Dear 2026 Tobacco Road Runner,

We are just under six weeks away from the 2026 Tobacco Road Marathon and Half Marathon!  This is the first email of roughly weekly emails to help you prepare for the best possible experience at your Sunday, March 15, 2026, race.  (...plus a few additional emails the week before the race.)  Our hope is that you at least skim these to learn what is important at these weekly checkpoints before the race.  Please don't treat them as spam, because they will contain important information!

This week's topics:  Deadlines and Host Hotel
Every week's topics:  Your Target Training
Some upcoming topics (in future weeks): Expo/Packet Pickup, Parking, Almost Sold-Out, Pacers, Race Nutrition, What Ifs, Nos, Arrival Time, Spectator/Runner Tracking, Post-Race Party, Charities and Sponsors, etc.

Deadlines:

• Tonight, Feburary 3, 2026:  Last chance to defer https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/defer .  After tonight, your options will be limited to change distance or to transfer your registration to someone else.
• Tonight, February 3, 2026;  Last chance to change t-shirt size (using https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/myregistrations.)  After tonight, you will need to pick up your originally-selected size and swap AFTER the race for whatever sizes we might have leftover.
• Tonight, February 3, 2026:  Last change to register and be guaranteed a t-shirt.  (Of course, if you are getting this email, you are already registered, but your friends might not be.)
• February ??, 2026:  Typical Half Marathon sell-out.  Currently 81% sold-out. . (It was higher before recent deferrals.)
• February ??, 2026:  Last day to change from the Full to the Half (i.e. whenever the Half sells out).  Use https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/change to change distances.
• Noon, Thursday, March 12, 2026:  Last chance to complete a registration transfer on-line.  After that, BOTH old and new runners will have to come to the Expo for us to process the transfer.
• Friday the 13th, March 2026:  Expo open 3:00pm - 8:00pm
• Saturday, March 14, 2026:  Expo open 10:00am - 5:00pm. Last Bib Pickup at 4:59pm!
• Sunday, March 15, 2026, 5:00am:  Recommended last arrival time to remote parking to get shuttle bus.
• Sunday, March 15, 2026, 5:30am:  Recommended last arrival time to race site.
• Sunday, March 15, 2026, 7:00am:  Race Starts.  Last Start Time allowed:  7:15am.
• Sunday, March 15, 2027, 8:00am:  Parking Passes no longer checked at race site. (There might not be any parking spaces available, however.)
• Sunday, March 15, 2027, 2:00pm:  Firm course cut-off time.  (A 16:00/mile pace for the Full.)
• Months ago:  Parking Passes sold out (in October).

Host Hotel:

New this year (2026):  The Tobacco Road Marathon host hotel is the COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT RALEIGH CARY/PARKSIDE TOWN COMMONS at 1008 Parkside Matin Street, Cary, NC  27519.  Their direct number is 919-659-1250.  It is located just minutes from Research Triangle Park (RTP, NC) and 10 minutes from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Guests booking online
The host hotel reservation link is below. This link may be used to make reservations until February 23, 2026. After this cutoff date passes, any requests for additional reservations at the discounted rate will be honored based on hotel availability. 
 
Book your group rate for Tobacco Road Marathon.  The pricing starts at $169/night.
 
Guests booking by phone
Guests may call the Front Desk at 919-659-1250 to book by requesting the Tobacco Road Marathon block. 

For more information
For more information about the hotel including nearby food and shopping, see https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/travel .

Target Training (if you are following a training plan, use that, not this):

• Half Marathon:  Most runners like to run the half distance, 13.1 miles, in training before their race.  This helps to build confidence that you can do it on race day.  Of course, you will do it, but why have the extra worry?  You would probably run this longest training run on the weekend of February 28-March 1.  That means you should probably be doing a 10 mile run this week and a 12 mile run in mid-February.  (What if you never get up to the 13.1 miles?  Some training programs suggest you can stop the mileage around 10 miles, but in that case, we would recommend three 10-mile runs.)
• Full Marathon:  While many runners run the full distance, 26.2 miles, before their first marathon, there is debate in the running community how important that is because that can break you down rather then build you up.  You should probably be doing at least a 20 mile run three weeks before race day, so that's the weekend of February 21-22.  Backing up from that, you should be doing at least an 18 mile run this week.

About Your Registration:
Your Name:  {FirstName} {LastName}
Your Email:  {Email}
Event Distance:  {EventCategory}
Date of Birth:  {dob}
Phone:  {phone}
Address:  {address}, {city}, {state}  {zipcode}
T-shirt size:  {eventshirt}
Parking pass:  {ParkingPass_8}
(If there is nothing after the words "Parking pass:" then you do NOT have a Parking Pass.  Parking Passes are currently sold out, but we may be able to offer a limited number at the March 13-14 Expo.)

Best wishes in your training,
The Tobacco Road Marathon Race Committee