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The top overall finisher, Tim Surface, 29, a Raleigh Web designer and volunteer cross-country coach for North Raleigh Christian Academy, praised the race. It was his second marathon. "This was an awesome event," Surface said. "It was well-organized, the course was well-marked and there were spectators all over the place. ... I think it's just going to get better from here on out."

Anne Kuiken-Popek, 39, of Greensboro, cross-country coach for Ragsdale High School, finished second in the women's division to her twin sister, Gloria Kuiken-Iverson of Lincolnwood, Ill. She said she found this, her fifth marathon, challenging because of the hills and the mix of roads and gravel paths.

"It's a pretty good race," she said. "It's a small marathon, which I like better than the big ones. ... It's not a real fast course, which is OK if you're a -- I hate to say -- an older runner like myself who tends to like these courses better because it slows everybody down."

But, as with any inaugural event, there was room for improvement.

Mecca Brophy, general manager of the Cafe Carolina & Bakery in Cameron Village, said she was grateful for the boost in business but wished the organizers had been more accurate with their estimates of when runners would pass certain points in the race.

"I got papers that said 8:40, but I saw runners going by at 7:40," she said. "I wish I had known. I would have opened up earlier. As it was, I was standing there making waffle batter, and I saw them go by."

Fans trying to get to the Carolina Hurricanes' open practice for season-ticket holders were redirected around the RBC Center to the Westchase entrance off Blue Ridge Road because the marathon took runners on a lap around the arena. Arena general manager Dave Olsen said the traffic jam was the result of a miscommunication between marathon planners and arena officials.

There also were some minor issues with parking, organizer Micheels said.

"But nobody took a wrong turn, nobody died," he said. "It was pretty darn good. It went great, and we're definitely doing it next year."

(Staff writers Lorenzo Perez and Luke DeCock contributed to this report.)

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