This was such a fun race & the bling was FANTASTIC!

I arrived in Little Rock late Friday afternoon to attend the expo & pick up my race packet. I was able to find metered parking pretty easily, but downtown was super busy around 4:00 p.m. The expo was great...there were lots of clothing & footwear vendors with a great selection of goods and several other races, too (for those looking for their next adventure). Packet pick-up was a breeze. They had lots of volunteers so I really didn't even have to wait in line, which was awesome.

I signed up for the combo challenge, so Saturday morning I was up early for the 5k. I stayed at a hotel on the opposite side of the river from the starting line, but could see the everything out my window & was able to walk over the bridge & find my corral (so much better than having to drive all around town). The weather was great & the race started on time! The aid stations were adequate & crowd support was great. Again, even the bling for the 5k was awesome!

The Half Marathon was on Sunday morning. I walked over the bridge & found my way to the convention center a little early. There was a runners village set up, which was super nice. There were tables/chairs set up with snacks & lipstick on them (L'oreal & Maybelline are sponsors). There was also a massage area that was nice, but I didn't take advantage of. Overall, a nice place to wait until time to find your corral.

I found my place (corral) about 15 minutes before the start, and made friendly conversation with other "back of the packers" until it was go-time. Again, the race started on time & the weather was FANTASTIC! I heard that past years were rainy & cold, but it was around 55-60 degrees & the sun was shining. The race itself was great...SO much crowd support! There were local bands playing, people handing out shots, a roadside spin class, one business that gave out grilled pineapple (YUM!), cheerleaders, & even a church providing communion on the run! They really helped keep us going especially after some of the hills!

Marathoners & half marathoners stay on the same course until mile #12, where the marathoners go to the left to finish the second half of their race & the half marathoners head toward the finish line. Can I just say that I love that the last quarter mile so is downhill?!? Oh, and little kids (& their moms) were passing out more lipstick around mile 13 so we would be ready for our finish line photos! So fun!

Crossing the finish line was amazing...lots of people cheering you on the past tenth of a mile. After crossing, we were corralled back into the convention center where we received our medals, got some post race snacks, & collected our official time.

Overall, I think this was a very well organized & awesome race. Lots of community support & camaraderie. Although, Im not a huge fan of hilly courses (it really wasn't that bad), I think I might do this race again!

I completed the Great Smoky Mountains Half Marathon in September 2019.

I arrived in Townsend, TN on Friday afternoon to pick up my race packet for the half on Saturday morning. Check-in was pretty simple & well organized. I volunteered to help at the 5k finish line on Friday evening. I've never been the one handing out medals so that was fun, plus I received a credit to go toward a future Vacation Race, which was super nice!

The expo was nice, but not tons of vendors. A great stop for souvenir race items, hydration packs, etc.

Race morning started early...my husband dropped me off at the starting line around 5:15 a.m. There were shuttles available, too, but decided for him to drop me off instead. There was a party going on before the race started..coffee, hot chocolate, music & a slew of port-a-pottys available.

The race started as scheduled, which is always nice! The course was a paved road so no rough terrain. The most challenging parts were the areas of road that had a pretty steep slant (rough on the ankles) & the last 3 miles or so were full sun. There were pretty & peaceful parts that ran along the river, too. Overall, not as difficult as one might expect in the mountains (no complaints here)!

The finish line was great. You could hear them announcing your name as you were getting closer to crossing the line, received your medal immediately, & were directed towards the chocolate milk & awesome snack boxes which were so close by!

I had a great time at this race & would definitely recommend it to others!