Groundhog Day Marathon

Additional race information can be found at http://www.groundhogmarathon.com/.

What is the weather going to be like?
There are professionals who do weather predictions. We’re not them. (And Phil, out in Pennsylvania supposedly does weather predictions too. Grand Rapids Gus, however, doesn’t give a s…) THERE COULD BE A LOT OF SNOW ON THE COURSE.
I thought you were going to keep it on Groundhog Day. What’s the deal?
We took a poll. People thought it would be better to keep it on the weekend. So we’re keeping it on the weekend. Don’t say we never listened to you. Christmas has to stay on the 25th, but we’re trying to make this more convenient for our runners, so we’re moving it slightly off the 2nd some years.
Is this a Boston Qualifier?
It’s winter. It’s paved trails but there may be two feet of snow on them. But the course is certified. So, yes, if you can finish in a BQ time it’s a Boston Qualifier.
Will there be finishers’ medals and shirts?
This marathon is managed by professionals. We’ll have Gatorade and water too.
Will there mile markers and aid stations on the course?
There are 4 mile markers on the course. It’s 4.4 miles long, so putting more than that would just be silly. There are two aid stations.
Can we wear costumes?
We’re not going to discourage it. You can run naked for all we care.
Will there be a live groundhog?
Maybe. Maybe some dead ones too. Then there’s the groundhog puppet that Don uses to flirt with girls.
Is this a walker friendly race?
Walker friendly, yes. But there’s no early start available. So walk fast please before we all freeze while waiting for you.
Where’s the course map?
There's a link below for that. THERE COULD BE A LOT OF SNOW ON THE COURSE.
Where will the parking be?
There’s a bunch of parking on site. Carpooling is advised just to keep the congestion down. We’re at The Meadows now, not where we used to be.
If I don't show up for the race, can I still get my hoodie
Maybe. But you'll have to pick it up. We try not to have any leftover when we're done, so don't plan on it. Also, they cost about $7.50 to mail, so we're not really crazy about doing that.

Click the icon below to download the attached PDF.

Here's the course map

AID STATIONS Aid stations are at about .2 miles and 2.4 miles on the loop. A little extra at the Start/Finish just in case. Water and Gatorade, then a little bit of food (pretzels, cookies). We aren’t supplying any energy gel, so bring your supply or pick some up from Striders at the race site. And DON’T THROW STUFF ON THE TRAIL! (gel packets, cups, etc.) it’s winter and we’ll never find them to pick up in the snow.

AWARDS Overall winners (Male & Female) in the full and half get an amazing piece of Groundhog art by local chainsaw artist Jack Eppinga. Other than that, coffee mugs for age group awards (3 deep) and of course, finisher medals for all three events. FIVE YEAR AGE GROUPS.

COOLEST GROUNDHOG CONTEST We’ll be picking the best dressed Groundhog at 7:30 a.m. on race morning and reward that person with a little bit of extra swag.

CHALLENGE MEDAL Do one of the events at the Grand Rapids Marathon in the fall and one of he events at the following Groundhog Day Marathon and get a gigantic Grand Rapids Marathon Challenge medal. They're freakin' huge! 

COURSE  Yes, we already talked about that. NO, the course won’t be free of snow unless Mother Nature (or some other mother…) deems it so. If it’s really bad we’ll actually groom it so that it’s not as bad as it was in 2014 just to keep people from jumping all over Marathon Don’s back.

HEADLAMPS The Moonlight event on Friday night, (the 1/6 marathon) HEADLAMPS ARE REQUIRED. Striders will be on site with headlamps for sale prior to the event, but please come prepared. (Dude! In 2017 we actually saw the moon!!)

HOODIES To guarantee a hoodie size will be available on race day, please get registered ASAP. Everyone will get the swag, but we don’t wish to have tons of them left over. If you sign up on race day, you’ll have to wait until after the full and half start to make sure we have the right size for you. If we run out, we’ll get you one afterwards. (Oh–there are no XS hoodies)

PACKET PICKUP is at Striders on Chicago Drive in Grandville, Thursday night before the race from 5-8PM, and at the race site (1400 Maynard) from 4:30PM – 7:30PM on Friday night and then beginning at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. 

PARKING The race venue may be limited with parking, but we have LOTS more than in previous years. Carpooling is recommended if you can.

START TIMES 6:30PM Friday for the 1/6 marathon.  8:00AM Saturday for the full and half marathon.

SWAG Hoodie for each runner in the 1/6, Full, and Half. For those running the 1/6 on Friday, then the full or half on Saturday, you’ll get a hoodie and an embroidered stocking cap. Finisher medals for all 1/6 marathon, marathon and half marathon finishers.

SWAG SHOP We'll have old sweatshirts, and various merchandise on sale CASH ONLY. Bring a few bucks.

SWITCHING RACES It is allowable to switch from the full to the half (or vice versa if you’re feeling really frisky) but you need to make sure the timers from Classic Race Management know that BEFORE the race. Switching mid-race isn’t cool, but if you happen to do that, you better go up to Jeff or Joe from Classic and talk REAL NICE to him, and maybe he’ll include you in the results anyway. (We have a lot of people get on the course and decide to switch to the half marathon. We can work with that!)

WAVE START Yeah, we tried to do a wave start, but you people seemed content to start at your leisure so to heck with that idea. Competitive runners, be at the starting line on time, and we’ll send you off. After that, the “less focused” runners can cross the starting line–heck, we have chip timing anyway, so you’ll get an accurate time regardless. NOTE: PLEASE START IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF MINUTES. DON’T SIT IN THE TENT HANGING OUT! IT’S NOT GOING TO GET ANY WARMER IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES.