Newburyport Half Marathon & Relay

The race takes runners through one small part of what is known as the Massachusetts North Shore, the string of towns and cities along the coastal area between Boston and New Hampshire, which is known for the stark beauty of its rocky coastline and beaches as well as its distinct culture and history.
Along the North Shore lies the town of Salem, Mass., where the infamous Salem Witch Trials were held back in the late 1690s, and then further north lies Gloucester, which served as the setting for Sebastian Junger’s 1997 nonfiction book The Perfect Storm.
In addition to the natural beauty of the coastline, Newburyport is famous for its walkable city streets, retail shops and inns, and it’s these areas that runners will trek through on the out-and-back loop route for the half marathon, which starts and finishes near the city’s Cashman Park. A small, family-friendly waterfront park that lies along the Merrimack River, Cashman is also where the finish line lies overlooking the river, almost literally a stone’s throw from the starting line.
From the starting line in front of the park on Merrimac Street, runners then head out on what is basically a counter-clockwise loop through the city, heading first in the direction of Moseley Pines Park and Maudslay State Park, which is perhaps most famous as the former Moseley family estate and today is home to gardens, meadows and woods filled with tall pines as well as azaleas and rhododendrons that bloom in the spring.
Runners will make their way along the park’s eastern edge, along Pine Hill Road and Hoyts Lane, before turning off onto Main Street and then onto Turkey Hill Road.