Groundhog Day Marathon

AID STATIONS Aid stations are at about 1 mile and at the Start/Finish (approx 2.18 miles) on the loop. Water and Gatorade.  Oreos & Peanut butter filled pretzels. We aren’t supplying any energy gel, so bring your supply or pick some up from Striders. 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. UPDATE ON AID STATIONS: The one on the course at the 1 mile mark is staffed by swimmers, led by Eric Hansen. These are my swim peeps. Eric organizes the Mackinac Bridge Swim. We make a contribution for them supporting First Responders. The second aid station, at the start/finish is staffed by Ys Guys (a bunch of YMCA regulars). For them., we make a contribution to Kids Food Basket. There are a couple other UNOFFICIAL aid stations, one manned by Jake and Jeff, providing some adult beverages, and the other (Bad Ideas Multisport?) out about a half mile or so on the course which was serving pickle-backs. 

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. If you have any chance whatsoever of winning the overall race, start at the front so we don't have any confusion on gun vs. chip time. (We're basing all awards on CHIP TIME.) 

OVERALL AWARDS i.e. the really cool Groundhog Trophies, chip time due to the crowded starting area.  If you have any chance whatsoever of winning the overall race, start at the front so we don't have any confusion on gun vs. chip time. (We're basing all awards on CHIP TIME.)  All Age Group awards will be based on CHIP TIME, since the narrow starting area is hard to get everyone who's fast right up by the starting line.

COOLEST GROUNDHOG CONTEST We’ll be picking the best dressed Groundhog and reward that person with a little bit of extra swag.

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. Because of flooding on part of the course in 2024, we changed the course to be 12 loops instead of 6. Most people liked that. Maybe not the timing guys.

EARLY START: If you're going to be on the course after 3pm, start at 7 for the early start OR start at 6 and run your own stopwatch. Report to the Classic Race table in the tent before you start and when you finish--we'll still include you in the official results. Timing mats will be on for the 7am start.

EVERY YEAR RUNNERS
Matt Frazier
Brian Steinberg
Mark Pearson
Isaac Newhof
Jessica Molloy years 1-12. Always with us...
Linda vanSteinvoorn

HEADLAMPS The Moonlight event on Friday night, (the 1/6 marathon) HEADLAMPS ARE REQUIRED. Bring yours from home. We're not sure that anyone will be around to sell you one on site. (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)

HOTELS We don't have many hotel relationships, but Country Inn & Suites, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson Grand Rapids East, 3251 Deposit Drive NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 has a deal going for us. CLICK.  The rooms that are available for reserving are our standard 1 king with sofa bed, and standard 2 queen bedroom. The guests have until Tuesday, January 20th to reserve their rooms. The cut-off date to reserve these guestrooms is on Tuesday, January 20th.

PACKET PICKUP WE'LL HAVE PACKETS AVAILABLE AT 1170 OAKBURN AVE SE, Grand Rapids (Don's house) THURSDAY FROM 5 TO 8. YOU ALSO MIGHT GET A CHANCE TO HELP US LOAD THE U-HAUL. :-) 
On Friday, at the race site (1400 Maynard) from 4:30PM – 7:30PM 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 the early 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. Early start on Saturday at 7:00AM

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. (Cash bribes might help.) Switching mid-race isn’t cool, but if you happen to do that, you better go up to Jeff from Classic and talk REAL NICE to him, and maybe he’ll include you in the results anyway. (We have a few 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. If you have any chance whatsoever of winning the overall race, start at the front so we don't have any confusion on gun vs. chip time. (We're basing all awards on CHIP TIME.)  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.

Where is this event?
It's in the United States. Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's not the event in Telford, England. That one is HERE But our friends from across the pond are welcome to join us. Just think--run two Groundhog Marathons in the same year. Who does that???

What is the weather going to be like?
There are professionals who do weather predictions. We’re not them. (And Punxsutawney 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. (Come to think of it, I think the poll was more among staff members who couldn't stay awake for the Super Bowl when we held it on Sunday a couple times.)

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?
We're freaking professionals! We’ll have Gatorade and water and Portajohns too. 

Will there mile markers and aid stations on the course?
There are 2 mile markers on the course. It’s 2.18 miles long, so putting more than that would just be silly. There are aid stations at 1 mile and at the finish line.

Can we wear costumes?
We’re not going to discourage it. You can run naked for all we care, but that would be silly.

Will there be a live groundhog?
Maybe. We've certainly seen groundhogs on the course before, but perhaps not in the middle of winter. Then there’s the groundhog puppet that Don uses to mess with people.

Is this a walker friendly race?
Walker friendly, yes. (The event is actually held in Walker, incidentally.) Please walk fast so we don't all freeze while waiting for you. If you're going to be on the course after 3pm, start at 6 or 7 and run your own stopwatch. Report to the Classic Race table in the tent before you start and when you finish--we'll still include you in the official results.)

Are past results available?
Yes. Past Years Results 

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 Secchia Meadows. If we run out of parking there, we'll open the parking lot on the other side of Maynard.

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. 

Is it OK if I throw trash on the trail?
NO! It's winter. It's really hard to find stuff in the snow. That's why we have cookies and peanut butter filled pretzels instead of gel packs at the aid station. Even if you bring your mom along to pick up after you, it's still NOT OK!

Click the icon below to download the attached PDF.

Course map. Certified course. New course starts 2025, good through 2034.

If you use this, make sure you send your email address along with your entry because we're just going to send you a code so you can enter your own entry