Why I chose the Asheville Marathon as my first marathon

by Christin Carter

 After spending 2018 running half marathons and constantly trying to push myself, I decided if I was EVER going to run a full marathon, that was the time to do it.

I felt like I was probably the most fit I would ever be… and wanted to check off that big bucket list item. I spent a few months flip flopping back and forth between whether or not I was ever actually going to run one or not before an amazing friend of mine told me to just PICK ONE.

That was the issue! How do you choose the right one?! If I was only going to run ONE marathon ever… it had to be E-P-I-C. I wanted a super cool medal, well supported race, sweet swag, and awesome scenery. How do you put that in a google search?! Luckily for me I have some great running friends and one of them, April, told me about the Asheville Marathon. she was such a big fan, she had run it a couple of times herself.

I started looking into the event and it. Had. Everything. An amazing woodalion medal, which is original and really cool. It’s well supported – she told me about the aid stations and how you didn’t even have to carry fuel with you because there are aid stations SO frequently with SO much food you didn’t need to bring anything but water!

AND it’s at Biltmore Estate?! What better scenery do you need than those stunning grounds and multiple views of the house itself?! Notttt to mention the fact that it’s in Asheville which means great food and beverages (helloooo breweries!) and plenty of other activities. That was enough for me. I went and signed up for the race immediately and managed to convince my brother to run it with me.

Four months later, I ran the Asheville Marathon – and it did not disappoint in any way. The scenery was such a distraction from the hours I spent running, the aid stations were better than any race I’d ever participated in, the medal was (and still is) my favorite I’ve ever earned…. it was most certainly an epic race event.

If you’re looking for a great race to run as your first (or 12th) marathon, is highly recommend the Asheville Marathon and Half at Biltmore Estate.