This was my first marathon so I have mixed feelings on the whole thing. I have done several half marathons, so I can only compare to other larger races.

Customer Service- Don’t even bother with emails. I accidently signed up twice, and emailed about deferring the duplicate. I got an email response that a ticket had been opened, but never received any other correspondence despite 5 more emails from me following up on the ticket. They did help me at the expo.

Expo: After reading all the prior reviews, I really did expect a pretty good sized expo. Unfortunately, that was not the case. There were very few vendors. I took the day off expecting to able around the expo and purchase some goods. I think I breezed through it all with packet pickup in less than an hour. The expo was outside so even in pandemic conditions, more vendors could have been a possibility. However, there is a good chance that the vendors decided to forgo Tennessee since the state basically threw caution to the wind regarding COVID.

Merch: I did love the fact that they put all our names on the merch shirts. I ended up buying two. I did also buy a finisher’s jacket since it was my first marathon. It is essentially a zip hoodie. I have washed it once on cold/delicate and the graphics are already coming off in pieces. For what I paid, I am really, really disappointed.

Swag- As above, I was really looking forward to the swag at packet pick-up based on previous reviews. I got a sample of blister cream, my bib and race shirt.

Course- I am a Nashville native, but I never go downtown so it was nice to run through and see how it’s changed. The crowd support and volunteers were great. Water and Gatorade were plentiful through the course. There was one table were gel was supposed to be available, but the table was empty. I brought my own fuel so I was ok.

Hills- It is a very hilly course. I knew this going in and trained on hills just about every run, and I didn’t have much difficulty. The only hill that did me in was the one between miles 25 and 26.

Medal and Finish: This is my first marathon, so the medal is special to me. While I like the design, the quality is a little less than expected from a race of this size. Finish line refreshments consisted of a banana, a pack of kids gummies, a bottle of water and a Gatorade.