on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC. This was my first 13.1, first 26.2 & I come back to run it every year because I enjoy it so much!! March is the perfect time of year to run a marathon in WNC. The swag & medals are always the best quality. My AVL medals are my very favorite! The race director is so personable & puts on a great event. They always have a great expo with lots of vendors & info about the race.
K. S. from South Carolina (3/19/2018) "Great Marathon if You Like Hills" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 They aren't kidding about the hills. The only information about elevation (that I could find) is under the section for restrooms. Go figure. Here's a link to the PDF: http://ashevillemarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/AVL-Marathon-Half-COMBINED-map.png So, hills aside, it's still a challenging course and perhaps not a good one for someone's first marathon. Just my opinion. Since the course is on Biltmore property, spectators must have a pass or ticket which limits spectators dramatically. Organization is top notch. Plenty of water, gels, etc., along the course. Signage is good. Plenty of food items at the end. Volunteers were awesome! The marathon course (miles 10-17ish) has runners going out into the boonies, or at least that's how I felt. Only scenery for a long time was cows, and they seemed unimpressed. The course description mentions trails. What they mean is dirt roads with gravel/rocks strewn on them. You won't need trail shoes, but I found running the 'trails' a challenge in and of itself, not being a trail runner myself. Nearly stumbled several times over golf ball size rocks. The highlight of the course is running by the Biltmore mansion, so bring your cell phone if you want a picture.
J. M. from Oakland, CA (3/14/2017) "Beautiful Marathon in 2017" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 The 2017 marathon featured a 29F starting temp, with about 1-2 inches of snow on the ground and the flakes continuing to fall in a very light wind. While the weather made for some sloppy footing in places, especially on the western loop traversing dirt roads, the result was a magical run through scenic landscape. The sun began to appear midway through the race, and by the finish the sky was virtually clear blue. Spectacular. The organizers have modified the course a bit since years past such that the profile is basically flat after mile 18. Runners experience mild uphill grades on miles 2-3, 4-6 and 11-13. In the cold weather the winding roads / trails, through the woods and up the hills, are very manageable. Throughout the final 8 miles of the race, a down and back along the French Broad River, marathon runners pass each other headed in opposite directions, as well as pass participants running shorter distances. This makes for a great sense of camaraderie, although if this race gets significantly bigger than the current few hundred runners, managing the narrow trails will prove difficult. Not counting weather conditions, this course probably is 3-4 minutes slower (at a 7 to 8 min per mile pace) than one that is pancake flat. Also, this is not a big spectator course and you may find yourself completely alone in the woods for large stretches, if you are a faster runner. Not a PR course, but in the right weather conditions few other marathons are as beautiful. Also, the organization was generally better than most. The race has numerous directional changes and intersections and the guides did a fantastic job keeping everyone on track. Kudos!
B. B. from Clemmons NC (3/21/2016) "Challenging Course and Confidence Built" (about: 2016) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My first marathon (at age 51)! Overall everything was spectacular except for the weather. The organization, the volunteers, the spectators, the water stations, the beauty, the infrastructure and overall atmosphere was phenomenal. I will do this marathon again someday. I stayed three nights at the Village Inn, closest to the start/finish line and preferred staying there so that I didn't have to get up super early to get to the race. The weather forecast was 100% chance of rain and the meteorologist was accurate. It rained. The other odd thing is that the race fell on a daylights saving time weekend. Other than that, it was a perfect weekend. As for the course, I had driven the publicly accessible route on Friday and Saturday. I wanted to be prepared mentally for the two long climbs in the first six miles. The first climb begins just after mile marker one and is roughly 8/10ths of a mile. The slope is steady and not too steep. Very manageable. The second climb begins just after mile marker three, near the entrance of the estate, and climbs a steady slope until the water point at mile five. On the day of the event, I did just fine on those two climbs and was actually ahead of my pace goal at the 10 mile mark. We then crossed over into the not-publicly accessible area. Miles 10-20 were on gravel roads, with big rocks. The rain turned the road into a muddy quagmire of slop and rocks. There was a section leading up to the halfway point, which had a U-turn and now had runners going in both directions. With the road soup, runners were competing for the driest part of the road. At one point there were five female runners, running together, who were trying to avoid a large puddle. They were running in a serpentine manner, which caused me to stop to avoid running into them. Needless to say, the mud, the puddles, the rocks and dodging other runners was extremely challenging. In my opinion, the hardest climb began at mile 11 and seemed to be about 2 miles long and the weather conditions made it much harder than it probably really is. The seven miles in the scenic vineyards took everything I had. I will say there are a few breathtaking views back there along the lake. When I crossed back over onto the main estate, I still had about 8 miles to go. I hit that proverbial wall around 18 miles and of course that is where a large crowd of encouragers were positioned. I held on and finished the marathon. At some point, I made a mental statement that I would not do this marathon course again. That was the wet, tired and worn runner talking. After some time and reflection, I am glad that my first marathon had bad weather, had some hills, gravel and even mud. From a psychological standpoint, I cannot imagine there would ever be another course I could not finish. So I am thankful for that. I plan on doing the half-marathon next year.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 > ]



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M. B. from Wisconsin (3/20/2024) "good organization, poor course" (about: 2024) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Congested at start. Ran part of the course 3 times including 2 out and backs and one longer out and back on same running/bike trail. Lots of congestion on bike trail including people walking and biking. Some dirt trail with lots of roots. Good support but would not recommend this marathon and will not run it again. My Garmin read 27.4 miles for the course and others agreed it was long. Part of this may have been because it was too congested 1st 9 miles to run tangents.
