Saturday, September 21, 2024 • Havre de Grace, MD • Course Map
You’ll get your chance to run through one of the nation’s “best small towns to visit,” according to Smithsonian Magazine, at the all-new Susquehanna River Running Festival, which follows a point-to-point route that features a pair of bridge crossings over the river it’s named for, and plentiful scenic views of the river and the parks along it throughout the course.
The race, which makes its 7th annual running this year, starts in the small Maryland shore town of Havre de Grace, which has a history that dates all the way back to the nation’s founding — in fact, historical figures from General Lafayette to George Washington spent time here back during the Revolutionary War.
From the starting line downtown at the corner of Lafayette Street and Union Avenue, the race heads north through town, taking you past the waterfront as you make your way up past McLhinney Park and the Susquehanna Museum at the Lock House, which tells the story of the town’s canal system and how it worked.
Then you’ll head onto the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge, which will carry runners across the Susquehanna, a 464-mile-long river that stretches from its source in New York all the way to the Chesapeake Bay.
Once across the river, you’ll run a roundabout stretch around Perry Point, running through Susquehanna Point and Perryville Park before heading back to the bridge, which you’ll cross again to go back into Havre de Grace.
Then, the course heads back along the waterfront again, past the Concord Point Lighthouse (pictured below) to the race finish line, in front of Millard Tydings Memorial Park.
All net proceeds go to the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund, Inc., a local 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization which awards $54,000 annually to local scholar-athletes.
The Concord Point lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Md. (Photo by Wikimedia)
Race Weather & Climate
Nestled along the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay in eastern Maryland, about 38 miles northeast of Baltimore, Havre de Grace typically sees its wettest month of the year in September (just shy of 4 1/2 inches for the month) and temperatures between the upper 50s and the upper 70s.
- Sept. 21 average low temp: 58ºF
- Sept. 21 average high temp: 73ºF
Course Map
See the race route map for the Susquehanna River Running Festival Half Marathon here.
Starting Time
- 8:00 AM – half marathon
- 8:10 AM – 5K
- 8:30 AM – 10K
Course Time Limit
3 hours, 5 minutes
Fees
- $85 and up – half marathon
- $65 and up – 10K
- $30 and up – 5K
Registration
To reserve your spot in the 2024 running of Havre de Grace’s Susquehanna River Running Festival Half Marathon, Relay or 5K, register online at RunSignUp.com here.
Official Race Website
Comments
Ever run in the Susquehanna River Running Festival Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, as well as anything you learned about the race that you think other runners/walkers should know.
