#50 • ASHEVILLE • NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville Marathon
Time of Year: March 2026
Race Cost: $120 (with T-shirt) – registered in July 2025
Weather & Temperature: overcast, LOWS – mid 50s, HIGHS – high 60s
Hotel Information
Renaissance Asheville Hotel
Downtown Asheville, NC
20th Century modern hotel with a medium lobby that includes a restaurant and very small bar. Small below-average fitness center in the building. Pool was closed. Basic room with carpeted floors, closed windows, and central A/C unit which was loud. Good walls that prevented outside noise.
* Self park and valet parking available
* Distance from Expo: 2.5 miles
* Distance from start/finish of marathon: 100m/1.5 miles
Other Hotel Options: Downtown Asheville has a handful of hotels within walking distance of the start
Expo Information
Doubletree Hotel by the Biltmore
Asheville, North Carolina
Features:
* Packet pick-up
* 10-20 vendors – small hotel convention space
15 minutes to collect packet & visit vendors
Race Day Information
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Weather & Temperature:
* Start: Mid 50s°F
* Finish: High 60s°F
* Overcast
7:30am start @ Pack Square Park in the middle of Downtown
* Indoor area available for stretching and any per-race preparation at the Renaissance Hotel
* A few restrooms along the side of the starting area
* Crowd was small and laid back and made it easy to get to the start corral
* Full and half marathon start at same time at same location
Course Information
Miles 0-26.2
The race started as the sun was rising providing good visibility and a cool beginning. The race proceeds around town and then a few significant uphills around mile 3-9. The race loops back to the start around mile 9 giving spectators the option to cheer on their runner around a 1/3 of the way to the race before heading to the finish. The scenery is mainly small town urban and suburban. Most of the race is on roads with not much shade from trees – this is important towards the end where there is practically no share at all because you are running on a bicycle path next to a river. Good crowd support at the beginning and very end but there are some areas with no spectators. The race is hillier than expected.
Final stats
Finished was located about a mile and half on the other side of town at the New Belgium Brewery. Finish was a corral area for about 100 feet that was only accessible to athletes. Lots food was available to runners. New Belgium had multiple beer stations set up and you could also order from inside the brewery. Lots of seating both indoor and outside. A few thousand spectators in the area – lots of hotels, restaurants, cafes, and bars a few blocks away but not a lot of parking next to the finish. Highly recommend the post-race area and New Belgium Brewery for runners and spectators. Race provides runners a free shuttle pass that you can use to get back to the start area.
Overall Review
Overall the race was a smaller race (about 542 people in the full marathon). Full and half marathon started in the same location and at the same time. The race proceeds around town and then uphill and rolling hills for about 7 miles; then it turns around and heads back to downtown start area around mile 9. The race is very spectator friendly with mile 9 being 2 blocks from the start. From the finish area or the last bridge you can watch runners around the 13-mile mark; 22-mile mark; 24-mile mark, and 25 mile mark. The course is hillier than expected and much of the course goes through suburbia and then proceeds along the river bike path. The half marathon splits from the marathon between mile 12 and 13. There is not much shade – especially for the second half of the race. Lots of crowd support around the downtown area – less the farther you run from downtown.
Out & About
Places I visited around town
…or wanted to but ran out of time!
What restaurant will help me carbo-load the night before the race?
* Strada Italiano
* Twisted Laurel
* Posana Downtown
* Bargello
What grocery stores are in the area?
* Trader Joes (800m from the start)
* Whole Foods (800m from the start)
* Water; Energy drinks; Bananas; Oranges; Bread; Chocolate
What other restaurants are in the race area?
* Marketplace
* Chestnut
* Many other restaurants within walking distance of downtown
Where can I celebrate finishing the marathon with a drink?
* New Belgium Brewery
* Red Ribbon Society speakeasy
* The Bier Garden
*Salt Face Mule Brewing Company