Again this year, participants in the Yarmouth Marathon, which will be held Sunday, June 10, have a variety of distances from which to choose, from five kilometres to the full marathon (42.195 km).
In between those two, there’s a 10K and a half marathon. Another option is the marathon relay, where participants team up with at least one other person to cover the full marathon route.
This is the eighth year for the Yarmouth event. For the first six years – from 2011 until 2016 – the race was held in the latter part of August, but last year it was moved to June.
There were a few reasons for the decision to make the Yarmouth Marathon a late-spring event rather than a late-summer one, said race director Bobby Lou Reardon, and the feedback about the change was good.
“A lot of runners certainly preferred it,” she said.
That the summertime race schedule is pretty busy was one consideration in moving the Yarmouth event to June, she said.
Weather was another factor that went into the decision, given what things can be like towards the end of August.
“We did it for a number of years (in late summer), but it’s a tough time of year,” Reardon said. “The weather tends to get into hurricane season. We had some really hot runs. We had some high winds.”
For runners doing the full marathon, the Yarmouth race is a chance to try to qualify for Boston. Yarmouth organizers unveiled a new marathon route last year.
The race still begins on Main Street in the north end of town and the finish is still at NSCC Burridge.
This will be the third year for the marathon relay, which Reardon says is a nice way for people to take part. Teams can be big or small and they get to choose how they want to divvy up the distance among members. No individual times are kept for relay runners, just a finishing time for their team.
The Yarmouth Marathon continues to be a fundraiser in support of local kidney care services. This is a special cause for Reardon, who lost her mother to kidney disease 14 years ago.
Reardon says she’s grateful to all those – including businesses – who have supported the race over the years in one way or another. Many of the people who help put on the event have been involved from the beginning, she said.
“We have people that have volunteered every year at this race since it started,” she said.
Registration info:
Race support for the Yarmouth Marathon includes water stations and portable toilets, and there will be a post-race meal, prizes and awards.
The entry fees:
--5K: $20 (or $10 for those 12-and-under)
--10K ($35)
--Half marathon ($50)
--Full marathon ($60)
--Marathon relay ($30 per person)
Pre-registration can be done online at Race Roster or in person at Runner’s Attic on Main Street in Yarmouth. The deadline to register in advance is June 8 at 5 p.m.
Participants who miss the pre-registration deadline can still register on race day, June 10, between 6:45 and 7:45 a.m.
