Atlanta Marathon & Half Marathon
Atlanta, GA
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Discover Running City USA with the Publix Atlanta Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K. Both the half and full takes runners and walkers on a route through some of the city’s most historical landmarks and scenic areas showing off its tree lined streets and its authentic southern charm. Publix Atlanta Marathon … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Mar 06):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 82 | 55 | 61 | 78 | 78 |
| L (°F) | 57 | 37 | 56 | 48 | 56 |
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Hilly but fun!
This was my first half marathon! I live in Atlanta so I trained hard for the hills. I can’t imagine coming here and running this race with no hill training. … MORE
This was my first half marathon! I live in Atlanta so I trained hard for the hills. I can’t imagine coming here and running this race with no hill training. But it’s a beautiful course that gives you all the best neighborhoods in Atlanta. The crowd support was great and the aid stations were great. Getting out of the corals was hard but it opened up after mile 4. Overall I recommend it, but train for those hills.
Fun and hills - did I say hills?
I traveled to Atlanta as part of a double state weekend running Greenville, South Carolina the day before as part of my 50 state journey. I stayed at the Hilton … MORE
I traveled to Atlanta as part of a double state weekend running Greenville, South Carolina the day before as part of my 50 state journey. I stayed at the Hilton Signia, which was perfection! I could see the start and finish line from my room, which was super convenient. It made race logistics in the morning so easy. It was well organized, and the course was packed with people with lots to look at which made the time go by quickly. Obviously Atlanta is hilly, but oh my God was it hilly! Lol I really enjoyed this race in spite of the Hills!
Hilly course, over 30 degree temp swing
First time marathoner and this was a tough, hilly course. I trained well and had a Plan A of 5 hours and a Plan B of 5:15. What I didn’t … MORE
First time marathoner and this was a tough, hilly course. I trained well and had a Plan A of 5 hours and a Plan B of 5:15. What I didn’t practice for was running in 70 degree temperatures for 2.5 hours. Because training was in the fall and winter I’d become a decently strong “cold runner” but did not know how to properly hydrate in situations like this. Not the races fault and now I know. Just a little disappointed I didn’t get the outcome I was aiming for. The medal sure does put a smile on my face though!
Not a flat spot to be found
Without a shadow of a doubt this was the toughest course I have run so far. I'm pretty sure there was no more than 10' of flat ground on this … MORE
Without a shadow of a doubt this was the toughest course I have run so far. I’m pretty sure there was no more than 10′ of flat ground on this course and the uphills didn’t seem to have a corresponding downhill a lot of the time! Any mention of the hills does not do this course justice, it’s a tough one. Running it in full sun as the temps rose all morning wasn’t optimal either and totally out of the race directors control.
The Atlanta Marathon is a well organized and well run event, assuming you weren’t running the women’s half marathon championship qualifier of course. For us weekend warriors, the race is very well done, well marked and well supported. That being said, with aid stations being 2 plus miles apart, I would recommend carrying fluid with you if the weather is looking to get warm (really wish I had followed that advice).
I’m not going to downgrade any race with a hilly, challenging course like this one. We all knew about it going in and I wish I had spent more time preparing for the almost 1800′ of total elevation gain, I can and will do better. The course goes through mostly interesting areas and the local support is excellent to say the least. The folks in Atlanta turn out to support the runners, even on the full marathon side and I appreciated every person out there.
I can’t speak for any other Georgia race, but the Atlanta Marathon is a great option to knock the state off your list. But, prepare for the hills, they are no joke and expect the weather to get warm and humid. Plan for that and it will be a cake walk!
WARNING: Hills Ahead
I don't think anyone could have prepared me for how much uphill running was on this course. TBH I should've known better so I'll take that, but minus a few … MORE
I don’t think anyone could have prepared me for how much uphill running was on this course. TBH I should’ve known better so I’ll take that, but minus a few stretches, the scenery was an immaculate tour of the city, with landmarks, neighborhoods, and real good vibes when the spectators were there. Given the heat I was not expecting to do as well as I did so I was pleasantly surprised. Is it perfect, no, but it’s got heart and a real sick medal! My favorite medal so far.