T. Y. from Ohio (3/19/2024) "Probably better options for NC" (about: 2024) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 First the good: Well organized and volunteer supported race. Good communication pre-race. Solid crowd support for the first 8ish miles in town, then a little more sparse based on road and bike path locations. The course is fairly up and down over that first 8 plus miles, but not too bad, especially if you have any hill training. Things I didn't care for: Very congested start, road was wider than starting arch so it bottlenecked pretty bad as you crossed the start mat. Also a bit of a bottle neck when going from the street to the bike path around 1.7. Miles 8.5ish through 15.5ish were decent though you run with vehicle traffic in the bike lane when you're not on the sidewalk/bike path. Then back to the bike path shared with the half runners. Which wasn't bad until around mile 18 when you enter the somewhat demoralizing double loop just after passing the finish area. The worst parts in my opinion were the two way runner traffic both as you approach the half turn around, two way runner traffic on what felt like a narrow bike path with that many runners doing their marathon loops, and then the narrow, rutted, rooty dirt path around the baseball field as you come back to run with the half marathoners again. Considering the rain the day before the race, this stretch could have been worse, but the conditions were still not great if you needed to pass. Then you do it a second time. There were also other park activities going on which increased the non-race vehicle and people traffic which made for more frustration than necessary (credit to the volunteer that held car traffic clearly wanting to get into the parking lot regardless of race participants crossing the driveway). Post race food was eh, except for the biscuits and cupcakes which were awesome. All in all, if you're a 50 stater, I'd probably try to find a different race for North Carolina.
K. S. from MN, USA (3/18/2024) "Focus Is On Half Marathon - Marathon Secondary" (about: 2024) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I want to start by saying that I felt the event was well organized and the volunteers were all very kind and helpful. However, I do feel that the half marathon is treated as the main event and the marathon is kind of secondary. The race had a mass start for the half and full, and the course was really fun with a lot of crowd support up until the time the full split from the half. The full then had to do a fairly dull out-and-back on a street open to traffic, then another out-and-back on a greenway being used by the general public. There was not as much crowd support, as the half marathon had many more runners than the full. The full finished up by heading in the direction of the finish line, where the half marathoners had been 2 hours previous. Most of the half runners were finished and there were a lot of people hanging around in the park and on the trails where the full marathoners still needed to do two out-and-back loops. Part of the course was off-road which was a challenge. The multiple out-and-backs were mentally difficult for me and caused some congestion. I would definitely go back and do the half marathon, but I don't believe I would do the full again. The medal was beautiful and I really enjoyed visiting the city.
Brittany Williams from South Mississippi (10/17/2021) "Beautiful course and so much fun!!" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Asheville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Asheville marathon is one of the most beautiful race courses. A little challenging if you don't have many hills to train on at home but so worth it and so rewarding! The views are incredible. Very well organized. Plenty of fun and encouraging spectators along the way. Definitely a must on your race bucket list and even an annual tradition!
Deanne Avery from Morganton, North Carolina (10/15/2021) "All time favorite race weekend!!" (about: 2019) 4-5 previous marathons \| 3 Asheville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I love everything about this race!! The scenery is absolutely amazing! It's pretty spectacular to run this many miles all on the beautiful estate of the Biltmore House. There is no traffic, just open fields, pastures of animals, blue skies, deep forests, a gorgeous castle like home, fountains, ponds, gardens, lakes, no noises aside from the sound of the river moving softly alongside sections of the route and the sound of feet and heart beats as other runners move alongside you. It's absolutely serene! If you are looking for a half marathon or marathon that is truly one of a kind I highly recommend the Asheville Marathon!
Danielle Burch from North Carolina (10/14/2021) "One of my FAVORITE races EVER!" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Asheville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run this race several times, and each year, it somehow gets better; more nostalgic, more family-like, and always simply beautiful! There's nothing quite like the camaraderie of a great race that is well-loved by locals and non-locals alike, and this one TOTALLY fits the bill!
K. A. from WNC (10/13/2021) "Everything about this marathon is too notch!!" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 6+ Asheville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The location of this marathon is spectacular. The entire marathon is ran on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC. This was my first 13.1, first 26.2 & I come back to run it every year because I enjoy it so much!! March is the perfect time of year to run a marathon in WNC. The swag & medals are always the best quality. My AVL medals are my very favorite! The race director is so personable & puts on a great event. They always have a great expo with lots of vendors & info about the race.
