We asked you to send in any questions you have regarding the 2024 Asheville Marathon & Half. Join us as we go through your questions and share our answers. The race is March 16, 2024 and is less than 7 weeks away!
We asked you to send in any questions you have regarding the 2024 Asheville Marathon & Half. Join us as we go through your questions and share our answers. The race is March 16, 2024 and is less than 7 weeks away!
All right. Hello friends. Welcome to the iDaph podcast. I am Justin and I am here with Amy and Daphne, and we are answering your. Ashville Marathon questions. We sent out an email last week and asked you all to send us any questions that you have while you're training or preparing, or may maybe still considering signing up for the marathon and for the half.
And so we're just gonna run through those questions and get right to it. Amy, the first question is, can I switch from the full marathon down to the half because of health issues preventing me from running the full this year?
Absolutely, yes. You can switch your distance from the half to the full or the full to the half.
Just email support at iDaph.net that comes to me. To request the change and we can switch you into the opposite distance. If you increase from the half to the full, you will need to pay the price difference. And we also do need to do it prior to the start of the race. You can't decide in the middle of the race, Hey, I'm feeling good.
I might wanna do the marathon, or, oh boy, what have I done? I need to drop down to the half. You can't do that. Each. Bibb is a different color. The half marathon is one color. The marathon is another color. And when you're out on the course, that's what our volunteers and our law enforcement officers and our course marshals look at to make sure they're sending you in the right place.
And it causes confusion for everyone on the course if you're on the wrong. Wrong course with the wrong bib and it creates a safety hazard. You definitely wanna make sure that's done ahead of time. If you have your stuff shipped, if you pay for the pre-event shipping, and we ship it to you and you already have your bib and you decide.
A couple weeks before that, you're not gonna be able to do the distance or you wanna go up to, you're feeling great, you wanna go up to the full, still need to let us know and you will be required to stop by either the expo or the morning of packet pickup to swap that bib out. That's a have to, but you can do it.
It's right up until the start of the race, we'll be there so we can swap that for you.
Sounds good. So it sounds like if, if you're considering switching, it's best to do that as soon as possible.
Absolutely. Yes. We wanna make sure we have you right, so we get you to sign the correct bib.
Okay. Moving on to the next question.
It is, where does the half marathon start and end? And are there any logistics or details that are different from the
full. That's a great question. I'm glad people asked that because it's a brand new course this year. The start does do the same thing it did last year if you were there. It's at Pac Square Park in downtown Asheville.
I. Both the marathon and the half start in the same place and end at the same place. The ending is just different this year. It's across from the wrong way cabins in the new Karen, Cognolian Park, and Greenway area in the River Arts District section. So you're basically starting uphill in Asheville and you're running downhill to the river.
Both of those are the same. The logistics that are different would be at mile nine or about mile nine, the marathon and the half marathon split. So you're running together until mile, almost mile nine, and the half marathon will run on the new section of the Greenway that's behind New Belgium. The marathoners will cross.
Bridge, Craven Street Bridge and they will run on the river Arts district side that the half and the marathon ran on last year. This year the marathon just runs on that side and the marathon will do some distance on that side of the River Arts District and will come back across that Craven Street Bridge later on after they get some miles in under the belt.
And then they'll run on that new section of the Greenway through French Broad River Park where the dog park is at, and they both end up finishing over at that new Cairn Cragnolion Park, the marathon, about mile 20. They will do two big loops of the Carrier Park to Harmony Park section, so they will do that loop, big loop twice, which makes it very spectator-friendly for both the half and the marathon, but especially the marathon.
Because you can see your runners there at the end of the race when usually they need it most. 'cause mile 20 is the wall and being in that section, we've had people ask about spectators and where to be. I would highly recommend that they're there. And let's see. I think that's pretty good as far as that goes.
Awesome.
Yeah, and we have a spectator section on the website, so if you have friends or family coming along to cheer you on, definitely visit that and check out the, the map and suggested locations there for all the best locations for them to find a spot and park and whatnot. Moving along, what time does the marathon start and is there parking?
