For all of you who ran the Wild Hare, please take a moment to give us your thoughts on the new course. For all of you who missed it, we do still plan to put a video online that details the course--with a little history thrown in for good measure.

Mark, I did not participate in the Wild Hare on Sunday as it did not fit into my training program that I have been following it to a T!! However I have been training on the course for the last several weekends with regards to the long down hill sections. I have had my own sersonal SAG(hubby) and he has run several times as well. The course is really nice especially the upper part that you remember the best before the long miles near the end begin  invading the part of your brain that makes you think you are really crazy for running longer than 2 miles!!! I am usually a solitary runner and I love the woods. My only complaint which is minor is if the road is dry and dusty the cars on the lower end seem to love to go really fast and make it even more dusty just about the time they pass you! The lack of asphalt is truly the best part of the whole course for me. My longest run so far on the course has been a 20 miler from the top, with a 23 mile coming up this coming Sunday(wish me luck) Everytime I do the course I see the great advantages of running in such a beatiful area. I look forward to reading more positive comments from others.

I agree with what you say about the dust--especially down at Wilson's Creek as there is more traffic. Yesterday's run wasn't too bad because it had rained the night before. I wonder if we could talk some government agency into driving one of those trucks that sprays water on asphalt down the road the night before the race...

Good luck on Sunday!

I ran the 25K portion yesterday and really enjoyed the course.  I will say that the 1st 6 miles were tougher than I had expected.  Also there were a couple of "hills" thrown in between miles 8-15 that were tougher than I had expected as well but I think this was because some of the downhills were so steep you could do nothing but fly down them.  Then throw in an uphill and your body just doesn't know what to do.     I also found coming off of the gravel onto the asphault was a very weird feeling on your legs.  Overall this course rocks.  I drove the full course and can't wait to run the back portion in October. 

I ran the full course yesterday and really enjoyed it.  I did make a mistake in running the first 6 miles to fast and then pushed the pace on the steep downhill gravel switchbacks from 7 - 15.  This fatigued me on the last ten miles of the course.  I also found that running on gravel downhills for 10 miles during a competiition can be a little more technical then doing it during training.  The thrill of an unofficial "competition" tends to push you to a faster pace.  "Just like David Lee said" I found myself keeping up with the 25k'ers not realizing they were doing the 25K untill I seen them pullout in Edgemont.  I think I acutally PR'ed my half marathon time!!
From this I learned that I need to slow down on the first 6 miles knowing that in miles 7-10 I can make it up and still hold back enough to have somthing left from mile 16 on end.
Over all I really enjoyed the course, and the scenery. (should be great in the fall colors) This was a great way to preview the course and to know what to expect in October. 
David and Rhonda once again went out of their way to make this event great. The rolling aid stations were great and stocked up with supplies, thanks to the volunteers who drove up and down the course all day assisting us.

Thanks again David and Rhonda!!!

I ran the full marathon on Sunday - and really enjoyed it too.  I loved having the rollers in the first 6 miles to get warmed up - and the hill right after the 5 mile mark sure got my attention.  It is not a surprise hill as it is on the "back" part of the first out and back.  In fact, going out it seemed like the return climb would be steeper and tougher than it actually turned out to be for me.  The downhill from mile 6 to mile 15 was fantastic.  It was very nicely shaded, and not too steep to have gravity help you other than maybe a couple very short sections.  There were a few unexpected "speed bumps" around miles 10-12 - but I found them a nice change of pace from the downhill.

The change of terrain was abrupt at mile 15.  You go from very nicely shaded, downhill, dirt road to flat asphalt with not much shade.  The good news is that the pavement is brief, the shade comes back, and you get to run past Coffey's general store.  This was a nice break in scenery from the dirt road in the woods.

The last 8 or so miles on Brown Mountain Beach Road were very pleasant.  I did not have any trouble with traffic - other than a couple RVs.  In fact, most cars were very cautious as in many sections there wasn't enough room for two cars to pass.  This section had a few small grades in it that I found to be a nice change of pace.  Of course, on race day I may feel differently about this as the legs will likely be a lot more tired.

And finally, there is a bit of a twist in the course design in that you run past the finish line on the road - looking down into the campground at the finish line and thinking you are just about there.  But, hah!, you enter the campground and have to turn left (away from the finish) for a nice little bonus loop before you make it to the finish.  It's a great little loop, but I am glad that it won't be a surprise on race day!

Dave and Rhonda did a fantastic job for this outing.  We had better aid stations than I have had at most official marathons I have run.  Thanks to all the aid station volunteers - I had a lot of fun seeing their smiling faces every couple miles.  Special kudos to the chocolate chip cookies out there - I heard a "rumor" that they will be back on race day - I sure hope so!

So congratulations on a great course design.  I can't wait to run it again in October.

That's some good insight, Ultra-K. I wasn't aware of the "victory lap" at the finish line. Hopefully, shade won't be quite the necessity it was for you when the race rolls around in October--temps should be a bit cooler. Traffic shouldn't be too bad on race day either as most of the swimmers and kayakers won't be there and the leaf tourists probably won't be going on that road, unless they are locals.

Lance, you came off of the Springmaid Splash, so you had a an opportunity to practice on some technical downhills! Fortunately, unless David comes up with another idea, there will be no shorter race competitors in October.

Oh yes, the "Victory Lap." Runners enter the gate south of the exit gate below the store at Brown Mountain Beach and are directed to turn left and follow the gravel road and circle back around toward the finish. This was a necessity in order to get the full marathon distance without extending the Edgemont turnaround any further or adding yet another turnaround somewhere else on the course.

The gravel road was a bit gnarly on Sunday because of the heavy equipment used for tree removal in recent weeks but will be graded smooth before race day. Eventually, as development at Brown Mountain Beach nears completion, the gravel road will become a cobblestone path lined with vacation cottages. This means future editions of the Ridge to Bridge Marathon might actually have some spectators on hand for the finish. How cool would that be?