Dear {FirstName} {LastName},

We are just two weeks away from the 2026 Tobacco Road Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday, March 15, 2026.  At this time in 2 weeks, you will be celebrating!

For those of you alert and wondering why you haven't receive more email updates, we have been a bit behind on our communications focusing on finalizing logistics.  We will be sending you several emails over the next two weeks with important, need-to-know information.

This week's topics:  Expo, Nutrition, and Last Minute Registrations
...and "Why this NC Race Is a Must-Run" ( https://www.theenduranceedge.com/tobacco-road-marathon-half-marathon-raleigh-nc )

Expo:  (See https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/expo for more details.)

• The 2026 Tobacco Road Marathon Expo will be at the USA Baseball Training Center in Cary, NC.  Note:  This is the SAME location as the Expo last year but different than the Expo location in 2024 and earlier.  The Expo address is 7445 Green Hope School Road Cary, NC 27519 and will be in the indoor baseball field building diagonally from the entrance to the parking lot.
• The Expo is where you pickup your bib, t-shirt, and other merchandise.  Additionally, various vendors, sponsors, and charities will have booths, and Inside Out Sports will have a full range of running supplies so that you are fully equiped.
• Expo hours are:
  • Friday, March 13, 2026: 3:00pm - 8:00pm
  • Saturday, March 14, 2026:  10:00am - 5:00pm. (No bib pickups after 5:00pm)
• You can have a friend pick up your bib and t-shirt if they have a copy of your id or a copy of the email we send a few days before the Expo.
• If you cannot make the Expo, there is no general race-day bib pickup.  However, for runners who live more than 90 minutes away, we offer race-day packet pickup that you can request on https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/lateppu , subject to the following limitations:  (a) Limited to the first 50 people who request it, and (b) you must be at the race site information tent by 6:00am on race day.  If you arrive at 6:15am looking to pick up your bib, it will be too late.  (Also note:  If you are doing race-morning bib pickup, you won't have a parking pass, even if you purchased one.)
• Note:  Bib numbers will be provided in an email the week before the race.

Nutrition:

• We have aid stations approximately every 2 miles on both courses.  The nutrition at the aid stations will be:
  • Water and (regular) Orange Gatorade
  • Vanilla Bean and Strawberry-Banana Gu Gel
  • Salted Chocolate and Campfire Smores Stroopwafels
• The aid stations will also have a few porta-potties.
• The post-race nutrition will include water, pizza, beer, oranges, bananas, and chocolate milk.

• Because of a greater-than-normal number of deferrals (maybe it was due to a cold, icy, and snowy January), we still have space for your friends to register for either the Half or Full distance.  To encourage these registrations, we are offering a limited-time $99 price for your friends.  (That's one of the many benefits of being your friend!)  Have them register using the discount code "TRMBuddy" at https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com/register?dsx=trmbuddy  And remind them they have 7 hours to complete either distance.
• And...here's some extra encouragement for them.  One of our sponsors, Chris Newport at Endurance Edge, talked to Tobacco Road recently to learn "The Tobacco Road Marathon and Half Marathon:  Why This NC Race Is a Must-Run."  Listen to the Endurance Edge podcast at https://www.theenduranceedge.com/tobacco-road-marathon-half-marathon-raleigh-nc .

• This weekend (or maybe last weekend) should have been your last "long run."  You will still likely want to do short, mid-week runs, and maybe a medium-length run next weekend, but this is a time to relax a bit in your training and take some well-deserved easy runs.

• Your Name:  {FirstName} {LastName}
• Your Email:  {Email}
• Event Distance:  {EventCategory}

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