QuickFAQ


Previously, our FAQs were sentences and lots of words--and most of you didn't read them.  We are now trying to be very crisp--which also means a bit terse.  As a result, we do not try to explain everything; we are just stating things as they are CURRENTLY planned.  All of this is subject to review and modification as needed to hold a safe event.


You may want to particulalry review the list of "NOs" at the bottom of this page to avoid disappointments and surprises.

Key Dates:
  • Packet pick-up:  Location TBD.  In 2025, we tried packet pickup at the race start line at USA Baseball near Cary, NC in the Research Triangle Area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill).  Address is:  7445 Green Hope School Road Cary, NC 27519
    Hours are:
        Friday, March 13, 2026 from 3pm - 8pm
        Saturday, March 14, 2026 from 10am - 5pm
    NO RACE DAY BIB PICKUP for runners who live in the Research Triangle Area.  (Read below under "Expo/Bib Pickup" if you live more than 90 minutes away and need a special exception.)
  • Full and Half Marathon:  Sunday, March 15, 2026 starting at 7:00am.  Course closure time is 2:00pm for both distances.  (Yes, both half and full marathoners have 7 hours to complete 13.1 or 26.2 miles.)
Planning: Registration:
  • Distances:  Full Marathon or Half Marathon only (no 5K, no mile, no relay, no swimming)
  • Divisions:  Elite, Age Group, Military, Ruckers
  • Refunds:  None; no exceptions
  • You can register as late as in-person at the Expo if space is available.
    • https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/register
    • For the Full Marathon, there is typically still space at the Expo.
    • For the Half Marathon, it typicalliy sells out in January.  After that, we may open a limited number of "charity" slots for a premium price with 100% of proceeds going to local charities.
  • Change Distance:  https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/change
    • Subject to available space in the new distance.
  • Change Runner:  http://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/transfer
    • No fee to the original runner; $20 fee to the new runner.
  • Change Year:  http://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/defer
    • Deferrals are permitted only ONCE.  Repeat year-after-year deferrals are not allowed.
    • Deferrals are permitted only until January 31.
  • Special Requests (disabled athlete; costumes; etc.):  Must be submitted to info@tobaccoroadmarathon.com two months before the race date.
Course: Parking:
  • Parking Passes are required for 2026 to park at the start/finish area.
    • Parking Passes sell out as early as 6 months before the race.
    • If you do not have a parking pass, please use our remote parking and free shuttle (read more below)...or be dropped off.
    • Parking Passes are available for purchase ONLY with new registrations.
    • Parking Passes defer or transfer with runner registrations/deferrals/transfers.
  • Do NOT park on the following places.  You may be towed!
    • On Green Hope School Road
    • In local negiborhoods, especially the Hilliard Forest neighborhood or pool parking area across from the USA Baseball entrance.
    • In undesginated parking spaces.
  • Parking is normally available but not guaranteed at the start/finish (and passes are NOT checked) after 9:30am when Half Marathoners start to leave.
  • Shuttle option:  If you don't have a Parking Pass, remote parking is available with a 15-minute free shuttle ride from 6 miles away from "NetApp" (that's the name of a company, not a "mobile app.") in Research Triangle Park.  The address of remote parking is 7301 Kit Creek Rd, Durham, NC  27709.  You may also be dropped off at 7445 Green Hope School Road, Cary, NC  27519.
  • Parking is at your own risk.  Tobacco Road accepts no liabilty for your car, your car contents, or any other issue related to your parking.  Do not leave valuables in your car.
Expo/Bib Pickup:
  • Location:  TBD.  Hours are:
    - Friday, March 13, 2026 from 3pm - 8pm
    - Saturday, March 14, 2026 from 10am - 5pm
  • What you will pick up:  Bib, t-shirt, pin, and (possibly) other swag.
  • Shop at Inside-Out Sports at the Expo for other runner needs!
  • You may pick up other runners' bibs.  To pick up bib(s), you will need to show either:
    - The custom email we send to you shortly before the race.  (A friend may forward you their custom email.)
    - Your ID, e.g. Driver's License (cell phone picture or photocopy permitted.  A friend may forward you a picture.)
  • Race day packet pickup is available for the first 50 people you request it who live more than 90 minutes away.  If you cannot pick up your bib by 5:00pm on Saturday, please complete https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/lateppu .  Once you submit this form, you can pick up your bib at the race site on race day BEFORE 6:00am!  (If you do not pick up your bib before 6:00am, you will not be given a bib for timing or results purposes.)
