Runners, lace up your shoes to run in the second annual Coast Guard Marathon, March 2 - 4. You can join in-person at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, or virtually using the honor system to run on your own. In-person registration is open until Feb. 19 and virtual registration is available through March 3.
“The Coast Guard Marathon is the only U.S. Coast Guard sanctioned road race in the country. Now in our third year, we are beyond excited to have runners coming from 46 states and abroad, including South Africa, Canada, and even Ireland — many of whom are cadets, active, and retired Coast Guardsman,” said Corrina Ruffieux, Race director and the representative from Visit Elizabeth City.
“What’s especially inspiring are the personal stories we hear from people participating to honor their Coast Guardsmen friends and family,” added Ruffieux.
Founded as a way to bring awareness to the Coast Guard and its services, the Coast Guard Marathon has several ways to participate and compete in the races in-person or virtually, all requiring varying mileage distances. The options include:
- The full marathon (26.2 miles),
- The half marathon (13.1 miles)
- And the 5K (3.2 miles)
There is also the Semper Paratus Challenge, where you can select two races to complete.
The weekend of race activities will kick-off with a Health and Fitness Expo on March 2nd. There will also be lots of Coast Guard elements throughout the weekend including static displays, a flyover, a culinary demo, search and rescue (SAR) demo, and the Coast Guard Guardians Big Band performance.
The race welcomes all adaptive athletes with both competitive and exhibition divisions, following USA Track & Field (USATF) and Adaptive Track & Field USA (AFTUSA) guidelines. If you are interested in more information or want to register, visit the Coast Guard Marathon’s website.