The annual Lake Placid Marathon & Half is a premier early season race hosted in the historic Olympic Village of Lake Placid, New York USA home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games surrounded by the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. Each year the event attracts athletes from over 40 U.S …
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The annual Lake Placid Marathon & Half is a premier early season race hosted in the historic Olympic Village of Lake Placid, New York USA home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games surrounded by the beautiful Adirondack Mountains.
Each year the event attracts athletes from over 40 U.S States, Canada, and abroad.
The Half Marathon is a single loop out and back while the Marathon is a double out and back. Both races begin/end on Main St. in the charming Village of Lake Placid at the Olympic Speedskating Oval.
The Marathon/Half course is a combination of flat, rolling and some hills and runners enjoy mountain views, open areas, shaded areas, a class III trout stream, and beautiful Mirror Lake along the way.
Well-stocked aid stations are available. The event offers a generous six (6) hour course limit for each race. The event is walker-friendly and a great venue for a team or group destination event.
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First Half Marathon
I started running nine months ago. Lake Placid, NY is my hometown so I was so excited to make this my first half marathon! This event was very well organized. … MORE
I started running nine months ago. Lake Placid, NY is my hometown so I was so excited to make this my first half marathon! This event was very well organized. Over 1200 runners ran the Marathon, Half Marathon and the new 10K Event this year. The scenery is gorgeous. The Weather was only in the 50’s and we dealt with showers off and on. (Not the norm for this time of year, but great running temperature.) There were two large hills at Mile 11 and towards the end which will give you a challenge. Great crowd support and volunteers. Swag was good and we received our results in a timely manner. Highly recommend!
Beautiful & Walker Friendly
I had never been to Lake Placid and I wanted to visit so I was excited I had the weekend off for this race. I did this the day after … MORE
I had never been to Lake Placid and I wanted to visit so I was excited I had the weekend off for this race. I did this the day after the 9 hours for 9 lives race. It worked out as that race was practically on the way to Lake Placid. However my body was completely thrashed from that race so I knew this was not going to be pretty for me. But luckily the race itself was very pretty and there is a 6 hour time limit for the half so I knew I could finish it. As I said in my last review I left for Lake Placid around 12:30. It was about a 4.5 hours drive so I arrived around 5pm. There was packet pick-up Saturday until 6pm. I believe there is race day packet pick-up as well. Packet pick-up is at the start/finish area which is the Olympic Skating Oval which is a really cool place to start/finish. Not a real expo but they did have a booth selling race merchandise and another selling the usual runner supplies like gels and body glide, etc you know the booth. Packet included a nice polyblend shirt, bib and a bag with some coupons. Lake Placid is a really cute, fun area to visit. There are hotels right by the start/finish. I’d recommend staying there if you can as there are also a lot of restaurants and shops in walking distance. However they were a bit pricey. Nothing crazy (I think they were around $300/night) but since I’m going to Alaska for 11 days and the moving 1 week later I wanted this to be a cheap weekend and opted for a cheaper option about 1 mile from the start line which was about $150/night so there are more affordable options. Of note (since I’ve seen people complain about this on reviews for other races) Lake Placid is not near a major airport and I doubt it is easy to get an uber/lyft/taxi. If you are not driving here, your best bet is to fly to either Albany, NY or Burlington, VT which are both about 2 hours away and rent a car. If you don’t want to rent a car, choose a race closer to a major airport for NY. For parking you need to do street parking. I decided after a long debate with myself to walk from my hotel which as I said was about 1 mile away. This was nice on the way to the race to get a warm-up walk in since my body was really stiff from yesterday. This was very painful on the way back but I did not want to stress about parking. There is a nice starting arch. One minor critique is I wish there was some indicator of the pace you should line up at. I knew I would be near the back but wasn’t sure if this was a race that attracts a lot of walkers given its long time limit. I was planning on mostly walking but wasn’t sure if I should be in the absolute back or near the back. The first 3 miles are on closed roads around mirror lake and very wide running space so it didn’t really matter as there was plenty of room to find your pace. I tried to do a little running on the downhills in the beginning but I was so sore from yesterday I walked 90% of the course. The course however was absolutely gorgeous and slower time meant more time to soak it in. Also the way it was set up was perfect for half marathon walkers. The course starts with a 3 mile loop around mirror lake and then for the half it’s about 5 miles out and 5 miles back. One lane of the street is closed for the out and back so traffic is never an issue. The marathon turn around is a bit past the half marathon turn around and they run the out and back twice so the aid stations are completely stocked even for the walkers since there are also marathoners using them. The first 3 miles through town and around the lake around beautiful. The out and back is also beautiful with mountain scenery and views of a river and you pass by the ski jump and a farm with adorable animals. This was definitely a top 5 race I’ve done for scenery and I would say it’s the most scenic I’ve done in NY. There are hills and some are quite steep both up and down. It’s kind of hard for me to compare difficulties to other races as I have never completed a half this sore and stiff and achy before and I’ve also never walked this much in a road half marathon but it seemed like a tough but doable course. I was much faster than yesterday despite running less. There were tons of aid stations. I think 10 for the half. I carried water but didn’t