New England Half Marathon
Concord, NH
- Half Marathon
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The New England Half Marathon features a unique point-to-point, DOWNHILL course starting at Gould Hill Farm, a quintessential New Hampshire apple orchard with views of fall foliage and running scenic country roads to finish at the NH State House. Course Time Limit: 3.5 Hours
Local Historical Weather (Oct 18):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 65 | 67 | 59 | 62 | 59 |
| L (°F) | 30 | 28 | 47 | 39 | 43 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
The Best New Hampshire Half
This is my second year running this half marathon. I ran it in 2020 during covid and it was a great experience but I wasn't sure if that was just … MORE
This is my second year running this half marathon. I ran it in 2020 during covid and it was a great experience but I wasn’t sure if that was just because there were limited races then but I am happy to report it was an even better experience post-covid. This race is produced by Millennium Running and you can always expect great production from them. It is a point to point that starts at an apple farm and ends in my hometown of Concord, NH. There is good pre-race communication and option to get your bib at the Millennium Running store Saturday or race day at the start with the swag item at the finish. Since the Millennium Running store is in Bedford which is right next to Manchester I got it right after the Howl-O-Ween 5K. Only issue is a lot of runners had the same plan so there was a bit of a line. There is not an expo but you can buy anything you need at the store. Packet included personalized bib and a really nice, fleece jacket that I will use. No other swag but the jacket is nicer than the usual shirt you get at a half marathon. For race day there is no parking at the start. Most people park at the finish and take a shuttle to the start. There are also lots of hotels within walking distance to the finish in downtown Concord if you are coming from out of town. I stayed at my parents house and drove up after getting my packet and my parents dropped me off at the start so I can’t comment on the shuttle but I assume it was organized. Start had packet pick up, porta potties and bag check. Everything seemed organized. It was just a bit cold outside. There was a threat of rain but we lucked out and had absolutely perfect weather for the race. The start has self seeded corrals by pace. There is about 1000 participants and it worked well. This was my first time doing this race with a mass start as during covid there was a time trial start. My only complaint during covid was the streets were open and the coned off running area was a bit narrow. However with the mass start most of the streets were half closed and the ones that weren’t had at least one lane closed and there was always a large area coned off for runners and I never had trouble passing people. The course is gorgeous and net downhill. The first about 8 miles are on rural roads passing by farms and have perfect fall foliage. There is a small hill around mile 3 but its mostly downhill. Mile 8 is the worst as it is uphill through the hospital and then mile 9 is a bit on non-technical trail but then miles 10 through 13 are downhill again through my old neighborhood and downtown Concord. This part is probably my favorite given the nostalgia factor. It’s a fast course but you need to bank time or energy for the hill at mile 8. I was hoping to break 3 hours but I knew I need to feel perfect and it just wasn’t my day. I was still under 3:10 and it was my second fastest race since I had lung injury from the fires in June. There is good course support with frequent aid stations. The first just with water. The rest water and gatorade and mile 8 had untapped maple syrup instead of gels which is yummy. Spectator support is okay. Some of the course is quite rural so there are some areas without spectators but especially downtown near the end there are a lot. Everything is very well marked and plenty of course marshals and police support. It was also very back of the pack friendly. I had no issues at my pace and another participant I knew from one of my running clubs who finished closer to 3:30 agreed that it was very back of the pack friendly. My parents met me near the end and brought their little shih tzu who was so excited to see me she ran part of the course with me which was cute. The finish line is exciting and they call out all the individual finishers. The medal is fantastic. It is always fall themed and was very large and had a nice stained glass appearance. I posted a picture of the shih tzu with the medal. Post-race food is fine but it is the only aspect of the race that I think could be improved. There is water, gatorade and normal snacks like granola bars, bananas, etc. Overall this is a great race and it would be my first choice for 50 staters for New Hampshire. I would try to make this race work with your schedule if you can.
My PR Race!
This was my second time participating in the New England Half and didn’t train well leading up to it but pulled out a personal best! Transportation/Parking: I parked in a … MORE
This was my second time participating in the New England Half and didn’t train well leading up to it but pulled out a personal best!
Transportation/Parking: I parked in a garage walkable to the statehouse (finish line) and took the free shuttle to start with the majority of other runners but there is an option for drop off at the start -no parking there though
Course: The course is amazing and has a net downhill where you can just set your cruise control and go.
Scenery: A great time to see foliage and running through some beautiful rural areas and neighborhoods
Crowd Support: The spectators really keep you going! Many people will drive ahead and cheer you on through multiple spots, a huge extra push!
Aid stations: Were abundant and useful!
Race Photos: Always love a good photog on the course and this race has them!
After Party/Festival: There was music at the finish line with lots of freebies and even a massage area!
Medal/Swag: Loved the fitting foliage medal and comfortable pullover fleece
Negatives: The cold at the start sucked and the first mile or so seemed tight with passing others but started to spread out after
Amazing fall foliage
Point to point race with 900 feet declines. Yet there are a couple hills, but the downhill outweighs the uphill. Free shuttle to the start from downtown Concord. I recommend … MORE
Point to point race with 900 feet declines. Yet there are a couple hills, but the downhill outweighs the uphill. Free shuttle to the start from downtown Concord. I recommend staying at the “Hotel Concord”. Walking distance to finish line. Plenty of water stations. Early registrants received a technical fleece 1/4 zip long sleeve. No expo, just bib pick up at Millennium Running the day before or same day bib pick up. Beautiful reviews through out the course. Quintessential New England experience. The race starts in an orchard! No parking for runners there, you must be dropped off if you don’t arrive by shuttle.