K. S. from South Carolina (3/19/2018) "Great Marathon if You Like Hills" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 They aren't kidding about the hills. The only information about elevation (that I could find) is under the section for restrooms. Go figure. Here's a link to the PDF: http://ashevillemarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/AVL-Marathon-Half-COMBINED-map.png So, hills aside, it's still a challenging course and perhaps not a good one for someone's first marathon. Just my opinion. Since the course is on Biltmore property, spectators must have a pass or ticket which limits spectators dramatically. Organization is top notch. Plenty of water, gels, etc., along the course. Signage is good. Plenty of food items at the end. Volunteers were awesome! The marathon course (miles 10-17ish) has runners going out into the boonies, or at least that's how I felt. Only scenery for a long time was cows, and they seemed unimpressed. The course description mentions trails. What they mean is dirt roads with gravel/rocks strewn on them. You won't need trail shoes, but I found running the 'trails' a challenge in and of itself, not being a trail runner myself. Nearly stumbled several times over golf ball size rocks. The highlight of the course is running by the Biltmore mansion, so bring your cell phone if you want a picture.
J. M. from Oakland, CA (3/14/2017) "Beautiful Marathon in 2017" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 The 2017 marathon featured a 29F starting temp, with about 1-2 inches of snow on the ground and the flakes continuing to fall in a very light wind. While the weather made for some sloppy footing in places, especially on the western loop traversing dirt roads, the result was a magical run through scenic landscape. The sun began to appear midway through the race, and by the finish the sky was virtually clear blue. Spectacular. The organizers have modified the course a bit since years past such that the profile is basically flat after mile 18. Runners experience mild uphill grades on miles 2-3, 4-6 and 11-13. In the cold weather the winding roads / trails, through the woods and up the hills, are very manageable. Throughout the final 8 miles of the race, a down and back along the French Broad River, marathon runners pass each other headed in opposite directions, as well as pass participants running shorter distances. This makes for a great sense of camaraderie, although if this race gets significantly bigger than the current few hundred runners, managing the narrow trails will prove difficult. Not counting weather conditions, this course probably is 3-4 minutes slower (at a 7 to 8 min per mile pace) than one that is pancake flat. Also, this is not a big spectator course and you may find yourself completely alone in the woods for large stretches, if you are a faster runner. Not a PR course, but in the right weather conditions few other marathons are as beautiful. Also, the organization was generally better than most. The race has numerous directional changes and intersections and the guides did a fantastic job keeping everyone on track. Kudos!
B. B. from Clemmons NC (3/21/2016) "Challenging Course and Confidence Built" (about: 2016) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Asheville Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My first marathon (at age 51)! Overall everything was spectacular except for the weather. The organization, the volunteers, the spectators, the water stations, the beauty, the infrastructure and overall atmosphere was phenomenal. I will do this marathon again someday. I stayed three nights at the Village Inn, closest to the start/finish line and preferred staying there so that I didn't have to get up super early to get to the race. The weather forecast was 100% chance of rain and the meteorologist was accurate. It rained. The other odd thing is that the race fell on a daylights saving time weekend. Other than that, it was a perfect weekend. As for the course, I had driven the publicly accessible route on Friday and Saturday. I wanted to be prepared mentally for the two long climbs in the first six miles. The first climb begins just after mile marker one and is roughly 8/10ths of a mile. The slope is steady and not too steep. Very manageable. The second climb begins just after mile marker three, near the entrance of the estate, and climbs a steady slope until the water point at mile five. On the day of the event, I did just fine on those two climbs and was actually ahead of my pace goal at the 10 mile mark. We then crossed over into the not-publicly accessible area. Miles 10-20 were on gravel roads, with big rocks. The rain turned the road into a muddy quagmire of slop and rocks. There was a section leading up to the halfway point, which had a U-turn and now had runners going in both directions. With the road soup, runners were competing for the driest part of the road. At one point there were five female runners, running together, who were trying to avoid a large puddle. They were running in a serpentine manner, which caused me to stop to avoid running into them. Needless to say, the mud, the puddles, the rocks and dodging other runners was extremely challenging. In my opinion, the hardest climb began at mile 11 and seemed to be about 2 miles long and the weather conditions made it much harder than it probably really is. The seven miles in the scenic vineyards took everything I had. I will say there are a few breathtaking views back there along the lake. When I crossed back over onto the main estate, I still had about 8 miles to go. I hit that proverbial wall around 18 miles and of course that is where a large crowd of encouragers were positioned. I held on and finished the marathon. At some point, I made a mental statement that I would not do this marathon course again. That was the wet, tired and worn runner talking. After some time and reflection, I am glad that my first marathon had bad weather, had some hills, gravel and even mud. From a psychological standpoint, I cannot imagine there would ever be another course I could not finish. So I am thankful for that. I plan on doing the half-marathon next year.

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Marathon Details - Asheville Marathon