NCR Marathon & Half Marathon
Sparks Glencoe, MD
- Marathon, Half Marathon
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
Welcome to the NCR Marathon presented by the Baltimore Road Runners Club! The NCR Marathon is Baltimore’s oldest continuously running USATF certified marathon held annually on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. BRRC also presented the historic Maryland Marathon dating back to 1973 before moving to the Northern Central Railroad Trail in … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Nov 28):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 40 | 50 | 39 | 54 | 53 |
| L (°F) | 30 | 39 | 26 | 45 | 35 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
The Old Trusty Trail
Visiting Baltimore and Annapolis, I got to see a lot of Maryland’s bustling dynamic industry. But the NCR Marathon, in more ways than one, struck a nice balance, showcasing the … MORE
Visiting Baltimore and Annapolis, I got to see a lot of Maryland’s bustling dynamic industry. But the NCR Marathon, in more ways than one, struck a nice balance, showcasing the state’s quiet, constant naturalness and highlighting the harmony of Maryland’s composite.
Organization
Arrival/Finish Line. Parking is a bit of a chore. A quarter mile walk to the start line in the cold wasn’t especially fun, but the 8:30 start time gave us time to figure things out. Post-race, a bus circuit was available to shuttle people from the finish line to the start line/staging area to the parking lots, which felt a little frustrating after the race, but they came super frequently. I finished after the peak of finishers, so I’m not sure if it was any more difficult at that point.
Swag
Medal. It doesn’t seem like they change much from year to year and they are same medals for the full marathon and the half marathon. It doesn’t seem like their much rerun value year-to-year if you’re there to collect medals, but as an addition to my collection I like the incorporation of the bright yellow trail marker that will always call to mind this race. Worth mentioning: this race does give you a sweatshirt (instead of a tech shirt), and a finisher’s blanket, which are super unique as a one-off, but not necessarily in repeat years.
Expo. In the basement of a running store, bib pick up was fast and easy. And with plenty of bargain bins at the store, we were able to stock up on last minute necessities for the race.
Post-Race Food. Life-saving lentil soup and a few other snacks in a warm gym brought me back to my senses post-race.
Course
Aid Stations/Support. Just enough. I brought my own snacks, but with an aid station just about every 3.5 miles offering Gu, water, and electrolytes, I felt confident I could have made it with what was offered. Trail runs are difficult to gauge because too many aid stations/cheering sections and you don’t get to truly enjoy nature, but too few can kill your motivation. NCR struck a nice balance. Pockets of cheerers popped up every now and then on a relatively quiet trail.
Scenery. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The NCR Trail marathon is jus that, a run on a trail and while the path weaves and curves, the view doesn’t much. In this case, that’s not a bad things. Beautiful, autumn forest with towering trees. It’s out and back so if you want to take some pictures on the first half, you can lock in and zone out on the second half.
Difficulty. Easy peasy, but very breezy. The trail is almost completely flat. Coupled with the packed earth of a converted railtrail, you have one of the most forgiving running surfaces you could ask for for 26 miles. The path gets narrow at times, crosses bridges, and has a few hazards, but otherwise, it’s smooth sailing. It is out and back, so the monotony might get to you by the end, but it’s straight and unobstructed, making it an easy route for zoning out and locking in. Temp never got over 40. It’s cold.
Uniqueness. The NCR trail is gorgeous and as the running pack thins out, you’ll get to enjoy a lot of sections in near-solitude. The sweatshirt-material blanket and soft af sweatshirt you get are a nice change from the usual tech shirt.
Tip: Do NOT miss the Troll House, just past the half-marathon turn around. Snap some pictures to return to later, the jokes and puns on top of hundreds of troll tchotchkies is worth your time.
This will be my last time running this r
I've ran this race in the past and has always been a good time but this year made me not want to return. The people who volunteer are always amazing … MORE
I’ve ran this race in the past and has always been a good time but this year made me not want to return. The people who volunteer are always amazing but this year there was one guy in particular who was awful. The person who was in charge of telling people if they’d make it or not at mile 12 and 15 should not ever volunteer here ever again. He kept telling me I wasn’t going to make it before I even hit mile 13. Told me again at mile 15 I wasn’t going to make it and was forcing me to run when I was already hurting. I could have made the cutoff if it wasn’t for all the questions this person was asking me. Looking back I should have just ignored him but since I was on my own I felt super uncomfortable. Still tempted to contact BRR to let them know about this guy so he can’t do the same to someone else. This was NOT my first marathon either.
