Gate City Marathon, Half Marathon & Relay
Nashua, NH
- Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
2020 EVENT CANCELED, offering virtual race option. *** The Gate City Marathon, Half Marathon, and Relay starts and finishes on Main Street in Nashua’s downtown. Multiple loops through Nashua’s neighborhoods, all transitioning in one central location on historic Main Street. The course is mostly flat through various Nashua neighborhoods, business … MORE
Local Historical Weather (May 17):
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| H (°F) | 66 | 67 | 79 | 93 | 70 |
| L (°F) | 51 | 42 | 51 | 56 | 42 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
More rain
Well organized small town race. The loops were not boring, and the volunteers were great. Easy to get in and out of Nashua. Just can't seem to run a dry … MORE
Well organized small town race. The loops were not boring, and the volunteers were great. Easy to get in and out of Nashua. Just can’t seem to run a dry marathon. One thing that stood out, cleaniest port o potties ever!
A challenging but enjoyable 26.2 miles
I had participated in the Gate City in years past, both as part of a relay team and as a half-marathoner. This was my first time running the Gate City … MORE
I had participated in the Gate City in years past, both as part of a relay team and as a half-marathoner. This was my first time running the Gate City full, and this was my second marathon.
Overall this was a wonderful race. Bib pickup and expo was the day before. Pickup went smoothly, there were a few vendors, a raffle, and a massage station. Swag was nice, consisting of a gear bag, t shirt, and coupons from local businesses.
Parking was easy on race day. There was water and snack items for runners at the start, which was a nice touch.
Marathoners ran 2 alternating loops, twice each, passing through Main Street at the end of each loop. Directions were clear on the website (plus, GCS had orgainized a bonus “preview” run the week prior), the route was clearly marked, and there were ample volunteers and police to direct runners and control traffic. There were sufficient water/Gatorade stops with porta potties. The course itself was not easy. It was mainly in residential areas, with one portion going through Mines Falls Park and another on the Rail trail. Nashua’s neighborhoods are hilly, some streets are narrow, and there are a LOT of potholes. On top of that, the skies opened up and Mother Nature treated us to a torrential downpour for at least an hour. In spite of the weather, every single volunteer on the course went above and beyond to support the runners with water, fuel, and/or words of encouragement. They were spectacular. This was one race with less crowd support than I’m used to, probably because of the weather there were fewer spectators.
Overall this was a great marathon experience.
Nice race could be improved
I enjoyed the overall experience. Nashua has a nice downtown, and the race organization and volunteers were excellent. For all the running through the neighborhoods, one would have thought there … MORE
I enjoyed the overall experience. Nashua has a nice downtown, and the race organization and volunteers were excellent. For all the running through the neighborhoods, one would have thought there would be more residents spectating. More importantly, I feel that there were insufficient water stops on the course. It was a little warmer than normal, and I suffered from cramps which has not previously occurred for me. At one point, my mouth was so dry, I could not spit, and I was very thankful for a volunteer who shared their water. I may or may not run this race again.
Great small town race!
I ran this race in 2018. Here's the good: This course is about as flat as a New England course gets. A PB or a BQ is possible here. There … MORE
I ran this race in 2018. Here’s the good: This course is about as flat as a New England course gets. A PB or a BQ is possible here. There are a tremendous number of volunteers. Many of them are directing traffic and they were everywhere. Super helpful! The course is five loops that start and end at the finish line so spectators could see you six times without having to move. Loop four has four blissful miles on trails through a forest with water on both sides. It is hands down the best stretch on the course. We repeated other loops, but not that one. I wish we could have done more miles on that trail. The small town race had nice perks like picking up my bib with no wait at all on race morning. I used a port-a-potty 30 minutes before the start and had no line. Within five seconds of crossing the finish line I had a medal on me, a bottle of water in my hand, and a wet towel around my neck. It was hot and humid that day so that is exactly what I needed. The swag bag is great and I’ll use it for gym workouts. The police support was amazing. They did a great job of directing traffic and seemed genuinely supportive of the runners. 7am start time is solid because in late May the sun rises so early so you want to be off the course before it really starts cooking. Lots of positives in this race.
Areas for growth: there were some pretty bland stretches of this race. Some of it is running through old industrial parts of town with one particular stretch of running through a large parking lot (luckily it’s followed by the best 4 mile stretch). Loops 1 and 3 are the same and 2 and 5 share a large stretch so it can get a little monotonous. The race provides you splits of the loops but since they are all different distances, you can’t really discern splits very well. I would have appreciated more traditional splits like 10K, halfway, 30K etc. The swag bag itself is solid, but not much else to speak of. We got a cotton t-shirt which is actually unique these days, but I prefer a tech shirt. The rest was coupons. Because it’s smaller there is pretty sparse crowd support. This isn’t an ideal travel race because there aren’t really hotels to speak of in downtown Nashua. It’s an easy 45 minute jaunt from Boston though (where I’m from).
The positives are many and the areas of improvement are minor in nature. I really enjoyed myself at Gate City!
Great half marathon
I’ve run this as part of a relay team and have also run the half marathon. Well produced run that takes you through the city of Nashua. Well run, great … MORE
I’ve run this as part of a relay team and have also run the half marathon. Well produced run that takes you through the city of Nashua. Well run, great volunteers, aid stations are plentiful. Race swag is great…usually a good quality drawstring bag, shirt, and various coupons/freebies from local businesses.