Nothing Flat About This One! RiverRoad Half Marathon

Tonisia Billups(HF10011, DA1998, MM12110) – MedalMonday… Hatfield & McCoy (RiverRoad) Half Marathon

West Virginia ✅
𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁/𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: JAX (Jacksonville) / TRI (Tri Cities) 2 1/2 hr drive to Matewon, WV
𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥: note that this is a small airport with limited vehicles.
𝗛𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗹/𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴: Hampton INN in Pikeville
If you are a Bonvoy member like me, don’t waste your time trying to find a property at all within a 50mi radius of this race. And absolutely nothing along the 2 1/2 hr drive from the TRI airport (that didn’t take you out of the way) either. 😒
𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲: 7:30 AM start (7:05AM start Blackberry Mountain Half)
There was the Full Marathon that started @ 7AM
To sum up this race, it was HOT 🥵, it was HILLY ⛰️, and it was HUMID = it was HARD 🥴
What is unique about this race is that it carries on a feud tradition between the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s. That said, you have the choice of running either the Blackberry Mountain Half for the Hatfields (the 1st 13.1 miles of the Full) or the RiverRoad Half for the McCoys (the 2nd 13.1 miles of the Full). Either race choice I believe can be counted towards either Kentucky or West Virginia which is pretty cool!
I personally chose the RiverRoad Half for West Virginia blindly because well….., it sounded flat compared to the BlackBerry Mountain ⛰️ lol
Let’s just say, there’s NOTHING flat about either one, but thank God I didn’t choose BlackBerry Mountain. 😮‍💨
Apparently the river bridge this route is known for crossing was washed away recently in a flood, so the course was different than usual for those that have run it in the past.
Anyhow, if you’re afraid of dogs, definitely be aware that there are A LOT of barking dogs along this route; however, I only noticed one 🐕 unfenced and unchained.
But he sat in his yard watching runners go by wagging his tail and seemingly unbothered by it all lol 🤣
Also, this point-to-point race has no spectator support other than the volunteers at the fuel stations really, so it’s tricky if you’re along any stretch of the course alone because the back end goes off road at a point that’s not real obvious.
Honestly, speaking of fuel, as much as I wanted to complain in general with all the logistics, I think I actually enjoyed elements of this race, including the fresh fruit at every fuel station with the peeled oranges 🍊 , bananas 🍌 and watermelon 🍉 wedges! I ate at least 5 🖐🏽 wedges 🍉 on course and several more at the finish! They saved the day, cause BA-BAYY that heat was NO JOKE and I managed to run out of fuel in my camelback around mile 11, so I was on the struggle bus!! 🤤
All that said, I would definitely recommend this race (with a lil caution) ⚠️🙂

𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞: this was a turn and burn essentially since there was so much driving to get there and back so I didn’t do much!
Pikeville University was near my hotel, sitting HIGH upon the hill, so I did stop there for a few pictures before my 2hr drive back to the airport!
LOVED their school message:
“𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥. [2] 𝙈𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝” ~ 𝑷𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒎 121:1-2 KJV
State #41 ✅

Photo and Post credit Tonisia Billups