The Violet State Marathon course is a wide, paved bike path with small rolling hills along the Blackstone River. You’ll be following a 1.1-mile out-and-back course (2.2 miles total per lap), with 6 laps for the half marathon and 12 for the full, heading south out of the staging area. If you’re new to short-course races, we can assure you, you’ll have a great time! Whether you’re the fastest, slowest, or somewhere in between, you’ll find this is a great way to get to know other runners and feel the camaraderie and support you often miss with longer courses or loops.
You’ll also enjoy the regular, frequent access to our awesome aid station and staging area! You’ll go through this area on every lap. We’ve got all the food you can possibly want, with different hot dishes every day in addition to our cold staples… everything from sandwiches and fruit to pickles and jelly beans. A stop at the water table will get you hydrated (we’ll keep your bottle filled for you), and if you need it, you can swing by the enclosed comfort station for a bit of first aid and shade. And if you don’t like to go 2.2 miles without some extra hydration, we’ve also got a drink station set up out at the turnaround, with beverages and ice. Portable restrooms will be located at the staging area.
We offer several start time options: Our “regular” start time is 5:00AM, for all distances. For those running the half marathon, marathon, or 50K who want to beat the heat, you can choose to take the early start at 4:00AM instead. (Please note, you will need a headlamp or other personal source of light if you take the early start, as it is still full dark at that time.) We also have an 8:00 start for 5K and 10K participants who think a 5AM race is just too early!
Our Packet Pickup Social for the series will take place on Saturday from 3:00-5:00PM, and at the start line for Sunday’s race, with snacks, drinks, and other goodies. If you can’t make it to the Social (though we hope you do; it’s a great chance to meet your fellow runners, pick up some swag, and have fun before the real work starts!), we have packet pickup available every morning before the races, beginning at 3:30AM.
Every race features chip timing with real-time results! You’ll simply scan your chip bracelet (included in your packet) each lap and at your finish. With the free mobile app, you’ll be able to track your own progress and let your cheerleaders do the same. We also have a screen at the staging area where we stream the real-time tracking and results.
If you’re like us, half of why you run is to get the swag. With this in mind, we’ve designed some really killer medals for each race, including the 5K and 10K. You’ll get a separate medal/ribbon for each race, and if you finish he entire series, you’ll get a special award for that, too! Your packet will also include a gender-specific tech shirt (one per series), your chip timing bracelet and custom bib, and other fun extras.
Everybody loves awards, right? We’ve got awards for first, second, and third place male and female for the half marathon, marathon, and 50K, as well as an overall winner award for the 5K and 10K. If you’re celebrating a milestone (first half, full, or 50K, 50th state, etc), let us know so we can reward you and celebrate with you!
LESS
Deja vu again and again
This was the first race in the inaugural Northeast Series organized by The Road to 50 Races. They provided water and Gatorade the afternoon before the first race of the … MORE
This was the first race in the inaugural Northeast Series organized by The Road to 50 Races. They provided water and Gatorade the afternoon before the first race of the series at the packet pickup, along with a veggie tray. We were given a cotton t-shirt, a custom bib, and our timing chip. Due to the forecast of a heat advisory, the marathon and 50K runners were given the option of a 4 a.m. start, which was a good idea given the weather. The course was a 1.1 mile out and 1.1 mile back on a concrete bike path. The first 1/3 of the relatively flat course was in the open with few trees, but the rest was well shaded. The course paralleled the Blackstone River, but we did go by a fenced water treatment plant. Considering this was an inaugural series, the race went off without a hitch and the timing system recorded our splits for every out and back. The one draw back is that the timing system used passive integrated transponders, so we had to touch the wrist band onto a touch pad for it to work, so you had to come to a complete stop every 1.1 miles. The medals were customized for each race of the series and consisted of a hollow ring with a solid disk in the middle that indicated which race of the series was run along with the distance. Awards for the top 3 in each distance were given except for the 50K because there weren’t enough starters.