Could be a 5 star race
This was my first time running the Publix half marathon. The race had good swag and was well organized for the most part, but I have 2 big gripes. One … MORE
This was my first time running the Publix half marathon. The race had good swag and was well organized for the most part, but I have 2 big gripes. One is the bathrooms. There was no one cleaning the porta potties so there was bodily fluids everywhere. Also, on the course, the bathrooms weren’t where the map said which was inconvenient. Then, the course started closing down 15 minutes before the cutoff time. They removed the cones and the people leading you through the course were gone so I ended up getting turned around before the finish. This was also one of the hardest courses I have ever run. But if you can run this one, you can run any course. Overall, with better bathrooms and people who stay at their place to direct to the finish line it would be a 5 star race.
What was that...
This was marathon 19 for me and it was one of the most poorly organized one I've ever done. Maybe I am too used doing races organized by runners, for … MORE
This was marathon 19 for me and it was one of the most poorly organized one I’ve ever done. Maybe I am too used doing races organized by runners, for runners. This was not one of them.
Communication up to the event is strongly focused on selling merch, which is never a good sign. Coral assignment is strange, as they use 10 corals (A to J) but there is no mention of that anywhere on the website, so when you receive your assignment, it feels wrong.
Because of plane delay and high traffic in Atlanta, I arrived at the expo at 5:30 while it closed at 6. It was a ghost town and almost all vendors were gone already. Another red flag. You are given a bib and then a long sleeve shirt (be ready to have something to store them because they don’t give you anything, literally just the bib and the shirt). By the way, long sleeve shirt in typical 80F Southern weather means you don’t understand the runners. There is the option to get a bag for bag check. If you actually have anything to check bigger than a wallet and your keys, forget about it. It is by far the smallest gear check bag I’ve ever been given. No tag to attach to it, you are supposed to write your number onto the plastic and hope it sticks. So you end up not doing gear check.
Now, come race day… Race is at 7 and you are recommended to be here at 6. Fine. But there is no reference about the corals. They have 10 waves, are they going to send a wave every 5 minutes, 10, 15? Nobody knows. Anyway, nobody cares as they do not enforce corrals. I was in F and had a lot of H and I half marathoners in my coral, making the entire system useless. Oh, and there were no pacers in my coral somehow. 3:45 and 4:00 pacers were in E, 4:15 and 4:30 were in G. So even the pacers did not know what to do with the corals. We don’t really know when the race started, there was no anthem and the speakers near our coral were out of the start lane loop, so we just somehow at a point started walking and finally started at 7:45, so I guess wave J started around 8:30 which is 2:30 after they were asked to come. Would have been nice for them to know that they did NOT need to be here at 6.
Anyway, no coral enforcement an a lot of half marathoners, the course was extremely crowded and it was extremely hard to navigate. As a race organizer, when you have crowded course you want to pay attention to:
* port-a-potties: FAIL. there were none in the corals, very few on the course (3-4 every 5-6 miles, leading to huge lines)
* aid stations: FAIL. stations were not announced beforehand, so everyone rushed on them at once. They were all shorts (don’t miss that first table or you can skip the whole thing), and very quickly ran out of water, cups, and volunteers. I’ve never been to a marathon where the mile 8 aid station was empty, so that’s a first for me. It was even worse on the second half of the course, as the temperature rose quickly but the stations got more and more distant. There was no one cleaning up the path as well, so you’d end up dodging empty cups or slipping on them.
* route quality and safety: FAIL. So many potholes or even steps (crossing from pedestrian areas to road), nothing was marked so you had to pay attention or lose an ankle. If I wanted to do a trail event I would not pick downtown Atlanta, thanks. This forces you to look down and observe all the wonderful things the Atlanta streets have to offer, from used condoms to 9mm bullet shells.
* proper route closure: FAIL. At three different occasions, the cops in charge of enforcing the road closure actually stopped us to let traffic flow. I am not talking letting an emergency vehicle through, or poorly timing a crossing at mile 20. I am talking first 5 miles of the race, when you have a continuous flow of runners, instauring a “pause for 2 minutes” insanity. You also want to make sure that there is never a car/bike/bicycle slaloming in between the runners, but that too, was a fail.
