Sunday, September 11, 2016 • Erie, PA • Course Map
With the perfect set up for first-time and beginning marathoners and half-marathoners — as well as the perfect opportunity for competitive runners to reach personal record times — the race course for the Erie Marathon & Half Marathon is described by its organizers as “quite possibly the flattest course in the country.”
The 13.1-mile course for the half-marathon is a single loop around Presque Isle State Park, while full marathoners run this loop twice. More than 2,100 runners and walkers crossed the finish line in all three races in 2013, including just over 1,100 finishers in the half marathon alone.
Both runners and walkers are welcome at all of the races for this event, which takes participants on a tour of Presque Isle State Park, a 3,200-acre sandy peninsula that reaches out from the mainland into Lake Erie and offers a wealth of beach recreational activities, from swimming, fishing and boating on the water to hiking, running, biking and in-line skating on the island’s roads and trails.
The starting and finish line for this out-and-back loop course lies at the park’s Rotary Pavilion area, which lies roughly three miles from the entrance to the park. From there, runners and racewalkers follow the course first southward along the shoreline toward the park entrance, where they make the turn at the mile 3 marker and then head back into the island along the Presque Isle Bay.
The route continues in a counter-clockwise direction along the shoreline of the bay, taking participants past the island’s Perry Monument and Sunset Point on the way around back to the finish line at the pavilion. Along the way, participants are treated to scenic views of the park’s beaches along Lake Erie as well as its 15 miles of trails for hikers, bicyclists and cross-country skiers.
At the 2013 race, organizers reported that more than a quarter of the race entrants were runners in their 40s, while 42 states were represented among the field. Nearly a third of those who finish the full marathon here each year qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Race Weather & Climate
Located along the Pennsylvania shores of Lake Erie, just over a two-hour drive north from Pittsburgh, Erie typically experiences mild to moderately warm weather in the late summer and early fall, and September brings the area’s wettest weather of the year on average.
On race day (Sept. 11), the average low is 57ºF and the average high is 74ºF.
Course Map
See the race route map for the Erie Half Marathon at Presque Isle here.
Starting Time
7:00 AM – full marathon
7:30 AM – half marathon
Fees
$40 for the half marathon, if registered by June 1, 2014
$55 between June 2 – August 1
$65 between Aug. 2 – September 1
$75 on Sept. 13
$85 on the day of the race
Registration
To reserve your spot in the late summer 2014 running of the Erie Marathon, Half Marathon or 5K, register online at RunSignUp.com.
Official Race Website
www.eriemarathon.org
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