We had a fantastic CRC group trip to Wrightsville Beach this past weekend for the 10th Annual Marathon Madness. Many of you know when you travel for a big race, there are so many details to plan for including: travel to your destination, finding the right hotel at the right price at the the right location, getting to the expo on time to pick up your bib, finding the right restaurant and eating early enough so you can get to bed, having breakfast early enough before the race, getting to the start line on time, your bag drop, and afterwards - the post race festivities. It was so nice to not worry about any of the race logistics. Destination Marathons took care of every meticulous detail of our trip AND even things you don't normally think of. They took all the worries away. All you had to do was focus on your race.

The trip started off Friday with luxury bus accommodations from Monroe to Wilmington. We didn't have to worry about our cars because the parking lot had 24 hour security. We arrived on the bus and we were immediately greeted by Mark Janik, Owner and Bethany Salisbury, Marketing Director. We were treated with a boxed lunch. The bus was also stocked with water, lemonade, sodas, and snacks. The next 4 hours we enjoyed the company of others and also Mark's Name That Tune game

 while a professional driver took care of the driving. The bus took us straight to the race expo on the UNCW campus. Berkley Benton, Operations Director, met us at the expo and provided us with our personal race bibs so we didn't have to wait in line for packet pickup. Our group spent the next 30 minutes walking through the expo. When it was almost time to leave, Berkley sent each of us a text message with a reminder. By the way, the text messages were a really nice feature. We were reminded about every single detail of our agenda throughout the weekend. After the expo, the bus took us to our hotel at the Homewood Suites - beautiful accommodations conveniently located a few miles from the start and the finish. The hotel was also on the race route at mile 9 on the half marathon. When we arrived at the hotel, Mark had our keys ready so we didn't have to wait in line. Once we put our bags up in our room we could start dinner at 6pm. Destination Marathons had arranged a catered pasta buffet in the hotel's private dining room complete with salad, two kinds of pastas and sauces, chicken and meatballs, and topped off with cookies for desert. The meal hit the spot and it allowed you plenty of time to get to bed early. In our room we found a nice welcome bag with water, snacks, and a nice hand written thank you note from Mark. 

The Half Marathon and Marathon start was scheduled for Saturday at 640am. The hotel had bagels and bananas ready for us at 430am and the bus was scheduled for a 530am departure. The bus took us straight to the start line around 545am which allowed us plenty of time to take of last minute race preparations. We didn't have to worry about checking our race gear. We left our gear bags on the bus, and they were conveniently taken straight to the finish line where they were waiting for us at the Destination Marathon booth right after we finished. Afterwards we cheered our friends to the finish and enjoyed complimentary Dogfish beer all morning long. Soon afterwards the bus took us back the hotel where we showered, walked down to the Fox and the Hound, and celebrated our achievements with burgers and more beer. Later in the afternoon we went to the official post race party at Waterman's Brewery where we enjoyed - you guessed it- more beer - and a dinner buffet. We watched the UNC Duke game and then Race Director Tom Clifford presented awards and door prizes. After the party many of us ventured back to the hotel and enjoyed the rest of the night at the hotel hot tub listening to Seago stories. (I can't say anymore)

Sunday morning a few of us did wake up early for a few recovery miles. We enjoyed breakfast and left Wilmington at 10am. We safely arrived back to our cars at 115pm. 

It was fun filled, worry free weekend with lots of racing achievements. Many of us set personal PRs and even some of us made the podium. I give a lot of credit to Destination Marathons. They really went out of their way to take care of every little detail and let you focus on your race. I look forward to future CRC group races with them and I hope you're able to join us next time.

Chad Champion

President, Charlotte Running Club