Chartway Norfolk Harbor Half Marathon, 10K & 5K
Norfolk, VA
- Get Nauti Challenge (16.2 Miles), Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Join the annual Chartway Norfolk Harbor Race Weekend presented by Sentara. Enjoy Norfolk, Virginia’s Downtown, thriving art community, historic neighborhoods, the NEON District and Old Dominion University’s campus as you take on the 5K, 10K, or Half Marathon. Keep an eye out for Norfolk’s iconic mermaids along the course as … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Nov 21):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 63 | 59 | 65 | 52 | 60 |
| L (°F) | 50 | 47 | 53 | 31 | 41 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
My 500th RaceRave!!
Wow! Realized this is my 500th race on RaceRave. I think I might be the first person to meet that milestone. As I said in the 5K review, I had … MORE
Wow! Realized this is my 500th race on RaceRave. I think I might be the first person to meet that milestone. As I said in the 5K review, I had also run this race a couple years ago. It was a very similar experience so I won’t make my 500th review too long. I also did the 5K Saturday. I flew into Norfolk Friday night, picked up my packet for the 5K and Half Saturday morning and then did 5K. The half marathon swag was a nice long sleeved tech shirt. The half marathon does not have race day packet pick-up unless you pay extra. Race morning I got up and walked to the race. The start has corrals and is organized. There were pacers but the slowest was 2:45. As this was my first half after a marathon 2 weeks ago, I was planning to take it relatively easy and just aim for a couple minutes under 3 hours so didn’t use a pacer. This course is nice but there are a few boring sections to make the miles work so I took a sneaker away from scenery. The beginning and end is really cool in downtown Norfolk and I also love the section in the middle through Old Dominion University. The other sections are just okay. There is good spectator support but some sections are quieter but it’s a nice size race field so you are always running with people. Everything was well marked and roads are closed or partially closed with a few sections on paved trails. It is a very well supported race with plenty of aid stations with water and Nuun and one with gels and the best part is during mile 11 when they give away mini pies. The course is flat but again there were a lot of turns and it is also slightly more uphill the second half so it’s not quite as fast a course as it should be for the minimal elevation gain. It’s still a fast course but if you want a PR be careful with tangents. I really wasn’t paying much attention and my Garmin recorded about 13.4 miles since my tangents were off. I finished right where I was expecting to. You get a nice medal at the finish along with a tote and beanie. I liked that the half and 5K had different swag items that complemented each other. You also get a big challenge medals. The medals are all mermaid and nautical themed. The finish party is nice and again had soup but this time different flavors including a different vegan one. Overall I think this is a really good race. And would recommend this race or any other race by J&A racing for Virginia. It’s not as big of a party as Shamrock (same race company) or Richmond (different race company) but still an excellent choice for Virginia.
Getting Nauti This Year
I did the Norfolk Harbor Half a couple years ago and enjoyed it and decided to come back again. This year I decided to fly in Friday night and do … MORE
I did the Norfolk Harbor Half a couple years ago and enjoyed it and decided to come back again. This year I decided to fly in Friday night and do the “Get Nauti” challenge which is the 5K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday. While there is no race day packet pick-up for the half, I loved that they do have race day packet pick-up for the 5K and they made it very clear on the website. I arrived Friday pretty late close to midnight. I again stayed at the Hilton right by the race start/finish. I did not rent a car as everything is in walking distance. Saturday morning I got up and got my packet a few minutes after it opened which is located at a small shopping center next to the hotel. The expo/packet pick-up seemed smaller this year but you could buy the essentials. I got both the 5K and half swag. Before the race you get the bib and shirts. There are extra goodies after. I love how the 5K gets a short sleeved tech shirt and the half a long sleeve tech shirt. The shirts have similar but not identical designs and are different colors but in the same color scheme. I think it’s annoying when the half and full have the same shirt just with a different distance or you only get 1 shirt even if you paid for 2 races. This is perfect. We had time to drop our swag back at the hotel and get to the start line a few blocks from the hotel. The race has corrals and it is an organized start. The 5K course is a very interesting course. It starts at the Waterfront and goes through downtown Norfolk. It includes most of the highlights from the half and almost all the course is interesting. It is flat. There are 2 things that make it a bit difficult. A few short sections have cobblestones and there are a lot of turns. The turns do keep things interesting but make it kind of a slow course despite being flat and high energy. It was well marked and all on closed roads. There were mile marks and an aid station in the middle with water and electrolytes. My finishing time was fine and about what I was expecting. I didn’t want to overdo it since I had a half the next day. You get a really nice medal at the end especially for a 5K plus a tote bag and glove. There is a nice post race party with soup (including a vegan option) and beer if you drink and also some samples of energy drinks. Overall this is a nice 5K and a good addition to the race weekend especially if you want more swag although as the half marathon (and 10K I believe) goes through the same areas I wouldn’t call it a “must run” if it is difficult to get to Norfolk Friday night.
