The Nantucket Half Marathon will host the Third Annual First Responder Challenge on Sunday, October 11, 2026 at Bartlett’s Farm, 33 Bartlett’s Farm Road Nantucket.  Our Island First Responders will compete for the vaunted Scallop Cup!  We are inviting five teams this year to compete, the Nantucket Police Department, Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Brant Point Coast Guard Station,  Nantucket Fire Department, and the Massachusetts State Police and Commonwealth Affiliates.  The teams will run the Nantucket Half Marathon and an award will be presented to the first and second place teams.  You will need a minimum of five runners in the half marathon to qualify for the Scallop Cup.  We provided  generous gift certificates to the top two teams at Island Kitchen for the teams.  If you have fewer than the team minimum we still will provide a discounted entry.  The team will however not be eligible for the Scallop Cup or the prizes.   

In addition, we will provide special entries for those competing in the First Responder Challenge with a registration code.  The registration code will be a discounted entry that is in line with the Town of Nantucket ethic policy.  Your team participants must be members of your organization.  The Challenge brings a lot of comradery and spirit among the teams. The Coast Guard team won the cup for the past two years but the NPD had a strong showing.

Team Scoring:  The scoring to determine the winning team will be as follows.  Age group placement will be added together and then averaged over the number of runners.  For example a first place age group finish will be a 1 and third place 3.  The scores will be combined and divided by the number of team members for a numerical average.  This scoring results in everyone contributing to the final team result.  The winning team will receive a $350 gift certificate to Island Kitchen and the runner-up team will get a $200 gift certificate to Island Kitchen.