need it. The first 2 aid stations just had water. The rest had gatorade. Most had other treats like fruit, granola bars, chips. Some had coke. There were also gels. The gels were kind of odd and flavorless. There were some spectators but not a ton. As this is a pretty rural race that is expected. Since it’s an out and back with marathoners doing another out and back you are almost always around people. It is the perfect sized race. I think there were around 1000 participants total. Big enough field to always be around people with how it was set up but small enough field to not have it being annoying with people doing different paces. The worst part of the course is to get back to the Skating oval you need to go up a nasty, steep hill. Not as bad as “evil hill” from yesterday but not how you want to end the race. You then run a bit on the oval to the finish. There are announcers who announce the runners as they finish. Even though I was finishing with mostly marathoners they still announced by name, congratulated me and cheered me on. My finishing time was really slow. I set a personal worst for a road half. But I was actually quite proud of finishing after the race I did Saturday. As I said earlier I had never done a half marathon feeling this sore and achy before. At the finish line you get a medal and a pint glass. The medal was excellent this year and distance specific and had a map of the course incorporated in the design. They improved their medal designs from before from what I’ve heard. The pint glass is also nice. Overall very good swag. They also had a ton of finish line food. Someone said it was the best of any race, I’m not sure that’s true but it was definitely better than most. They also had vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. There was yogurt, subway subs including a vegan veggie one, cheese pizza, gluten free pizza, gluten free past bowls, typical post-race snacks and ice cream sandwiches. I got a whole lunch out of it. The walk back to the hotel was painful but it followed the course so I got to cheer some of the marathoners on as they were finishing. Overall this was one of my favorites half marathons I have done and I am glad it was my last NY half marathon as a New Yorker. This was one of the prettiest races I’ve done and a fun place to visit. It was also very back of the pack friendly for the half. At no point, did I feel unwelcomed or that I did not get the whole race experience even though I walked most of it. I would highly recommend this race to 50 staters for NY or for anyone looking for a fun race-cation. And I would also definitely recommend it to half marathon walkers and back of the packers. As Lake Placid is not too far from where I am moving I’m sure I will do this one again.
Scenic and Challenging Marathon
The Lake Placid 2018 marathon was a wonderful experience. Running it to cross NY off my state list, I picked a great year as the weather was flawless (sunny, mid-60s). … MORE
The Lake Placid 2018 marathon was a wonderful experience. Running it to cross NY off my state list, I picked a great year as the weather was flawless (sunny, mid-60s). Logistics were a breeze as we stayed at Crowne Plaza hotel which was literally right next to the marathon expo, starting and finishing point. Packet pickup couldn’t have been easier…walk down hill to the expo, get race bib, walk back to hotel (haha). Communication leading up to the race was clear as well.
As for the race course itself, the first 3-4 miles take you around Mirror Lake and it is really pretty. Then it is back into town for a few miles before heading downhill past the Olympic Ski Jump area and into the back roads running along a river…which was very nice. However, once you head back into town, you have to run uphill for a good ways which is challenging…but if you are doing the marathon, you have to turn-around, and run back out of town and do it again! The positive is that you get to enjoy the scenic river / woods area again. The course ends with a steep uphill that leads back to the Olympic Speed Skating Oval area (now a track). That last hill is tough, so be forewarned.
I cannot speak to the aide stations as I carried my own hydration / gels…but I remember them being quite stocked full of drinks and food. The finishing medal was really nice, and the after party provided food was great too.
The cool thing about this marathon is you can make a family vacation out of it as Lake Placid is a beautiful area with plenty of things to do…from exploring the main street that goes through town, site-seeing the Olympic areas, to plenty of hikes / outdoor activities close by.
Highly recommended!
Beautiful but hilly
The Lake Placid 1/2 marathon also includes a full marathon which I was happy to not be running because of the elevation profile of the course. I drove up to … MORE
The Lake Placid 1/2 marathon also includes a full marathon which I was happy to not be running because of the elevation profile of the course.
I drove up to participate in the race and had a hotel within walking distance of downtown Lake Placid and the start/finish. The town is cute and not overly touristy. Most hotels overlook one of the area lakes and I had a great view from my hotel window.
Packet pickup is down where the Olympic oval was and really is not an expo, but it’s efficient.
The course for the race starts uphill which should be a sign for how the rest of the course is. Some of the hills are quite steep, the worst of which (in my opinion) is the final hill up to the finish…which means some downhills are steep so be careful not to overdo it. The scenery on the course is quite beautiful, so don’t run this one for time (the hills will prevent it anyway), stop to take photos.
Aid stations on the course feature water, but also orange slices and granola bars. They should have bug spray as well for dumb people like me who didn’t apply any. I removed my calf sleeves after the race and my legs were covered with black fly bites. People also had bleeding fly bites on their bare shoulders. The bites didn’t hurt and weren’t felt when they happened, but my lord did they itch about a week later.
The finish line is on the olympic speed skating oval, which you have to run a lap of after climbing the hill of doom, so don’t think you’re done once you reach the top of the hill…you still have a lap to go.
The medal wasn’t huge or super high quality, but it was nice and you get a dry fit tee.
I can’t remark on the post race spread aside from water because I left for lunch with my mother once I finished.