Flat downtown
I personally like that there's turns and it's not straight long miles. That helps me mentally! And I love seeing the USS wisconsin a few times! Awesome for navy people. … MORE
I personally like that there’s turns and it’s not straight long miles. That helps me mentally! And I love seeing the USS wisconsin a few times! Awesome for navy people. Past present or family members (navy mom here)
Mermaids and Mini Pies!
This is a half marathon in Norfolk, VA produced by J&A racing which is the race company that also produces the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach in March. I've done … MORE
This is a half marathon in Norfolk, VA produced by J&A racing which is the race company that also produces the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach in March. I’ve done the Shamrock Half Marathon twice and love that race so I wanted to check out another one of J&A’s half marathons and decided to do this one since I had to weekend off. There was very good pre-race communication with a detailed athlete guide. This would be too long a drive so I flew in Saturday morning and out Sunday afternoon. It was easy to find flights. The host hotel which is the downtown Hilton is right by the expo, start and finish so I did not need to rent a car. I arrived Saturday in the morning and got my packet at the expo. You can pay to have packet mailed or pick it up race day morning as well. The expo was kind of small but had the essentials and I got bought the cutest race shirt along with the swag item being a really nice sweatshirt. There was enough to do in the vicinity of the hotel and race area to entertain yourself for the weekend without having to drive anywhere. It sounds like in other years this race had cold weather but today the weather was absolutely perfect and it would not be possible to have better weather. Race morning was very organized and you are assigned corrals 1 through 7. I was assigned 6 which seemed correct. There were pacers as well. The slowest pacer being 2:45 which was the start on corral 6. I was aiming between 2:45 and 3:00 and decided to see if I could keep up with 2:45 which I could do for a couple miles. The race starts by the harbor. It is a nice course. It is a good mix of different areas of Norfolk and is a nice mix of more urban downtown views, suburban neighborhood views and more peaceful park views. You also go through Old Dominion University in the middle of the race. My only complaint about the scenery is only the last mile or so is by the harbor so there wasn’t quite as much waterfront views as I’d like. There are also a ton of mermaid statues in Norfolk and you could have fun trying to find as many as possible on the course. Race production was pretty much impeccable. Roads were closed with plenty of police and course marshals. There were lots of DJs and cheer stations, mile markers, and 5K/10K timing splits. Though the number of spectators was on the lower side for the size of the race. The spectators who were there were great though and very enthusiastic. Volunteers were also fantastic which was great compared to last weekend’s half. This had some of the most cheerful, enthusiastic volunteers. Aid stations were every 2ish mile and had water and Nuun. One in the middle had Gu and the best is the last one had mini pies. You could choose either chocolate or pumpkin and they were delicious. The finish is really nice by the water. I was happy to finish under 3 hours though I wasn’t quite as fast as Newburyport a few weeks ago. The medal is a nice mermaid themed medal. There is also a challenge if you do the 5K the day before. I didn’t do this as I didn’t fly in until Saturday morning but you get really great swag if you do the challenge. There is a fun finish area with beer and pizza and typical race snacks. I couldn’t stay too long as I had to check out of my hotel and catch my flight. Overall I thought this was a great race and I am glad I made the trip. I would definitely recommend this race. However if you are a 50 stater looking to only do one race in Virginia I do think Shamrock (which is the same race company) and Richmond (which is a different race company) had such amazing spectator support that they were a little bit more fun but this is still a great choice and a lot of fun if it works better with your schedule. It’s a bit of a trek for me to get to the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area but I would absolutely come back down to do this race or another J&A race again in the future.
