Big Beach Marathon
Gulf Shores, AL
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 7K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Big Beach Marathon and Half Marathon take place Sunday, with the start and finish located beachside at the Hangout. Enjoy stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico and the beach. A gorgeous backdrop for your race weekend! In addition to Sunday’s Marathon and Half Marathon, the Safari 7K and … MORE
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So great I did it twice!
I love this race. It’s super fun, pretty scenery, great swag (the dolphin challenge was new for me this time). After party with lots of food and refreshments. Great race … MORE
I love this race. It’s super fun, pretty scenery, great swag (the dolphin challenge was new for me this time). After party with lots of food and refreshments. Great race and production!
Fun lil warm up
Great lil 7k- 3rd in age/gender! I loved that I got a little plaque! The medal was really cute, crowd support was also great. Glad I got to do it! … MORE
Great lil 7k- 3rd in age/gender! I loved that I got a little plaque! The medal was really cute, crowd support was also great. Glad I got to do it!
Practically perfect!
This was one of the best half marathons I've done. I would only make one change, and that is that they NEED a wave start. They ran the marathoners and … MORE
This was one of the best half marathons I’ve done. I would only make one change, and that is that they NEED a wave start. They ran the marathoners and half marathoners all together in one huge start. Around mile 2, the course goes from street running to the pedestrian/bike path which can comfortably fit three people across. I was stuck in a mass of people and it took a couple of miles for it to thin out so I could run/walk a pace that was fun for me. Even the pacers were running side-by-side and there just wasn’t room to get around folks.
The morning started with a spectacular sunrise about 45 minutes before the start. The course was pretty and the long boardwalk in the second half was a highlight. The afterparty was the best, with chicken, pasta, garlic bread and cookies for all participants. Lots of beer. A live band. Plenty of sunshine or shade, and soft white sand.
Serene run in a state park
I enjoyed this race. The email communication beforehand was great, the race team did a wonderful job of clearing all the snow and icy spots from the course in the … MORE
I enjoyed this race. The email communication beforehand was great, the race team did a wonderful job of clearing all the snow and icy spots from the course in the days preceding the run, and it was so nice to be inside the Hangout to wait in the warmth before lining up to start! There were enough bathrooms at the start/finish area but on the course there were not many at all. It was also quite crowded with the half marathoners and marathoners starting at once. Those were really the only downsides for an otherwise well-run event. I was especially impressed with the medals – quite large and with a fun design – and the beach themed long-sleeve tech shirt.
Good First Marathon
Fairly flat course with decently spaced and stocked aid stations. With the majority of the course being paved/boardwalk paths through a state park there isn't a huge amount of crowd … MORE
Fairly flat course with decently spaced and stocked aid stations. With the majority of the course being paved/boardwalk paths through a state park there isn’t a huge amount of crowd support, but what there was definitely helped! I feel the overall “behind the scenes” seemed more than helpful for the event.
Flat Course Full of Nature
The majority of this course is secluded. It winds through a state park on a paved pathway, with several narrow boardwalks to cross. Not very many cheer stations, but the … MORE
The majority of this course is secluded. It winds through a state park on a paved pathway, with several narrow boardwalks to cross. Not very many cheer stations, but the ones that were there were great. Plenty of water stations. The post race food was great: pastas, grilled chicken, and breadsticks. The local beer selection was great as well. Being at the Hangout before and after the race was definitely a plus, with many hotels in walking distance.
A beautiful, well-run, and fast race
This race is so much fun from start to finish! Staying warm in the Hangout beforehand is a great perk. You start with the beach to your left, and then … MORE
This race is so much fun from start to finish! Staying warm in the Hangout beforehand is a great perk. You start with the beach to your left, and then end up running a wide, paved path through the beautiful park. The boardwalks can sometimes be a little slippery, but the race organizers did a really great job of making sure they were clear and safe this year after that crazy snowstorm! There are aid stations every two miles and sections with people cheering intermittently as well. The best part is the afterparty! The food, beers, and music are all excellent. I would highly recommend this race to anyone, and I’ll definitely be going back next year!
Safari 7K
The race begins in the park across the highway from the beach. It is a down and back course that is part boardwalk, part pavement and mostly flat. The boardwalk … MORE
The race begins in the park across the highway from the beach. It is a down and back course that is part boardwalk, part pavement and mostly flat. The boardwalk sections are somewhat narrow, but running across the lake was nice. Other than that, there isn’t much scenery to enjoy. I can’t speak too much about Pre-race and Post-race events because it was a torrential downpour the entire race, so we left very quickly afterwards. The shirt and medal were Safari animal themed, but a little too cartoonish for my taste.
