La Guadalupe Ponce Marathon
Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Marathon
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Ponce Marathon, officially, Maratón La Guadalupe de Ponce is a long-distance running event held every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Established in 1970, it is the only Olympic marathon held in Puerto Rico.
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The Only Marathon in Puerto Rico
The only full marathon in Puerto Rico. The territory has many halfs, but this is the only full. The race is run by the city's Sports and Recreation directorate. There … MORE
The only full marathon in Puerto Rico. The territory has many halfs, but this is the only full. The race is run by the city’s Sports and Recreation directorate. There is no entry fee. Repeat, NO ENTRY FEE. So you get what you pay for. This year, it’s 51st year, they had a new course. It starts with a small loop, then a big loop. But because it was new course, the course marshals got confused and made the lead runners run the small loop a second time so some ran longer. The course has hills starting at mile 8. You don’t start back down until mile 11. Once you get past the hills, it’s pretty flat, but you are running in the city so no views and no shade. There are multiple out and backs. You actually pass the start line 4 times. The weather is hot and humid (what do you expect for a Caribbean Island?). Amazingly, the aid stations were well staffed and well stocked. Too well stocked, you got the entire water bottle. There was Powerade at a few stops, but no nutrition. The city and people are very nice though. The medal is very small and you get no shirt. But what do you expect for free. The city refuses to let any organization take over the race. The locals would like to pay for it, just to get a better race. Once again, you get what you pay for. And being government run, well you get the idea.