Mini pies at mile 10, yes please!
The production of this race was wonderful and how can you beat mini homemade pumpkin and chocolate pie at mile 10? The course is very nice, taking you from the … MORE
The production of this race was wonderful and how can you beat mini homemade pumpkin and chocolate pie at mile 10? The course is very nice, taking you from the harbor around the city and even into Old Dominion campus. I love the sweatshirt (well not the color), it’s extremely soft and warm which was needed because it was cold and windy that day!
Cold but awesome event
The weather for this event was really cold. You run though downtown Norfolk, VA, and the event is held fight next to the Nauticus Battleship Wisconsin so it is very … MORE
The weather for this event was really cold. You run though downtown Norfolk, VA, and the event is held fight next to the Nauticus Battleship Wisconsin so it is very scenic. You got great SWAG, Beer and food for finishing the event, and it had a live band performing old rock songs. Its a really fun event and a must for anybody in the area.
Nice cold VA race
Windy near the start and finish probably because of the water. Relatively flat course. Really nice sweatshirt for swag. Music to hang around after while enjoying the 4 beverage tickets. … MORE
Windy near the start and finish probably because of the water. Relatively flat course. Really nice sweatshirt for swag. Music to hang around after while enjoying the 4 beverage tickets. My only disappointment was the e-mails mentioned hard cider at the finish but there was none at the after party, only beer and hard seltzer. The town is decorating for the holidays and they had a parade the night before.
It was a cold great event
The weather for this event was really cold. You run though downtown Norfolk, VA, and the event is held fight next to the Nauticus Battleship Wisconsin so it is very … MORE
The weather for this event was really cold. You run though downtown Norfolk, VA, and the event is held fight next to the Nauticus Battleship Wisconsin so it is very scenic. You got great SWAG, Beer and food for finishing the event, and it had a live band performing old rock songs. Its a really fun event and a must for anybody in the area.
Fun Event/Swag
This race was a lot of fun. J and A always seems to put on great events. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well the night before and then drove 2 hours … MORE
This race was a lot of fun. J and A always seems to put on great events.
Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep well the night before and then drove 2 hours from Richmond early in the morning.
Pros:
-J and A gives out great medals, gear and puts on a great post race show.
-The course is flat and you get to see all the best spots in Norfolk.
Cons:
-Same day packet pickup was $25. Felt like this was gouging.
-The first water stop wasn’t until mile 3. I usually don’t drink much water the morning of a race because races normally have water stops every 2 miles. 3 felt like a long time.
Flat, Scenic, and Fun
This was a very enjoyable race for me as I was looking for a destination race that was relatively easy and enjoyable. The course was interesting and scenic passing through … MORE
This was a very enjoyable race for me as I was looking for a destination race that was relatively easy and enjoyable. The course was interesting and scenic passing through the downtown, clean neighborhoods, a short park trail (packed, crushed stone), and ultimately the harbor area. It was flat (with just a short dip down and up through an underpass which was refreshing after some hilly races earlier this year. The signup and packet pickup were easy for me, although I was staying at the Hilton downtown. I can’t speak for locals, but I did enjoy the ease of staying nearby for the expo, race start, and race finish. I recommend the Hilton as it is a nice new property and the race team arranged for a very affordable ($139/night) rate. Oh, and I’m no beer drinker, but I did enjoy half of a Blue Moon beer at the end (and the pie tartlet near mile 9). Overall, this was a very enjoyable race which I’d consider again (after I knock off a few more states:).
Flat course through Norfolk
It felt like the course took us all over Norfolk. Minimal cheering/crowds. It's flat and easy to run. Ending at the harbor meant it was quite chilly, but they have … MORE
It felt like the course took us all over Norfolk. Minimal cheering/crowds. It’s flat and easy to run. Ending at the harbor meant it was quite chilly, but they have tons of food and beverages after.