Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon

I agree with the posts from 2019-21. I highly recommend this marathon. My 24th marathon, 21st state. We arrived at the Wingate Hotel just off I75 late Fri night from VA. Maybe another hotel would have been cleaner and more updated, but for the price it was fine. Packet pick up Sat am was great. My husband dropped me off and later parked on the field adjacent to the start/finish after the 5k runners had left, so after a much longer time on my feet than I anticipated, I was able to walk just feet to our car. The volunteers were fabulous! The group at the turn-around at miles 4 and 16 was fantastic! They gave me so much energy. The 4:30 pace leader, Suman was top notch. I couldn't stay with him past 9 miles, but up to that point, he was spot on every mile and he was so entertaining with his conversation and music! The announcer who gave instructions at the start and announced every name at the finish gave a tremendous amount of energy and personal touch - and stayed the duration! So impressed by all this Southern hospitality! After race, we had a nice stay at the Doubletree downtown Chattanooga. Walked the Market St Bridge and had dinner at Whitebird at the Edwin Hotel. Ruby Falls tour the next day. For all 50 State Marathoners and all other runners, I highly recommend this race!

My 13th marathon, and this one might be my favorite. If you're looking for a big, flashy marathon with lots of spectators and entertainment, this one isn't for you. If you're looking for a quiet, reflective run through beautiful, hallowed grounds, this is definitely the one to do. Everything about this race was superbly organized: easy packet pick up (even available the morning of the race!); plenty of parking practically right next to the start/finish line; plenty of portapotties (first race I've been to with NO giant porta potty line before the race!); and well-stocked aid stations. This was the first race I've ever been to with volunteers on bikes riding around the course ready to help - brilliant idea! The course starts at the 6th Cavalry museum, runs a quick loop around it, then heads onto a bumpy semi-paved path for a mile or so before heading into the national park for two loops. Half-marathoners and marathoners both start at the same time, but with only 250 or so full marathoners and maybe 1000 half marathoners, it never felt too crowded or like you needed to dodge other runners. The full marathoners split off around mile 4 for a quick out and back segment before re-joining with the half marathoners. Then it's two loops around the park, with the half marathoners splitting off at the end of the first loop. I was a little worried that doing two loops would be mentally tough, but I actually think it helped a bit to know what was coming the 2nd time around. (It also helped we didn't have to run through the start line when starting loop 2 - I find going through the start/finish area with another 13 miles to go to be extremely demoralizing...) The course is just beautiful, with lots of gently rolling hills through wooded areas and the occasional grassy field. Running past canons, markers, and monuments was a moving experience. We had absolutely perfect running weather this year with nice crisp 45 degree temps, sunshine, and little wind. Fall foliage was maybe a week past its prime but still gorgeous. Two deer jumped out at various points in the course. The course is definitely not flat, but most of the elevation is due to gentle inclines/declines. A lot of the time I didn't even realize that I was running up or down hill. There are a couple of short, steeper hills in the second half of the loop, but nothing too taxing. I think the hills actually help by working different leg muscles -- I finished the race with my legs still feeling relatively good, and I was barely sore later that day or the next day. The second half of the race can be a bit lonely without the half marathoners out there and relatively few other marathoners. I do most of my training on my own, so I'm used to long quiet runs by myself and enjoyed the solitude of the second half. But if you're the type of person who prefers running in a crowd to help energize you, this might not be the race for you. Spectators are pretty sparse, but the ones out there were enthusiastic. God bless the two women in full Southern belle costumes cheering their hearts out for us runners! The quietness of the course and relatively few spectators also helped provide opportunity for reflection on just where exactly it is that you're running and what momentous events took place there 150 years ago. Post-race area was small, but had an announcer calling off names as runners crossed the finish line. The post-race food was excellent: pizza, Georgia peanuts, moon pies, and my personal favorite, hot salty soup. Usually I don't want to eat much immediately after a marathon, but that hot soup tasted so good...They also had banana pudding but that sounded too much like eating another Gu so I didn't try any. Overall, I cannot say enough great things about this race. It was well worth every penny (and cost a lot less than most other races I've done!). Highly recommend.