Jan 3, 2026
8:00 AM
Trail
Visit race website for current race fees.
Carolina Beach
100-500
Challenging
Located on the heart of North Carolina’s Pleasure Island, the Carolina Beach State Park Trail Half Marathon & 5K brings a fast, flat, and beautiful course to runners seeking personal records or qualification for future races.
The half marathon course begins in downtown Carolina Beach along Old Dow Road at the American Legion. From there, runners head down Old Dow Road and into Carolina Beach State Park, where they’ll stay for the bulk of the course.
Much of the course is run along single track trails, taking runners along the shore of Cape Fear River and through the populated and remote areas of the park. The course takes runners roughly along the western and southern perimeter of the park after the first couple of miles, while the second half of the course cuts through the park’s remote middle and retraces some of the miles along the shore before taking the northern border of the park to the finish line.
The time limit for the half marathon is 3 hours, 30 minutes, or 16 minutes per mile.
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