New Belgium Brewing Asheville Marathon Recap - 26 weeks to go until the hundo

I tend to make T-Rex arms when I run. I’m glad the best race photo they took didn’t completely capture that habit.

4:21:35

My official chip time for the 2025 Asheville Marathon. (Chip time just means the clock starts when I cross the starting line instead of “gun time” which is when the race starts and the first runners cross the start.) My goal was 4:20 so I’m considering this race a huge success. It was my first road marathon in 8 years and although I’ve run further distances on trail over the past few years, it had been a very long time since I’ve put that many miles in to both training, and race wise, on pavement.

But this race in particular meant more than just a PR. This was about running through my old stomping grounds for the first time since Hurricane Helene and falling in love with my city again.

Pre race stuff:

As per my last post, the only change from the day before race prep was that instead of having Indian food for dinner since the wait was over two hours due to the Holi festival, we ended up making a great apple and cherry chicken and rice recipe at home. I did do something slightly irresponsible and enjoyed a hard cider at Urban Orchard downtown with Gen while we played a game of pool. But eh, it’s nice to live a little.

For breakfast I had some overnight oats and a smoothie made of Trader Joes OPM, banana, strawberries and some peanut butter. I also ate a Honey Stinger in the car while Gen drove me to the race start. I also lathered up in Squirrel’s Nut Butter, which is an anti-chafing salve that I fully recommend. And then, 15 minutes before the start, while huddling with the masses, I ate a GU. Reflecting on it now, I weirdly don’t think I drank any water… like a lunatic. Not advised.

Race Vibe:

You could tell the city of Asheville was stoked to be hosting this race. Everyone at the starting line was just excited to be there and there was nothing but good vibes and great organization. Results show there were about 500 people running the marathon and about 1,200 running the half. Just casually scanning through the results, the majority of runners were from the Western NC area but there were quite a few out of staters. 

We started in the heart of downtown at Pack Square and the weather was a perfect 50 degrees and cloudy. I had very little butterflies going on. I mostly was just curious to see the route and was calculating when I should try to hit up a bathroom pitstop.

The Route:

My Strava map of the route. The shade of red indicates my heart rate.

I was pleased with the alternative route they came up with this year due to the Hurricane damage. We started out moving through North Asheville along Kimberly Ave, passing by the fancy Grove Park Inn within view. We then crossed into UNC-Asheville territory and onto the Reed Creek greenway before hitting up the beautiful neighborhood of Montford with their historic grand homes.

We then made a cool pass through downtown again, bobbing down Wall Street with its cobblestone and cute shops. This was my favorite section of the race as I don’t recall getting to run through this part of downtown for a race before.

We then headed down Asheland Ave, towards the medical district of town. We encountered a small group of anti-abortionist outside of the planned parenthood with their outrageous signs and their righteous shouting. A few of the female racers in front of me hurled back profanities at the protesters while a policeman stood near by directing traffic (and probably to keep an eye on things).

Up until this point, if you were an out-of-towner, you probably wouldn’t notice much damage from the storm. A few down trees here and there, some large root systems lurching unnaturally sideways, probably a little more trash in places it shouldn’t be. But luckily most of these areas have recovered very well since the storm. The second half of the race was where things got a bit more sad.

After Asheland, we entered the River Arts District, or RAD, which is an area I have not had the heart to run or even drive through since the Hurricane in late September. This part of town lies along the French Broad River and sustained the worst of the flooding. 

We started on Depot Street and then ran down Lyman, which is where numerous art galleries and small business such as a restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, wood working shops, a beautiful winery, a skate park, a bbq restaurant that President Obama and Michelle approved of, and even a small movie theater once stood proudly. Some of these buildings are completely gone, others have collapsed ceilings or now are riddled with debris filled yards. In other words, they are completely destroyed. It looked like scenes from the Walking Dead or the Last of Us. It hurt (both mentally and physically) to run past this section in my painstakingly slow pace, forcing me to really take it all in and to feel grateful for the fantastic years of memories enjoying this area. I am looking forward to seeing the city absorb this atmosphere and unleash it in new areas of town for us to enjoy again.

Then we crossed the small bridge on Amboy road where I got my first clear view of the French Broad River Park in six months. The old paved greenway I have run for almost a decade, including last year’s half marathon, was completely washed away in some parts. What used to be a green filled lush sanctuary now looks like a marshy beach. The same was waiting for me as we made our way to Carrier Park and Hominy creek, though, thankfully, not as severe.

It was as bad as I expected. I had seen photos and videos on social media but to physically run through these parts again and to see the new landscape was incredibly bittersweet. I know nature is a powerful force and I’m sure after a good season or two, much of the grass and greenery will return. Humans are also powerful creatures too and the urge to rebuild this space is strong. During the entire race, there were more than six different spots where debris cleanup was actively taking place, including a group of volunteers picking up trash from the trees that edge I-26 on Riverside. 