Run through AL coastal park
This small run is almost entirely in a state park so scenery consists of southeastern coastal scrub bushes. It’s okay … just not much variation in scenery. It is also … MORE
This small run is almost entirely in a state park so scenery consists of southeastern coastal scrub bushes. It’s okay … just not much variation in scenery. It is also not spectator friendly for the first 11 miles. Well organized though and flat,flat,flat except for the cruel bridge at mile 11.5-ish. I had my 2nd best time ever (with my PR being 9 years ago & pretty unattainable for me now).
Hidden Gem for running Alabama
We chose this race as it was driving distance for us and we could knock out a new state. So glad we did. The race was well organized, great communication. … MORE
We chose this race as it was driving distance for us and we could knock out a new state. So glad we did. The race was well organized, great communication. Lots of lodging options walking distance to the start/finish. Enjoyed the course. Lots of boardwalk running which I love. Because it has rained, they were a little slippery but they were nice and wide. Gentle elevation thru the State Park with one short climb up the pedestrian bridge in Mile 11. Nice afterparty. I loved that you could use real restrooms at The Hangout and stay inside to keep warm. Great food after the race, including Gumbo. Would definitely recommend this race and do it again!
Nice marathon
Scenery is cool, the race start and finish by the beach was very nice as well. Organization was excellent. You get free race photos (or let us say included in … MORE
Scenery is cool, the race start and finish by the beach was very nice as well.
Organization was excellent. You get free race photos (or let us say included in the race price). The food post run was very good: taste, variety, and healthy.
The start waiting in the Hangout was cozy. Same with the party post race.
Ceremony awards was fun and well organized.
So if you are looking for a marathon to have fun without the stress/complications of a huge crowd, and enjoy a touristic location, then the Big Beach Marathon must be on the list.
Big Beach Marathon-flat and great views
Overall is a great race. The organizers kept everyone informed with the events of weekend. There was plenty of water stations. While there was alot of running on the boardwalks, … MORE
Overall is a great race. The organizers kept everyone informed with the events of weekend. There was plenty of water stations. While there was alot of running on the boardwalks, the scenery was amazing.
Won't go down as my favorite — read on
I want to be fair … So, first, the good parts: Law enforcement officers were cordial, friendly, and professional. Most of the volunteers were friendly and very helpful. Most of … MORE
I want to be fair …
So, first, the good parts: Law enforcement officers were cordial, friendly, and professional. Most of the volunteers were friendly and very helpful. Most of the first half of the race was beautiful — it was really nice to run in the woods. The medal is very attractive! And, you get to run on parts of the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail, named by USA Today as the best recreational trail in the country for 2023.
Then, the other parts: The race name is for the locale, not the view! If you want to see the beach and the gulf, rent a motel room on the beach front, or go down the coast and run the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon in December. The only time you see the Gulf and the beach on this marathon course is at the very start, and during the final 1/4 mile of the course.
Navigating the course became a huge problem. At the water stop before Mile 4, there was a sharp left turn in the course but, unfortunately, the darlin’s manning the water stop were dancing around in front of the turn arrows, blocking the arrows from our view; therefore, at least five of us (maybe more, I don’t know) missed the turn and ran straight ahead to the next arrow we could see (it was actually a further-along part of the course). Nobody at the water stop stopped us or redirected us — they just let us go on the wrong way! A mile down the path, a woman angel on a bicycle who must have realized what had happened caught up with at least three groups of us and told us we’d missed the turn. We had to turn around and go back, adding an extra two miles to our course, and turning it into an inadvertent Ultra. Then later, in Mile 24, on the boardwalk over the wetlands, there was a very confusing junction — we knew we had to go over a wooden pedestrian bridge, of which we knew there were two. Was this the one, or was our bridge further along? There had been a cardboard directional sign — we could see that the wind had blown it down into the wetlands, face down. Three of us spent four or five minutes standing there scratching our heads trying to figure it out, until finally a person came along who happened to be carrying a map. We studied it, took our best guess, and the guess turned out to be correct.
And, the race is not spectator friendly for anyone unfamiliar with the area. We managed to find a map that indicated spectator zones, but the map didn’t indicate how to get to most of them, nor where the course actually was even if one could get there. My wife (my cheering section) could only find the actual course trail twice out of multiple attempts.