* proper directions: FAIL. I’m not even going to comment about the complete mess up that they had with the pros Half Marathoners, who had to run an extra 1.5 miles and got passed by the second group while doing so, but arriving toward the finish line for the second lap was extremely confusing. There were two lanes saying “Marathoners finish” (left) and “Half Marathoners finish” (right). Of course, no mention of Marathoners having to do a second loop. But since we are not “Half Marathoners finish”, we all logically went to the left lane… only to see “Marathon miles 14-26 turn right NOW” a couple hundred yards later. And now you have to cut through the flow of Halfers. At least when you come back to the same spot 13miles later you know to take the left lane…. which has now been closed to runners to reopen traffic.
I’ve never seen such a poorly organized race.
Otherwise, even with proper organization, this is not a fun race. Scenery is nonexistent, even by Atlanta standards (there are things to see in Atlanta, just don’t expect to see any on this route). No shadow whatsoever which again, if you ever ran in March in the South is going to be a problem. It is extremely hilly, and while the first half has long downhill segments allowing you to recover from the climbs, the second half is rolling at high frequency, so the downhills are extremely short and there’s always something going up.
Cool Course, Rolling Hills
This was a cool course. Although Atlanta wasn't one of my top cities I've run in, they go through some cool parts of the city, from downtown to around the … MORE
This was a cool course. Although Atlanta wasn’t one of my top cities I’ve run in, they go through some cool parts of the city, from downtown to around the Georgia Tech campus. The race expo didn’t have many vendors (I think there was 1 vendor there with race gels, and nothing else), but was well-run. Rolling hills for pretty much the entire course.
Hilly and Cold
The race was put together well and the production was top notch. The course was very scenic, but also had quite a few hills. Crowd support was good in places, … MORE
The race was put together well and the production was top notch. The course was very scenic, but also had quite a few hills. Crowd support was good in places, especially running through the Georgia Tech campus. Packet pick up was super easy. I suggest staying in the area as there are a lot of interesting places that are all walkable. Glad I did this race to check Georgia off my list.
Hilly, well organized Marathon
As others have said, it's hilly! As a local I enjoyed running a lot of my regular routes on the road instead of the sidewalk. The first half is definitely … MORE
As others have said, it’s hilly! As a local I enjoyed running a lot of my regular routes on the road instead of the sidewalk. The first half is definitely more scenic, has better crowd support and more roads that are fully closed to traffic. Aid stations were great with water and Poweraid at each one plus plenty of gels, chews and bananas every 5 miles or so. The only segment I would remove is that brutal hill from Memorial to Capitol – crazy steep at mile 23. Did the Ultimate Peach challenge this year (10K in July, 10 Miler in Oct, Thanskgiving Half and the March full) so had a separate tent with plenty of snack and food. Didn’t stay for the beer because I was too cold. Overall highly recommended.
Hilly Course, Great Production
Race was very well organized and volunteers were great! Hilly course (1,600 feet of elevation based off my watch) but the downhills were a nice bonus! Aid stations were well … MORE
Race was very well organized and volunteers were great! Hilly course (1,600 feet of elevation based off my watch) but the downhills were a nice bonus! Aid stations were well stocked with gels, chews, and bananas! Nice spread out finishers area and a great medal!
What goes up…
Ran Atlanta as part of a double with Myrtle Beach on Saturday so I didn’t have time expectations. Expo: Didn’t get there. Glad they offered race day pickup, for $20. … MORE
Ran Atlanta as part of a double with Myrtle Beach on Saturday so I didn’t have time expectations.
Expo: Didn’t get there. Glad they offered race day pickup, for $20.
Race: I truly enjoyed the course. It was tough with over 1,000 ft of elevation. That said, what goes up must go down and I appreciated those downhill segments. Sometimes it felt like you had to run up a hill, only to turn and come back down the next block. Aid stations were awesome, well spaced, well staffed, and consistent in how they were set up. They offered gel and bananas on course. The finish area offered nice room to relax. The post-race food was underwhelming, with a bonus point for chocolate milk.
Swag: One of the nicest medals I’ve ever earned. Beautiful. Participant shirt was pretty good.
Overall: Very happy with the race. We had nice cool temps today, but I suspect this course would be rough in the heat. Would recommend.
Up and down on repeat…
For the race, the second half of race is just as difficult as the first half. Knowing directions toward the front of the race would be helpful. Lots of volunteers … MORE
For the race, the second half of race is just as difficult as the first half. Knowing directions toward the front of the race would be helpful. Lots of volunteers but not always saying where to go. At the end of the race, the finish area had a lot of goodies to choose from.
