Blue Ridge 52.4M Marathon Half Marathon & 10k

Runners will make their way just north of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the nearly 470-mile highway that unfolds along the Blue Ridge Mountains and through some of the most scenic parts of Virginia and North Carolina. Filled with some challenging uphill and downhill stretches, especially in its first six miles, the half marathon (like the full marathon) starts in downtown Roanoke next to Elmwood Park. From there, runners follow the route west along Salem Avenue and then southward along Jefferson Street, toward Mill Mountain Park. After roughly the first mile, runners turn left from Jefferson onto Walnut Avenue, and begin making their way around Mill Mountain Park. (MORE: 16 Photos of the Blue Ridge Marathon & Half, America’s Toughest Road Marathon) Here’s where the race’s hills really begin, rising more than 300 feet in elevation as runners make their way along the Fishburn Parkway that winds its way around the park, and then into the park, past the Mill Mountain Zoo on the roads that zig-zag back and forth through the park. Runners then follow the winding trails downhill through the park and then head out back into the city for stretches that wind through residential neighborhoods, before the course climbs again in the second half, this time along Peakwood Drive near Fern Park. The half marathon features a 6-hour course time limit, and the full marathon has a time limit of 7.5 hours, which makes it possible for the race to welcome both runners and walkers in both distances. The total elevation gain for the half marathon is just shy of 1,900 feet, organizers note, and the course is USATF-certified.