'The fastest marathon course in N.C.'

A new marathon launching in Cary next year will include large portions of the American Tobacco Trail and is designed "to give runners the best opportunity possible to qualify for the Boston Marathon."

Race committee officials say the course for the Tobacco Road Marathon -- scheduled for Sunday, March 21, 2010 -- is largely devoid of hills; they also boast that the average temperature for that date is a runner-friendly 52 degrees.

"We believe we have put together the fastest course in North Carolina," says Tobacco Road Marathon Association co-chief Kazem Yahyapour, who co-founded Raleigh's City of Oaks Marathon.

Eighteen miles of the new marathon's course traverse the American Tobacco Trail, and the half-marathon course covers seven miles of it. Runners will start from the USA Baseball/Thomas Brooks Park complex in Cary.

Plans call for proceeds to go to the Wounded Warrior Project, the American Heart Association and the Triangle Rails to Trails Conservancy.

More details about the event are at the race Web site. You can also become a friend of the Tobacco Road Marathon on Facebook.