If I.
So the marathon starts, marathon and half. It's a mass start. Both distances start together and it's at seven 30. A.M. And parking. There's available street parking around Pack Square Park, and there are also multiple garages in downtown Asheville. The closest is the College Street Garage. And then the ne, the next closest is the Rank and Avenue Garage.
And we will, we have a link that we're gonna post on the website. It will be available on the ashville marathon.com website. Also on race roster, on the registration platform that will have real time availability. You can click that link and it tells you exactly how many spots are available in each garage.
So that'll be a pretty handy little thing to have on race morning. Oh.
Awesome. Alright, so moving along here. The next question came in it was, is there a better course map than what's on the website? I would like to see mile markers and water stations included.
Awesome. So Ride with GPS is who we use for our map online, and so if you want to zoom in and out of that map, you can do that.
On the right bottom side, there's a plus and a minus sign. You will see a little blue drop that looks like a water drop, and that's where the water stations are located. Along the course, and you can also toggle between showing mile markers, showing arrows with directional arrows along the route so that you know which way you're going, along the way, what you have to do, it's all customizable based on what you wanna see when you open Rabbit GPS.
And so you need to change those settings so that you can see all of that information. We will have a. What we call a pretty map that we'll put up and in the event guide as we get closer to the event, and it will have a big blown up map of some of those features so that you can just Eyeball it and see it relatively quickly.
But the map with all the detail is online that rabbit GPS.
And I've used that map 'cause I bike the course to take photos. And I do know that even on the mobile version of the app, you can do that same thing. You can turn the mile markers on and off, you can turn the station. It's really cool to have that functionality built in.
Nice. While we're talking about that, there were some questions about the water station in regards to what will be included, where they will be, and how you can plan where those will be
at. Yeah. On our website, ashwellmarathon.com. The course backslash course, you'll find all the information about the course support.
And included on that is the water station information. We will have water stations approximately every two to three miles. The first one's a little after the mile two mark. We're really excited to have UNTAPT back again as our partner to provide gels for the water stations along the route and new this year.
They are providing Maple-ade hydration, which is their electrolyte. Offering. And so we will have that at the water stations. We're really excited because this is organic, no chemicals. It's made in small batches in a farm in Vermont, and so it's just a, a healthier option and we're really excited to have that as well.
And we'll be sending out an email in the next week or two with information on how to buy that online if you wanna try it before the race. And also as. Most runners do nowadays, they pack their own drinks and gels and carry them in their camelback and on their hips. Feel free to do that if you've been training with something Heed Noon.
I know there's a lot of Pop Gatorade, a lot of popular brands nowadays that people really like, so feel free to just bring your own if you don't wanna have ours at our water station. Excellent.
All right. The next question has to do with the shuttles. It says, I said I didn't need the shuttle service when I registered.
Can I still sign up to use the shuttle service before and after the race?
Yes, you can. If you're a runner, just email us at support at IDAF.net and let me know and I can switch that on your registration for you. And if it's a spectator, a friend or family member who needs, if you didn't purchase a shuttle ticket for them and they need that ticket to, to ride the shuttle, they've decided they wanna ride the shuttle, they can purchase those in the race store and they're $20.
Okay,
great. And I just wanna add really quick to that, the finish area, it's going to be close to Carrier Park and there is parking there that spectators can park in. But I would highly recommend that if spectators are gonna come and be a part of the experience with you from start to finish, that you have your park in downtown Asheville.
And have the shuttle take your spectator after the start of the race to the finish area. 'cause that's where the shuttle pick up and drop off will be. And then that spectator family member can be around that finish area. I. And can see you at the later miles of both the half and the marathon and just be there.
Don't have to worry about trying to find parking and that sort of thing. It'll just make it simpler for spectators. So I would suggest that.
Yeah, that's a great idea. And, and it's such a beautiful area down there by the finish line. You could walk along the greenway. Like Daphne said, you can see your runner multiple times.