My Hometown Half!!
This is a quintessential fall New England half marathon that happens to end in my hometown of Concord, NH. This year they changed the course. It was still point to … MORE
This is a quintessential fall New England half marathon that happens to end in my hometown of Concord, NH. This year they changed the course. It was still point to point ending at the state house in Concord but prior years it had started at the speedway but this year it started at an apple orchard. I’m not sure if the change was just for this year due to covid or permanent. Personally I liked the change as I was looking for a nostalgic, fall run and am not a Nascar fan so don’t really care about the speedway but that may have disappointed some people. This was by far the biggest race I have done since the LA marathon and production was impressive given covid restrictions. Packet pickup was either at the millenium running store the day before or you could get your bib at the start of the race and the race shirt at the end. My dad also did this race with me and my parents picked up our packets the day before. I like the shirt a lot. It is a very comfy, long sleeved shirt with a nice and simple pattern with a leaf changing colors. It is hooded which is interesting. It fits nice and since we picked it up early they weren’t out of sizes this time. For the start of the race you could either take a shuttle or be dropped off. Luckily my mom could drop us off as I’d prefer not to take a shuttle this year but I saw the shuttles as we were driving and they seemed as safe as possible with runners spaced out wearing masks. The start was the same as the NH 10 miler so I won’t go in as much detail in this review. But basically runners are placed in groups of 99 runners based on finishing time and stand at numbered cones spaced 6 ft apart. Unlike the 10 miler this race they were a little behind on calling out the runners which is my only, real production complaint. I ended up starting about 20 to 30 mins later than my assigned time. Not a huge deal but it made timing pre-race fueling and bathroom a little difficult and also meant a larger amount of people congregating near the start. But the start was outdoors and a large area and everyone spread out in masks so again not a huge deal. Again they called your name out as you crossed the start line adding a personal touch. This race is net downhill which is nice. But don’t let that fool you there is still a lot of uphill and about 500 ft of elevation gain. The first 7 miles or so are through beautiful, rural New Hampshire countryside. The weather was absolutely perfect and the leaves were at their peak color changes. It was lovely and peaceful and mostly downhill and fast. The only uphills in this section were pretty small. The water stations now had cups that volunteers filled while wearing gloves and placed on the table instead of handing to you. This definitely seemed less wasteful than all the half full mini water and powerade bottles in the trash at the 10 miler. The water stops were about every 2 miles. I thought it was really cute and fun that instead of a giving a gel at mile 8 they gave little packets of maple syrup. It was a little risky since I never fueled with it but it was yummy, did not upset my stomach and worked as well as a gel and added to the New England experience. After the maple syrup I was not as excited about the giant, seemingly never ending hill at mile 8. I was on track to PR but did not bank enough energy or time for this hill which went past Concord hospital and up to a small area of trail and lasted over a mile. There is a then a small section on non-technical trail which is a nice break on the joints from asphalt but was mostly uphill still so not as great for the pace. After the trail it is about 4 miles through Concord that is mostly downhill and quite fast if you didn’t waste all your energy tackling the hill. I walked some of the hill to save energy for this part. Personally I really enjoyed this part as it went past my high school and my childhood neighborhood which brought out lots of nostalgic feelings and obscure memories from a simpler time. But may have just been a boring suburb to other runners. The course then ended at the state house which is definitely the most iconic building in Concord although I will admit my hometown doesn’t really have as many iconic buildings to show off as LA. The course was open to traffic this year (I don’t believe this is normally the case) which I wasn’t sure how it would work since while Concord also doesn’t have the traffic of LA it is a much busier city than the other races open to traffic I have run. But there were plenty of cops and volunteers directing traffic that it was very safe and traffic did not interfere with runners. The only minor issue was the shoulder to run on was a little narrow. There was plenty of room for yourself but it was sometimes tricky to pass other runners. At the finish line you got your medal and there were also snacks and drinks and a results area. The medal was very nice and big with changing color leaves. There were less post race snacks than usual but some fruit and other stuff. I didn’t take any since I was going to lunch with my parents right after but did grab an organic energy drink for my drive home after lunch. The finish line at the state house was great for a post race selfies as well. Overall this was a really great, New England half marathon. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a New Hampshire half. It is the perfect time to visit New Hampshire. The weather should usually be great and the net downhill makes it a fast course. Even though I didn’t bank enough energy for the hill I still easily ran my second fastest half. Again the hill around mile 8 makes it a little hard to PR but if you did some hill training and banked your energy right you definitely could. While I didn’t think production was quite as smooth as the NH 10 miler I could not dock a sneaker given the impressive feat of holding a safe half marathon with nearly 1000 runners on open roads through the downtown of a small city with covid restrictions. There are a lot of other races on my bucket list that are held this weekend normally but I would definitely consider running this race again and would definitely recommend it for a NH half!