Menu
Home Explore People Places Arts History Plants & Animals Science Life & Culture Technology
On this page
Seattle Marathon
Annual race in the United States held since 1970

The Seattle Marathon is an annual marathon in Seattle, Washington, U.S. It was first held in 1970 and typically takes place the weekend following Thanksgiving.

Related Image Collections Add Image
Profiles
1 Image
We don't have any YouTube videos related to Seattle Marathon yet.
We don't have any PDF documents related to Seattle Marathon yet.
We don't have any Books related to Seattle Marathon yet.
We don't have any archived web articles related to Seattle Marathon yet.

History

The inaugural race took place on November 15, 1970.1 It was organized by a group of friends from the University of Washington.2 A total of 38 runners participated, with 31 running the full distance.34

The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.56 Entrants were given the option to defer their entry to 2021 or get refunded.

Course

Former course

A former course began on 5th Avenue N. between Harrison and Mercer Streets in front of the Museum of Pop Culture on the eastern edge of the Seattle Center campus, followed 5th Avenue through Downtown and the International District to Interstate 90, followed I-90 across Lake Washington to Mercer Island, turned around and headed back across the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge to the shoreline, followed Lake Washington Boulevard S. to Seward Park, looped Bailey Peninsula, and followed Lake Washington Boulevard S. back up the shoreline to McGilvra Boulevard E. in Madison Park. From there, the course followed E. Madison Street southwest to the southern entrance of the Washington Park Arboretum, turning north on Lake Washington Boulevard E. to E. Interlaken Boulevard. The course followed Interlaken northwest out of the Arboretum and through Interlaken Park, then west across Interstate 5 to Boylston Avenue E. Heading south, it followed Boylston back under the freeway, where it becomes Lakeview Boulevard E., then followed Lakeview south, once again over the interstate, to Eastlake Avenue E. The course turned west on Republican Street through Cascade to Dexter Avenue N., where it jogged north one block to Mercer Street, then turned south on 4th Avenue N. and finished within Memorial Stadium in Seattle Center.7

Later course

The 2018 marathon course began on 5th Avenue N and Harrison Street near the Space Needle, and ended in the nearby Memorial Stadium.8 The course first headed southwest into Downtown Seattle before heading north via Interstate 5 and crossing the Lake Washington Ship Canal via Ship Canal Bridge.9 Runners then went up to NE 103rd Street (just past Matthews Beach Park) and back via the Burke-Gilman Trail.10 The marathon continued west largely on the trail until hitting a turnaround point near 8th Avenue NW, and then headed back south across Lake Union via the Aurora Bridge to finish in Memorial Stadium.11

Current course

As of 2024[update], the marathon course begins adjacent to the Space Needle on the Seattle Center campus and travels south on 5th Avenue through Downtown Seattle. It then turns north onto the Interstate 5 express lanes and crosses the Ship Canal Bridge over the Lake Washington Ship Canal to an exit in the University District. The course travels east and south across the University of Washington campus via Stevens Way and Rainier Vista to cross the Montlake Bridge. It continues through the Washington Park Arboretum and turned west onto Interlaken Boulevard to cross the University Bridge and turn west onto Northlake Way towards Gas Works Park. The course then turned north onto State Route 99 through Woodland Park and circled Green Lake before returning to the highway. It then continued across the Aurora Bridge and ended at Memorial Stadium.12

Sponsorship

The marathon was previously sponsored by Amica Insurance.

The current title as sponsor as of 2023 is UW Medicine.13

Seattle Quadzilla

The Seattle Marathon used to be the last of a series of four marathons in four days referred to as the Seattle Quadzilla. The race series also included the Wattle Waddle Marathon on Thursday, the Wishbone Run on Friday, and the Ghost of Seattle Marathon on Saturday.14

There were 24 finishers in 2010, the first year the series was held.15

In recent years, there have been changes to these races and, as a result, the Seattle Quadzilla series. The Wattle Waddle continues to be held on Thanksgiving, but it is under new management. The Wishbone Run no longer takes place, and it has been replaced by the Grateful Runners Turkey Revenge. The Ghost of Seattle Marathon is also under new ownership as of 2024, and it is now known as the Seattle Ghost Marathon. Finally, the Seattle Marathon is no longer considered an official part of the Seattle Quadzilla. To earn the Quadzilla medal, a runner must instead complete the It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas pop-up race.16

Winners

DateMale winnerTimeFemale winnerTimeRf.
November 15, 1970 Evan Shull (USA)2:38:41none171819
November 21, 1971 Sean O'Riordan (IRL)2:31:09.8 Suzanne Taylor (CAN)4:16:3420
November 19, 1972 Wolf Schamberger (CAN)2:35:45none212223
December 1, 2019 Cesar Mireles (USA)2:33:16 Kristina Randrup (USA)3:03:592425
2020cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic26
December 15, 2021 Alex Forte (USA)2:29:32 Jordan Oakes (USA)2:56:4527
November 26, 2022 James Wenzel (USA)2:32:32 Fawn Whiting (CAN)3:00:1928
November 26, 2023Max Randal2:27:03Callahan McKenzie2:47:5429