That's a great tip. The next question is, what kind of entertainment can marathoners expect along the course? And will you have a Spotify Pandora playlist for this event?
We are still putting all the juicy details of the bands and the DJs that we're gonna have out there this year. But there will be live music on the course again.
And so yes, you can look forward to seeing some folks spinning records and some bands and some saxophone. Just all kinds of things along the way. So we, I love running with music and so this just makes it even more fun and Asheville such a magical area with so many musicians and artists that we can feature along the way.
We will have some sort of a playlist recommendation like we've done before, what platform we use. I'm not sure if we'll use Spotify or Pandora or Apple Music. It'll depend on what our team has. But yes, we can put together a playlist and usually you guys recommend the songs that you want on that playlist.
Yeah, I think we should do an Instagram post and we will, talk about playlists and maybe if our runners have some of their favorites, they could share those in the comments too. 'cause I think it's always fun to see what other people are listening to and discover some new playlists. Yeah,
absolutely.
Yep. Awesome. So moving along. The next question is about Pacers. It says, will there be any Pacers for anything faster than one-forty on the half marathon? Thanks.
So our PACE team for the half marathon actually starts at one-forty-five. We have one-forty-five, two hour, two hours, 15 minutes, two and a half hours, and two hours forty-five minutes for the half.
Then for the full, we start at three 30 and then go every 15 minutes to five 30. So that's our PACE team.
Excellent. The next question is, will there be bathrooms along the route? How about water stations? What kind of cups will be used? Huh.
Great questions. I guess everybody has to go to the bathroom before they start running.
That is for sure. Justin.
Yep. You, you, you never miss the Port-a-potty lines,
right? No. And we could never ever have enough. Yes, there will be Port-a-Johns in downtown and Pack Square. We also have partnered up with the Hilton Garden Inn, which is about 0.25 away from. Pack Square Park where there's actual restrooms in there and an area that people can hang out before the race.
So feel free to, if you don't wanna hang out the porta Johns, you can go to the hotel as well. Portageons are near every single water station along the course which I talked about earlier. So look at that list of the locations for the water stations. And then there's also restrooms in the parks, French, broad River Park, Carrier Park has restrooms.
And then at the finish we'll have them around the finish. Wrong way, cabin area as well. We have nine water stations. And they are from mile two, and you can look on online, but there's nine of 'em. We will have jam bars. Most of the water stops, we'll have Coca-Cola, some of the later stops for the half and the marathon.
We'll have pickle juice, some of 'em, and then we'll have medical support out on the course as well. Really, the website is your friend when it comes to all those details. And as far as what kind of cups we're gonna use, that is a great question. We have a variety of cups in our warehouse, and so we will just bring out what we have that's a combination of biodegradable cups.
There might be some plastic cups still in there, some paper cups. So it's usually a hodgepodge.
Okay. How many participants are currently signed up for the event and how many are anticipated?
Okay. At the time of this recording in January, we're approaching 1500 and we are anticipating 2,500 to 3000 runners.
Okay.
And that's just about the same we had last year. We had about. I believe twenty-six or twenty-seven hundred last year. So if you were at the event last year, you can expect or count on a, a pretty similar size event. Moving along here, the next question was, what about parking at the finish? Where's the best place for spectators to park and then bring their runners home?
Yeah, so the best place to park is gonna be Carrier Park, which I mentioned earlier. And again, I would recommend that you do the shuttles. If you're taking your runner to downtown and you wanna watch them start, just keep your car parked there in one of the garages that Amy mentioned, and then just take the shuttle bus down to the finish.
And then after the race, you guys can ride together. Back to the start. To get your car. So that's what I would recommend instead of trying to move around the course and find parking at the park. Okay.
Going on to the next one. It says, I am coming from out of town. Do you have any lodging, accommodation deals?
We do, we have four accommodations partners, DoubleTree by Hilton. Asheville Biltmore is our host hotel for the race Expo and also we'll have the shuttle service there. Hampton and Sweets. Asheville Biltmore Village is right next door there side-by-side and that one you can also catch the shuttle there.