Perfect race
Smallish marathon but so well run. Hoodie for signing up was very nice. Buses to the start were running smoothly. Got to wait in a heated gym. Plenty of portajohns … MORE
Smallish marathon but so well run. Hoodie for signing up was very nice. Buses to the start were running smoothly. Got to wait in a heated gym. Plenty of portajohns outside at the start. Course was one of my favorites.. crushed gravel. Not pavement and not the hazards of a true trail race. Scenery along the river was pleasant. Even saw a bald eagle in a tree! Aid stations were nicely spaced A little hard for spectators due to limited road crossings on the course. The weather was chilly but turned out great for running (20-30 degrees but windy). The out and back allowed us to see and cheer the faster runners Bag check at the gym was a plus. Hot soup at the finish hit the spot!! I would definitely recommend this to someone doing the 50 states or anyone looking for a fast course and a well run marathon!! Oh yeah. The cool heavy finishes blanket was a great surprise!!
I did it for the blanket
Not gonna lie, I signed up for this race for the snuggly finishers’s blanket. It’s as soft as your favorite hoodie. And speaking of hoodie’s, the super comfy purple hoodie … MORE
Not gonna lie, I signed up for this race for the snuggly finishers’s blanket. It’s as soft as your favorite hoodie. And speaking of hoodie’s, the super comfy purple hoodie you get as race swag is a new favorite.
The race itself was a fun event. You have to take a shuttle to get to the start line. Get to the shuttle plenty early…the line is long. The race starts on the hilly, wooded campus of an old boarding school. From there on, you’re basically on a railroad-straight greenway the whole way, an easy out-and-back course. It’s pretty enough (trees!)…no real memorable scenery, but a pleasant enough setting for a run.
Spectator areas are a bit limited, so if you like when your cheering crew bounces from spot to spot to see you throughout the race, this is one where you may only get to see them a few times.
Porta potties, aid stations…I really don’t remember.
There’s no parking near the finish line. There’s a shuttle back to where you began the day, or you can hoof it uphill to the parking near the school. It’s not crazy far, but after a long run, it’s…extra.
The post-race food was decent: Hot soup (my new favorite post-race nourishment), cookies, chips, soda, Gatorade, and bananas. It’s in the gym back at the start line (see previously mentioned uphill climb).
Added bonus: You can change clothes at the gym if you want.
All in all, a nice event. A change of pace from big city races with tons of production and crowd support…this is running for the pleasure of running. Enjoy!
Nice Small Race
Great race setup, management and overall production. Course is a flat out and back with some pretty views and nice homes. Not a lot of crowd support because it is … MORE
Great race setup, management and overall production. Course is a flat out and back with some pretty views and nice homes. Not a lot of crowd support because it is held on a rail trail but the people who did show up were awesome and the aid station workers were very encouraging as well. Definitely a race worth doing.
The nicest swag
I have ran on NCR plenty of times, it’s my go to route for a long run as there are no cars or traffic lights. This race very low key … MORE
I have ran on NCR plenty of times, it’s my go to route for a long run as there are no cars or traffic lights. This race very low key but well organized. You get the nicest blanket, a thick blanket not a flimsy one when you finish.
10-minute PR on the beautiful NCR trail.
Very well put on event by the local running club. Always run the weekend after Thanksgiving, so it allows you to run off some of that good Thanksgiving goo! The … MORE
Very well put on event by the local running club. Always run the weekend after Thanksgiving, so it allows you to run off some of that good Thanksgiving goo! The year I ran this, in 2008, the start and finish was at the sparks elementary school. We ran down 1.5 miles to the trail, which is completely flat for an out n back then ran uphill to the school for the last 1.5 miles. Note: the course has since changed to run entirely on the Torrey Brown trail which is beautiful and flat and much faster! Great memories for this one. 10 minute PR, plus ran with my two best running buddies. MY two oldest Sons came down from PA and provided course support and massages afterwards! You run along the Gunpowder river and I saw a majestic Buck jump in and outta the River at about mile 2.5. One of those running memories I’ll probably never forget.