At the post-race party, I handed the bartender my beer ticket, asking him for “something malty.” He dug into his cooler, pulled out the beer, opened it and handed it to me — an IPA. Oh well, I’d finished the course and got the medal (again, a very attractive one).
Overall great race!
Beautiful run over boardwalks! Highly recommend. Also start and stop at the Hangout super fun!! Get more beer so marathon finishers get more options…. By the time we finished there … MORE
Beautiful run over boardwalks! Highly recommend. Also start and stop at the Hangout super fun!! Get more beer so marathon finishers get more options…. By the time we finished there were only a few IPA beers left. Overall a great race!
Nice Small Race
This is a nicely run small race. It starts and ends at The Hangout. Pre-race you can wait inside if it’s chilly (it was). Most of this race is on … MORE
This is a nicely run small race. It starts and ends at The Hangout. Pre-race you can wait inside if it’s chilly (it was).
Most of this race is on paved trail, with quite a bit of boardwalk, which is slippery if wet. It’s tough to run tangents for the first seven miles because of the narrow path plus mix of half and full runners. After the half splits off then it becomes much more open.
Water stops were up to two miles apart at times. I carried a hand held bottle.
At about 1.5 miles to go you have to climb up a ramp to cross over the road. After that woe be to you if it’s windy, I slowed significantly for that last stretch thanks to the head wind.
As with all small races I’ve done, the medal is large. In fact I had to take it off after the race because I felt it dragging me down. Also there were sandwiches after the race.
My wife and I really enjoyed the town too, we’d consider coming back.
Flat course mostly through State Park
Spots were slippery on the boardwalk from the recent rain. Nice paved trails and boardwalks, not alot of scenic views though (mostly trees). Good pacers - some offered intervals. Decent … MORE
Spots were slippery on the boardwalk from the recent rain. Nice paved trails and boardwalks, not alot of scenic views though (mostly trees). Good pacers – some offered intervals. Decent support at water stops. Fun atmosphere at finish line. I wish they provided spectator info for us out-of-towners.
Hidden gem!
I am trying to run a marathon in all 50 states and so was not sure what to expect from this race in Alabama - what a hidden gem! It … MORE
I am trying to run a marathon in all 50 states and so was not sure what to expect from this race in Alabama – what a hidden gem! It is a flat course (a few slight hills) and it is almost all through a nice wide bike trail in the woods. The temperature was perfect and the aid stations were plentiful.
If you were hoping to qualify for Boston, this would be a great race to consider.
They also had some of the best marathon signs up – such as – “if marathons were easy, they’d be named after your mother!” (hello!) and “Pain is just French for bread”…
Super pleasantly surprised, highly, highly recommend!
This Race is a Winner!
We came in on Thursday and did the Dolphin Challenge. It rained like crazy on Saturday, but that’s part of racing. The half was one of the best races I’ve … MORE
We came in on Thursday and did the Dolphin Challenge. It rained like crazy on Saturday, but that’s part of racing.
The half was one of the best races I’ve done. You could hear the announcer, people were friendly, aid stations were great, and the course was flat for this Southern Indiana runner! The after race party was a great experience and value! The attention to detail on this race make it top notch!
Fun Weekend
I completed the dolphin challenge which was the 7k on Sat and the Half on Saturday. Well organized race except for the challenge race check in on Saturday. They did … MORE
I completed the dolphin challenge which was the 7k on Sat and the Half on Saturday. Well organized race except for the challenge race check in on Saturday. They did not pre-assign numbers for those doing both races and the process was really slow. But other than that, great races. The Hangout was a fun place to finish in Sunday. Food and beer were amazing. The course was really pretty and ran through the state park for most of it. Good support. I recommend staying at the host hotel if you can. Great rates and such a pretty place along the beach. It made for a fun weekend.
Big Beach! Big Fun
Great pre race communication Expo was good and super easy Staff and volunteers were very helpful Great course, did have some hills Very nice medal and long sleeve dri-fit shirt … MORE
Great pre race communication
Expo was good and super easy
Staff and volunteers were very helpful
Great course, did have some hills
Very nice medal and long sleeve dri-fit shirt
Post race snacks included a wrap with chips and cookies and gumbo
1st time running the marathon, I had ran the half marathon a couple of years ago. I definitely would recommend this race.