Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon & 5K

Sunday, September 5, 2021 • Virginia Beach, VA • Course Map

Fast and flat and featuring a running finish along this coastal Virginia city’s beachfront boardwalk, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon is one of the country’s most popular races of its kind, typically drawing a field of more than 10,000 runners every year for its annual Labor Day weekend running.

While they’re out on the course, runners encounter local bands playing from stages set up throughout the race, from the starting line on 14th Street and Pacific Avenue all the way down to Camp Pendleton and out to the Oceanfront Boardwalk, where the finish line lies.

Largely because it’s run along a coastal route, this point-to-point is mostly fast and flat, from the starting line all the way through the middle of the course to the finish.

From the starting line at 14th Street and Pacific Avenue, the race takes runners straight up Pacific Avenue, where runners head north for a long straightaway within just a couple blocks of the nearby beach. At the turnaround point, runners turn right onto Atlantic Avenue, even closer to the beach, and continue south.

This portion of the race course follows Atlantic Avenue as it turns into General Booth Boulevard, which runners follow southward all the way down to the Camp Pendleton military base.

After making the turn at Prosperity Road and heading back northward along Prosperity toward Birdneck Road — and past the trees and green fairways of Red Wing Lake Golf Course on the right — runners follow the course as its winds through several twists and turns through the base, exiting back onto General Booth Boulevard for the run back north toward the beach.

Runners follow this stretch of the course all the way up to the intersection with 14th Street, passing by the waters of Virginia Beach’s Lake Rudee and Lake Holly on the left along the way. The course turns quickly onto 14th and then proceeds for just one block before turning right again onto Atlantic Avenue.

Runners follow it until it dead ends near the Rudee Inlet and turns around again, and then heads along the boardwalk for the final stretch toward the finish line, where race organizers add there will be plenty of beer and other refreshments awaiting the runners.

The Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon finisher's medal from 2010. (Photo by Elizabeth K/flickr)

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon finisher’s medal from 2010. (Photo by Elizabeth K/flickr)

The race will have a course time limit of 4 hours, which means that runners will need to finish the race within the time limit or leave the course. (Note that this means from their personal chip time, not 4 hours from the starting gun time.)

Race Weather & Climate

Set along the Atlantic coastline in the southeast corner of the state, about a two-hour drive from Richmond, the city of Virginia Beach typically sees September temperatures between 65°F and 80°F, while also seeing some of its heaviest rainfall of the year.

On race day (Sept. 5), the average low is 68°F and the average high is 83°F.

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

6:30 AM

Fees

  • $70 for the half marathon
  • $35 for the 5K
  • $32 for the 1 mile
  • price subject to additional increases as the race grows closer

Registration

To reserve your spot in the late summer 2021 running of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon, 1-Mile or 5K race, register online at Active.com here.

Official Race Website

runrocknroll.com

Comments

Ever run in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.

See more races in: September, Virginia, Rock ‘n’ Roll Series

8 comments… add one
  • Hali Shockey August 28, 2019, 3:30 pm

    I sent an email asking a question and got no reply. I also have received no information on the upcoming race. This is very unusual. I was wondering if there is an issue?

    Thank you

    Reply
  • Amy S Scully April 26, 2019, 9:12 pm

    Attention race director and staff for this year’s VA beach half marathon labor day weekend 2019. Please be advised that I was robbed of my number last year from an ex boyfriend. The staff did not ask for ID like they usual do. They gave him my number. He made up a story that I was sick and I attended expo and had to get another number. Please have your staff be more attentive and ask for ID. I will be there again and don’t want this happening again. Please and thank you. Amy Scully

    Reply
  • Jamie Ferguson April 17, 2019, 1:30 pm

    I work for fort lee and I was wondering if you would like to work with us and do some advertising with us.

    Reply
  • Ben Leach September 16, 2018, 3:23 pm

    Iran in the Virginia Beach Rock & Roll half marathon 2018. My bib number was 6786. I have not gotten any info on photos from the race. Please advise.

    Thank you!

    Reply
  • Amy Swofford August 2, 2017, 12:48 am

    We would love to host a registration site for your marathons in Virginia Beach. We would be willing to throw in swag in registration bags and donate some prizes. Please let me know if you are interested and we can set this up.
    Amy Swofford
    Assistant manager
    Keagan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant
    757-961-4432

    Reply
  • Leon March 31, 2017, 10:15 pm

    Is the actual run starting at 7 AM or is everyone’s just getting together at that time? Thanks!

    Reply
  • judith logan-white September 1, 2016, 12:46 pm

    I need someone to contact me regarding a shipment from the Philadlephia marathon that was recieved at the Expo. We are not attending the Expo and need to connect with your decorator to have our items shipped back to us. Please contact me at 215-683-2072. Thank you much!

    Reply
  • DiAngelo Brooks September 6, 2015, 10:19 am

    I would like to receive information about the 2016 marathon.

    Thank you

    Reply

Leave a Comment

MENU