After hitting the turnaround on the Hominy creek greenway, we had to backtrack all the way to where the half marathoner’s had split off near Craven street, so I had more miles and hours to re-witness the destruction. 

Then, the hardest part. We continued on to Riverside drive, which is a frontage road, so to speak, to I-26 and follows the French Broad River. What used to be a largely industrial landscape, with a plastics factory, mattress warehouse, chemical factory, and various other run down warehouses, also contained a handful of breweries, garden center, bike shop, coffee shop, and a fantastic outdoor music venue called Salvage Station. It was a weird mixture of businesses, but it worked. It also has bike lanes, which is rare for Asheville so runners and bikers are commonly seen on this flat stretch, although the view and the car traffic make it not very appealing.

Due to the hurricane, almost all of the businesses that line the river were completely destroyed. Some rebuilding has occurred but the stretch is even more desolate than ever. Running past a partially collapsed building with a spray painted “Looters will be shot!” is not a typical bingo card sighting for a race.

We had to run out, almost to the end of Riverside, and then turn around and come back. This stretch tested me pretty good as I pushed into the 20+ mileage territory and I was surprised to not have a water station along this stretch. Luckily, it wasn’t very warm but the humidity was clinging to me and I also secretly wanted an excuse to walk for a second. My hips were feeling pretty sore, my right arch was nagging me, and I just generally wanted to stop but I honestly felt better than I expected and compared to how I felt at the end of the previous two marathons. But the grind was real and I really wanted to meet my goal and knew I didn’t have much wiggle room for the last six miles in terms of time. 

Another tough aspect of this stretch of road is that you also see runners on both sides and that sometimes can be tough to watch, knowing you still have more to go or that the pain you see in others is probably what you also look like. Due to car traffic and the tail end of the race, there were very few to no spectators during this time, which just added to the toughness.

Then the route does something very rude as you return. You head towards New Belgium Brewing, where you can hear and see people celebrating at the finish line and spectators drinking beer on their porch that overlooks the greenway and river. But instead of joining them you have 3 more awful miles to go.

The last stretch follows the greenway to the French Broad River Park again and then back to the Brewery. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with this section of the greenway. It’s the newest addition to the area but there is very little shade in the summer and I have had many training runs that have finished on this stretch in the past, recalling sweat and pain. Also, once we hit the turn around where the dog park used to be, only a piece of fence and a huge sandy beach is there to greet you. Well, and the one lone race volunteer gently cheering you on.

Returning towards the brewery, I could hear the finish line music and the shouts and cheers of the crowd and that reinvigorated me enough to push a bit up the small hill to the finish line. I knew I was probably a minute off my goal time at this point but I wanted to try to finish strong and get as close as possible. Along the way, there was a final reminder of the Hurricane’s power as a construction barrel was lodged in a tree about 20 feet in the air. 

The finish line:

Just before crossing the finish line, I spotted my little crew. They were holding signs, throwing confetti and just cheering me on in total pride. After receiving another comically large medal and a bottle of water, I met my crew and sat on the grass, grateful to take my shoes off. 

My wife grabbed my free beer for me, as walking around was not super comfortable, and we spent the next few hours celebrating and watching the other runners trickle in.

My dog Riggins (left) and our friend’s dog Rhombus helped me celebrate

Final thoughts:

This was an awesome race. I’m very proud of myself for accomplishing my goal and coming away relatively healthy. I did a decent job fueling myself before the race and along the way, consuming a GU every 45 minutes and drinking water when I was thirsty. I never hit the dreaded “bonking” phase so I think I was adequately fueled.

The route was a great mix of areas of Asheville and I’m glad they didn’t shy away from using parts of town that were affected by the storm. iDaph did a fantastic job organizing everything and the aid stations were pretty good, although chaotic at some sections. And with about 1,000 ft of elevation gain, with the second half being almost completely flat, I would definitely recommend this race to a local looking to tackle a full.

The finish line party at New Belgium was one of the highlights of the day as well. The only thing I could have done better was drink a little more water before hand and use more anti-chaffing salve along the base of my sports bra, as I got a bit of a heat rash there that was pretty freaking painful when I took my post-race shower.

Next Up:

So this week is my official start to my 100 Miler training plan. However, I wanted to give my arch (and whole body) a little extra time to recover so I plan on starting tomorrow. I feel pretty good and my performance at the race has given me confidence and excitement about tackling the next milestones. The next race on my calendar is a 6 hour trail race coming up in mid-April. It’s one that I’ve done for the past two years and last year I hit 21 miles so I should be on a good track for a smilier performance this time around as well.

Until then, I am just reveling in my accomplishment. I think it’s important to celebrate your successes and give yourself that pride of a job well done.