Travel & Hotel

Flying into Raleigh

The closest airport is Raleigh Durham International (RDU). It is located about a 5-minute drive from the hotel and about 15-20 minutes from the race site.

Runner Drop Off

There will be a runner dropoff area near the USA Baseball entrance on Green Hope School Road at Hilliard Forest. Signs and volunteers will guide you to the race site. (For normal years with a 7:00am start:  Please be dropped off by 5:30am to avoid traffic backups.)

Note:  Runners have reported difficulty using ride-sharing transportation (like Uber or Lyft) at ~5:00am on a Sunday morning.  If you use one of these services, please be sure to book it in advance.

Bus Transportation to the Race

Our buses are available to runners, volunteers, and spectators between our remote parking and the start/finish area at USA Baseball from 4:00am until 2:30pm. 

Host Hotel - Likely to change for 2025

The Tobacco Road Marathon host hotel is the Embassy Suites Raleigh/Durham/Research Triangle hotel located at 201 Harrison Oaks Blvd. in Cary, North Carolina.  It is located just minutes from Research Triangle Park (RTP, NC) and 10 minutes from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

 

NOTE:  We DO NOT provide shuttles from the Embassy Suites to the start/finish line. Please plan your own transportation to and from the hotel.  It is a 10 mile (~20 minute) drive.

When searching for our host hotel, make sure you find the Embassy Suites with "Research Triangle" in its name.

• Correct:  Embassy Suites by Hilton Raleigh Durham Research Triangle
• Not:  Embassy Suites by Hilton Raleigh Durham Airport Brier Creek
• Not:  Embassy Suites by Hilton Raleigh Crabtree

The Embassy Suites is also the location for our pre-race Expo and packet pickup held on Friday and Saturday. 

Book Your Room

The Embassy Suites has a discounted block of rooms for us for $150/night which must be reserved by February 24, 2024, or when the block of rooms is exhausted.  The direct booking link for reservations is
https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/rooms/?ctyhocn=RDUAPES&arrivalDate=2024-03-15&departureDate=2024-03-17&groupCode=CESTMN&room1NumAdults=1&cid=OM%2CWW%2CHILTONLINK%2CEN%2CDirectLink

...or call 919-677-1840 and ask for the Tobacco Road Marathon discount (Group Code CESTMN).
 

Saturday Night Buffet

In the past, the Embassy Suites Bistro set up a pre-race dinner buffet on Saturday evening from 5pm to 10pm, but that is subject to last minute planning.  They should, however, be open for dinner.  Read more about dining options on https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/rduapes-embassy-suites-raleigh-durham-research-triangle/dining/ .

Other restaurants within a half-mile of the Embassy Suites include Bonefish Grill, Burger King, BurgerFi, Chick-fil-A, Dame's Chicken and Waffles, Herons at The Umstead, J&S Pizza, Kō Än, Lucky Chicken Peruvian Cuisine, McDonalds, Moe's Southwest Grill, Raleigh Brewing at the Arboretum, Rallypoint Sport Grill, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Starbucks, Subway, Terra Bonum Salad Cafe, The Orignal NY Pizza, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Wendys, and Yum Yum Thai Cuisine.

Check-Out

Standard check out time is NOON. All room keys are deactivated at noon on the date of departure. If a late check out is needed you must tell the Embassy Suites as there are a limited quantity of late check outs available.