Cannonball Run Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K

Saturday, October 14, 2023 • Greensboro, NC • Course Map

The serene, peaceful, tree-lined roads that wind through Greensboro Country Park serve as the first couple and last couple of miles for the annual Cannonball Run Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K Run/Walk, which is set for its 16th annual running this fall.

Why the name for the race? It’s inspired no doubt by the 1981 movie The Cannonball Run that starred Burt Reynolds, Dom Deluise and Roger Moore, and was itself inspired by the infamous Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a real — if not exactly legal — race that was devised by an editor for Car & Driver magazine in the early 1970s.

As legend has it, the race was run four times from the east coast to the west coast on interstate highways, largely as a protest to the stricter speed limits and traffic controls that were first introduced in those days.

Runners will follow an out-and-back course that starts and finishes in Greensboro Country Park, which plays host to running and cycling events nearly year-round.

The race starts on the park roads just south of the two lakes in the center of Country Park, and then heads out onto Orman Road and Lawndale Drive, the start of a long out-and-back stretch that winds through the residential neighborhoods near Lake Brandt.

Runners follow the course all through these neighborhoods — with turns on Regents Park Lane, Lake Brandt Road and Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway — and then follow a bridge that crosses over the lake toward Bur Mil Park and the lake’s shoreline.

Once runners reach the turnaround point at the end of Steepleton Colony Court, they’ll retrace their steps along the route they’ve just run, all the way back to Country Park for the race finish.

The scheduled starting times for the race are 8:00 AM for the full and half marathons, and runners and walkers will be able to sign up for the race on the morning of the event. For an extra challenge, runners can warm up with the 5K on Friday evening followed by the full or half marathon on Saturday morning.

Race Weather & Climate

Located between Winston-Salem and the Raleigh-Durham area in central North Carolina, about 90 miles northeast of Charlotte, Greensboro typically sees mild to moderately warm weather in October, which has brought record temperatures as low as 20°F (in 1962) and as high as 95°F (in 1954).

On race day (Oct. 14), the average low is 49ºF and the average high is 67ºF.

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Cannonball Run Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

8:00 AM – full marathon, half marathon

Fees

$60 – $85 for the half marathon
$80 – $100 for the full marathon
$30 – $40 for the 5K

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2023 running of Greensboro’s Cannonball Run Half Marathon, register online at RunSignup.com here .

Official Race Website

www.cannonballrunrace.com

Comments

Ever run in the Cannonball Run Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.

See more races in: October, North Carolina

1 comment… add one

Dorothy Sellers July 24, 2019, 4:45 pm

Can vendors set up? Culligan Water

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