The expo was small and easy to navigate. The volunteers were helpful and very welcoming.
Awesome ATL Run!!!
Awesome swag and a great city run! The course was well-supported with plenty of water stations offering both water and Powerade. Mid-race perks included a banana, a gel pack, and … MORE
Awesome swag and a great city run! The course was well-supported with plenty of water stations offering both water and Powerade. Mid-race perks included a banana, a gel pack, and Honey Stinger gummies! I had a great time and definitely plan on coming back to run the Full Marathon next time!
Awesome Race
Very well organized and managed. The rolling hills are brutal... weather was incredibly cold! Highly recommend this race for both newbies and experienced. Getting a PR might be a little … MORE
Very well organized and managed. The rolling hills are brutal… weather was incredibly cold!
Highly recommend this race for both newbies and experienced. Getting a PR might be a little tricky due to weather uncertainty
Great event but bitter cold this year!
Easy bib pickup. There aren't a lot of vendors at the expo which is surprising for a major city marathon expo. Aside from that, everything is organized well and runs … MORE
Easy bib pickup. There aren’t a lot of vendors at the expo which is surprising for a major city marathon expo. Aside from that, everything is organized well and runs very smoothly. This year the race started at the Mercedes-Benz stadium. This was a great idea to change to start and finish venue. The Home Depot race finish area is large and felt easy to navigate and cool down after the race.
This is the second time I ran the 1/2 marathon so I knew that the course had hills and I was mentally prepared for them. And surprisingly, this year the hills didn’t seem as bad as last year.
The only downside was it was 32 degrees at the start of the race. This was the first time my knees were literally knocking before a run. Once the race began, the weather wasn’t a problem. I can’t blame the race organizers for a cold start.
Large 5K in Downtown Atlanta
This race was very well put together. Packet pickup was easy enough. There were around 1500 that participated in the 5K. I feel like the wave sizes were adequate. The … MORE
This race was very well put together. Packet pickup was easy enough. There were around 1500 that participated in the 5K. I feel like the wave sizes were adequate. The course had quite a few small hills in mile 1, with a long downhill, long up hill in miles 2 & 3. The race started and finished in the Mercedes Benz Dome area, so the scenery was nice. The course was well staffed with volunteers and police. There are several hotels that were walking distance, so we didn’t have to worry about parking. Looked like there were several good food truck options.
Not my favorite marathon
The race expos on Friday was sparse. Hardly any vendors. There was a hotel right by the start line so we got to hang in that lobby to stay warm … MORE
The race expos on Friday was sparse. Hardly any vendors. There was a hotel right by the start line so we got to hang in that lobby to stay warm and use their bathrooms. Race start ent smoothly. The event was easy enough to get to.
The course wasn’t the best. It was pretty crowded at the beginning. At about mile 11, the hills really picked up. Way too many long hills. Then we would turn the block, run back down. Then turn the block and run back up.
Running through some of the college campuses was very pretty.
The streets had a lot of pot holes to navigate.
Seemed like we ran through a lot of neighborhoods and not a lot of interesting sites.
The fans were awesome, especially at the end of the race.
I’m glad I did it once, but won’t be back to do it again.
Difficult course but good production
Very hilly course. The course is probably the most difficult courses I’ve experienced. I’ve run about 15 different marathon courses. Excruciating hills throughout the 26.2 miles. The production and communication … MORE
Very hilly course. The course is probably the most difficult courses I’ve experienced. I’ve run about 15 different marathon courses. Excruciating hills throughout the 26.2 miles. The production and communication is great. I loved the marathon gear, probably the best I’ve received. Also great looking additional gear to purchase.
Great Race Difficult Course
I enjoyed the marathon. It was very hilly and challenging which I enjoyed. My watch said there was 1,483' of elevation gain. I live in a very hilly area and … MORE
I enjoyed the marathon. It was very hilly and challenging which I enjoyed. My watch said there was 1,483′ of elevation gain. I live in a very hilly area and this is about what my long runs are in elevation gain. You need to train for hills if you want to run this race successfully. Running through Atlanta was nice. This is a race through a major metro city so expect that the streets aren’t going to be perfect. There were a fair amount of spectators throughout the course. The expo was very small and wasn’t the greatest and the post race food was lacking. I ran the Thanksgiving half and that post race was much better than this one. Other than that great race.