Sunday, November 19, 2023 • Birmingham, AL • Course Map
A mostly flat – with a few hills sprinkled in – run awaits at Birmingham’s annual Magic City Half Marathon & 5K, which in its inaugural year went by the name of the Ruben Studdard Half Marathon, in honor of the former “American Idol” winner who got the race started back in 2011.
Today it’s part of an event-filled weekend that also features a fitness festival and a “Linn Park Lap” short run for families on the day of the race.
Both the Magic City Half Marathon and the 5K take runners through (mostly) flat streets of Birmingham, Ala., which got its nickname the “Magic City” thanks to its rapid industrialization in the first half of the 20th century, when it grew from a sleepy southern city into an iron and later a steel powerhouse, and was alongside Atlanta of the South’s most important industrial centers.
Runners in this November’s half marathon — 2023 marks the event’s 11th annual running, and is open to maximum of 1,500 entrants — follow an out-and-back course that starts and finishes at Birmingham’s Regions Field, on First Avenue South. From there, runners head east, in the direction of Avondale Park
Once the site for the annual “Iron Bowl” football game between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn University Tigers, Regions Field today is the home field for the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Blazers.
Runners make their way away from the aging 71,000-seat stadium down First Avenue South all the way to 42nd Street South. Once there, they turn left again onto Fifth Avenue South, which takes runners past Avondale Park.
The course continues along Fifth Avenue South until reaching the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus, where runners will weave their way around the various schools therein before making their way back to the stadium.
The course isn’t done yet, though — there’s a second loop for the half marathoners that repeats the stretches along First and Fifth Avenues, finishing back at Regions Field.
Race Weather & Climate
Located in central Alabama, about 250 miles northeast of Mobile and roughly 145 miles west of Atlanta, Ga., Birmingham typically sees November temperatures that average between 42°F and 65°F, while precipitation amounts average just over 4.6 inches for the month, making November the city’s sixth-wettest month of the year.
On race day (Nov. 19), the average low is 41ºF and the average high is 63ºF.
Magic City Half Marathon Past Results
- 2022 Half Marathon Results
- 2021 Half Marathon Results
- 2019 Half Marathon Results
- 2018 Half Marathon Results
Magic City Half Marathon Course Map
See the race route map for the half marathon here.
Starting Time
- 8:00 AM – half marathon
- 8:10 AM – 5K
Fees
- $90 – $125 for the half marathon
- $25 – $45 for the 5K
Magic City Half Marathon Registration
To reserve your spot in the 2023 running of the Magic City Half Marathon & 5K, register online at RunSignUp.com here.
