Just when you thought the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon couldn’t get any harder…Mother Nature shows her devious side and chooses to raise the water level of the Roanoke River.

What this means is that a section of the course (full marathon miles 22.25-25, half miles 9-11) are in accessible due to the tiny detail of needing to cross a low water bridge. As a result, this two mile section is being re-routed.

If you look at the revised Course Map, you will see the new route (we call Flood Route) highlighted in purple. Everything will be well marked and course marshals will be there to keep you on course. In looking at the map you will notice two some-what confusing areas (noted on the map as Figure 8 Turns). Essentially these turns are designed to get you from one traffic side of a main road to the other. You will exit the main road, loop under the bridge, and then get back on the same main road, but in the opposite travel lane. With regards to the first Figure 8 Turn…after you’ve cross under the bridge you will hop a curb and cross through 10 feet of grass, then back onto pavement…please be careful hopping the curb.

This route change does not affect team relay transitions – it only affects the route Leg 5 runs.

Please stop by our Runner Info table at Friday’s registration to talk about the route change in more detail.

So, why does this make the BRM more difficult? Well, this route change adds about 206 feet of elevation change to both the full and half courses. The full marathon will now be 7,440′ of elevation change and the half will be 2,734′ of elevation change.