Since they're side-by-side, that's another good option. For shuttle service. Wrong way. River Lodge and Cabins is located across from the finish. It's a really unique, a-frame cabin thing. Super cool. Each is own outfitted with its own bathroom, and it's all pretty much like a hotel room, except it's a single cabin and they have limited space.
So if you're interested in that, jump on it now. Thank. You could literally stand on your balcony there and watch the race and you're right there at the finish line. So that would be my first pick. Hilton Garden in Asheville downtown is our newest partner. They are where we will have the race morning emergency bid pickup for the people who just couldn't make it to the expo.
All of those are offering exclusive discounted rates for race participants, and those booking links can be found on our website, ashfallmarathon.com slash travel slash to get to those, and we'll post that up too.
And the way the booking works for that too, Amy, I believe is after they reach a certain number of rooms, that's it in the block.
And so I would highly suggest going ahead and booking at one of those. And Amy said if wrong way, if they fill up, I, I think last I checked, they only had a couple cabins left. DoubleTree in Hampton Inn, the shuttle is gonna take you. From there to the start line, from the finish, back to the hotel. So super convenient to the race.
And then Hilton is downtown, so you can always take the shuttle back from the finish back downtown to that one. So all of 'em are great choices, but I would go ahead and book yes to get the best rate in in a room.
Yes, I know we always get emails closer to the race I'm trying to book, but there are no more.
Yes, they're saying there are no more rooms. It happens every year. So yes, definitely jump on it. Okay.
If I do ride the shuttle with my group and we finish at different times, is there a place to wait for them at the finish line?
Yes, there is finishing in the park area, so there's gonna be a big grass space.
You can wait and hang out. And then the post-race party is at the finish as well as at wrongway cabins and they're both in close proximity to each other. And just take your phone and or watch for 'em at the finish line whenever you think that they're gonna come in. But yeah, the, there's lots of places to just hang out.
Yeah, and we're adding a a bunch of race partners and activities that we'll be announcing as we go, and it's gonna be a fun place to hang out just with all of the things going on around the finish line. Yeah, that'll be fun. The next question, tell me more about the unpaved section around mile 22. I am a runner and run this all the time and have done this race, and when I run that small.
I'm sorry, and I just wanna know what to expect when I run that small area. Yeah, so there's
a small stretch of trail on the backside of Carrier Park that runs along the river. And if you are looking on the course map, you can see the little dotted lines on the map that indicate the trail part. If you follow along the chart at the bottom, if you have a desktop computer and, and you look along the chart at the bottom, it's, it's roughly from 21 mile, 21.6 to 22.3.
So it's less than a mile. And even part of that is paved the little. Dotted lines indicate the part that's dirt. It is packed dirt and it does include some rocks and roots, but I do run that area often and I've never had any trouble. It's not too very technical and you can, I can step to the side and get around anything that I feel like might challenge me, but I've never had any issues there.
Yeah, and trails and off-road running are just common here in Western North Carolina. So in order to complete a whole loop of the Carrier Park and Hominy Creek Park section without doing a whole bunch of out and backs on the same greenway, you gotta have that part, which is really pretty beside the river as well, the French Broad River, and it's what makes running so unique and cool in Asheville as well.
Excellent. So moving along here, it looks like we have made it through all the questions. Oh, we've got one more. It says, will you ever have the race at the Biltmore Estate?
Yeah, so Biltmore State has a very special place in our heart as that's how this race started and when Covid happened. It sure complicated things.
It sure, sure did change the world, didn't it? If we decide in the future that we wanna do that again, we may consider, but as of right now, we just don't have immediate plans for that.
Okay. That's awesome. We made it through all the questions. We just wanna thank everybody who did send in those questions.
It was great to to hear from you and we know these answers will help multiple people. Of course, if you have more questions along the way, you can always email us at support at IDAF.net and we will. Be glad to help you out. We are what, less than eight weeks away now. We're so excited about this event and we can't wait to see everyone there.
Y'all have a good day.
Thank you everybody.