The Ellerbe Marathon (formerly Ellerbe Springs Marathon) first ran in 1992. Its origin dates to the fall of 1991 as Mark Long and Doug Dawkins were returning from the Greensboro Marathon. At that time there were but a few marathons in North Carolina. By the time the pair had reached Richmond County on Highway 220 they had mostly agreed on the idea of working together to create a local marathon. At the very moment Doug asked where to have the race they were driving past the entrance of the Ellerbe Springs Inn and Mark said “How about right there?” A meeting the next week with Neal Cadieu and Beth Cadieu who were the owner/operators of the inn resulted in an agreement and the first Ellerbe Springs Marathon ran in April 1992 with 40 athletes finishing. Now, the Ellerbe Marathon has the distinction of being the second oldest marathon in North Carolina. And the Ellerbe Half Marathon one of the newest!
The race start and finish has moved to uptown Ellerbe. Our host is the Ellerbe Rescue Squad and the finish line will be on Sunset Avenue near their headquarters. The start is on Page Street near BB&T. Both the marathon and half marathon are now certified. Timing will be RFID chip timing with live results and managed by Wilson Timing. Most of the course will use roads that have been part of the marathon in years past.
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Rural, hilly course
This small race is run on a 13+ mile loop along paved rural roads. Run two of the loops for the full marathon. The course has some hills that can … MORE
This small race is run on a 13+ mile loop along paved rural roads. Run two of the loops for the full marathon. The course has some hills that can challenge the unprepared runner. Course support was adequate. Runners received a long sleeve tech shirt with finishers earning a medal and a locally made piece of pottery. Hot soup and quesadillas awaited the finishers.
Rural half/full marathon
This small race is run on a 13+ mile loop along paved rural roads. Run two of the loops for the full marathon. The course has some hills that can … MORE
This small race is run on a 13+ mile loop along paved rural roads. Run two of the loops for the full marathon. The course has some hills that can challenge the unprepared runner. Course support was adequate. Runners received a long sleeve tech shirt with finishers earning a medal and a locally made piece of pottery. Hot soup and quesadillas awaited the finishers.
Quaint smaller race
This race is held by a small group of dedicated runners and had a very welcoming feel. I drove out the morning of the race, was able to walk through … MORE
This race is held by a small group of dedicated runners and had a very welcoming feel. I drove out the morning of the race, was able to walk through packet pick up with no problems and still get ready for the race start.
The race is run on rural roads and is surprisingly hilly. Ample race support for the size of the race and professional timing but a local timing company.
Would do again.