  • Mailed bibs/packets:  Not available.
Weather:
  • Forecast:  https://www.wunderground.com/calendar/us/nc/raleigh/KRDU
  • Average high for mid-March in Cary, NC, is 64°F.  Average low is 40°F.  Sunrise is 7:24am.  First light is 6:56am, just as the National Anthem is playing (so it will be dark until the race starts).
  • If the weather conditions are extreme, the Race Director reserves the right to cancel or suspend the race.  (We have never had to, however.)
Start / Bag Check:
  • Our "casual start" option (no special registration required) allows you to start at your convenience anytime from the official the race start at 7:00am but before 7:15am.  Early starts are NOT allowed.
  • We offer a "bag check."  Please bring a bag for your jackets and items, then label it with your bib number using a tag we provide and drop by the bag check tent before 6:45am.  Please do NOT include valuables as Tobacco Road Marathon is not responsible for lost or damaged items.
Finish Line:
  • Planned:  Medal, bottled water, bananas, oranges, chocolate milk, pizza, beer.
On-course aid stattions:
  • Starting at mile 2.5, there are 15 aid stations on the Full course and 8 aid stations on the Half course spaced about 2 miles apart. See https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/maps for exact locations.
  • Planned hydration/nutrition:  Water, Orange Gatorade, Gu Gel (Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bean, and Strawberry Banana), and Stroopwafels (S'mores and glutten-free Wild Berry) at all aid stations.
  • Medical issues:  Please ask a volunteer for various supplies.
  • Port-o-johns:  A limited number (typically 2) at each aid station.  There are also permanent bathrooms on the Full (only) a few steps off the trail at miles 4.2 and 12.6 (at the same location, just on the out-and-back).
On the course:
  • Headphones permitted but discouraged.  Using just ONE ear pod or using bone-conducting headphones is recommended.  Please be sure you can hear all verbal instructions as well as traffic.  Call out issues and obstacles to other runners.
  • Passing:  Please allow room for other runners to pass.  Stay no more than two people abreast.
  • Open Course:  The course/trail is not closed closed to other users.  Be alert for walkers, runners, cyclists, and (even possibly) horses.
Results: Spectator Locations: After the Race: NOs:  (This list of "NOs" is intended to provide a safe and efficient race balacing costs with benefits.)
  • NO refunds for any reason.
  • NO deferrals after planned dates, typically January 31 unless specifiied otherwise.  When permitted, the cost of the deferral may increase to represent costs incurred in our planning for you to run.  Defer early if needed. Note:  Doctors' / employers' notes or military deployments DO NOT change this restriction.
  • NO repeat deferrals.  (For instance, if you deferred from 2025 to 2026, you may not defer that registration again to 2027.)
  • NO virtual race option.
  • NO runner or spectator parking near the start/finish (unless you have a Parking Pass).  Take our shuttle or get dropped off.
  • NO parking on the sides of roads or in nearby neighborhoods.  You may be towed.
  • NO Parking Passes available for purchase except for as part of a NEW registration with the race.
  • NO shuttle from the host hotel.
  • NO change of shirt size at the Expo.  You may exchange your shirt AFTER your race for whatever sizes we have remaininng.
  • NO registering for one distance and running a different distance.  If you do not run the distance you are registered for, please DO NOT CROSS the finish line.  It messes up the results for everyone.
  • NO early start (i.e. before 7:00am) due to darkness and safety reasons.
  • NO runner on trail or roads after 2:00pm.  (Once inside Thomas Brooks Park, you may continue the last half-mile to the finish, even if after 2:00pm.)
  • NO pacing runners by anyone who is NOT registered for the race or by someone on a bicycle.  You may be disqualified.  Since the trail is open to the public, other runners and cyclists may be out on the trail, but a good, unofficial rule-of-thumb is that runners should NOT run with unregistered runners for any more than one mile, and the non-registered runner may not provide ANY assistance (e.g. nutrition or water).
  • NO runner tracking except at the limited number of timing mats.
  • NO special accommodations (athletes with disabilities needing special equipment...or costumes) unless requested two months in advance of the race date.
  • NO pandemic-related precautions planned at this time.
  • NO banditiing (running without a registered bib).  Yes, the trail is open to the public, but taking advantage of ANY race-provided servics (not just limited to aid stations, food/medals, and post-race activities, but also road closures and police protection) is stealing and reduces the gift to local charities.  Please don't.
  • NO Race day bib pickup (unless explicitly requested and approved).  See above.
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