Notes

Further reading

References

  1. "Untitled". www.arrs.run. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201214013510/https://www.arrs.run/HP_SeaMa.htm ↩

  2. "About — Seattle Marathon.org". www.seattlemarathon.org. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20151115194115/http://www.seattlemarathon.org/about/#selection-1801.0-1801.233 ↩

  3. "About — Seattle Marathon.org". www.seattlemarathon.org. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20151115194115/http://www.seattlemarathon.org/about/#selection-1801.0-1801.233 ↩

  4. The Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) records that only 21 runners finished.[5] /wiki/Association_of_Road_Racing_Statisticians ↩

  5. "H O M e | Seattle Marathon". www.seattlemarathon.org. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201124155202/https://www.seattlemarathon.org/#selection-1311.0-1320.0 ↩

  6. "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201214023810/https://mobile.twitter.com/SeattleMarathon/status/1301248785285349379 ↩

  7. "Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon & Half Marathon — Seattle Marathon.org". www.seattlemarathon.org. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161123202436/http://www.seattlemarathon.org/amica-insurance-seattle-marathon/ ↩

  8. Course map of full marathon in 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20201214041147if_/https://adobeindd.com/view/publications/27e4464f-6582-42f6-899f-f45f4bb50254/v3lj/publication-web-resources/image/FULL_MARATHON_COURSE_MAP_2018_8x11.png ↩

  9. Course map of full marathon in 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20201214041147if_/https://adobeindd.com/view/publications/27e4464f-6582-42f6-899f-f45f4bb50254/v3lj/publication-web-resources/image/FULL_MARATHON_COURSE_MAP_2018_8x11.png ↩

  10. Course map of full marathon in 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20201214041147if_/https://adobeindd.com/view/publications/27e4464f-6582-42f6-899f-f45f4bb50254/v3lj/publication-web-resources/image/FULL_MARATHON_COURSE_MAP_2018_8x11.png ↩

  11. Course map of full marathon in 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20201214041147if_/https://adobeindd.com/view/publications/27e4464f-6582-42f6-899f-f45f4bb50254/v3lj/publication-web-resources/image/FULL_MARATHON_COURSE_MAP_2018_8x11.png ↩

  12. Vansynghel, Margo (November 29, 2024). "Seattle Marathon 2024: Road closures, parking and weather forecast". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 5, 2024. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-marathon-2024-road-closures-parking-and-weather-forecast/ ↩

  13. "UW Medicine becomes title sponsor of Seattle Marathon". newsroom.uw.edu. March 23, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023. https://newsroom.uw.edu/news/uw-medicine-becomes-title-sponsor-seattle-marathon ↩

  14. "Seattle Quadzilla". seattlequadzilla.co. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20170911150610/http://seattlequadzilla.com ↩

  15. "Marathon Results" (JPG). https://web.archive.org/web/20170628073721if_/http://seattlequadzilla.com/images/quadzilla2010.jpg ↩

  16. Rock, Brian (December 2, 2024). "When the Turkey Trot Was More Than Just a 5k: A Brief History of Marathons On and Around Thanksgiving". Running with Rock. Retrieved December 2, 2024. https://runningwithrock.com/turkey-trot-marathon/ ↩

  17. ARRS notes that no females finished, but it is unclear if any females started, or if only males were permitted to run. ↩

  18. "Untitled". www.arrs.run. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201214013510/https://www.arrs.run/HP_SeaMa.htm ↩

  19. "Ml_1970". www.arrs.run. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201214010341/https://www.arrs.run/MaraList/ML_1970.htm#selection-389.12441-389.12443 ↩

  20. "Untitled". www.arrs.run. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201214013510/https://www.arrs.run/HP_SeaMa.htm ↩

  21. ARRS notes that no females finished, but it is unclear if any females started, or if only males were permitted to run. ↩

  22. "Untitled". www.arrs.run. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201214013510/https://www.arrs.run/HP_SeaMa.htm ↩

  23. "Ml_1972". www.arrs.run. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201214010353/https://www.arrs.run/MaraList/ML_1972.htm#selection-405.19881-405.19883 ↩

  24. "RESULTS | Seattle Marathon". www.seattlemarathon.org. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201214003517/https://www.seattlemarathon.org/results#selection-963.0-969.11 ↩

  25. "Results". online.flowpaper.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201213164745/https://online.flowpaper.com/73030724/2019MARATHONRESULTS/%23page=12 ↩

  26. "H O M e | Seattle Marathon". www.seattlemarathon.org. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. https://archive.today/20201124155202/https://www.seattlemarathon.org/#selection-1311.0-1320.0 ↩

  27. "Awards". results.raceroster.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024. https://results.raceroster.com/v2/en-US/results/jbrxckdpd3bqa43v/awards ↩

  28. "Results". results.raceroster.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024. https://results.raceroster.com/v2/en-US/results/ndsacrph4v27naz7/results?gender=2&page=1&pageSize=100 ↩

  29. "Results". results.raceroster.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024. https://results.raceroster.com/v2/en-US/results/9k4gs2zpyympmtxs/results?subEvent=187077&page=1&genderSexId=36eda1e6-c9ff-4038-802d-2b4b178c7753&pageSize=100 ↩