Course Description
The Sony Ericsson City of Oaks Marathon and Rex Healthcare Half Marathon are USATF-sanctioned events and USATF certified courses (the marathon is a Boston Marathon qualifier). The race courses were designed to showcase many of the focal points of the city, including the new Fayetteville Street, the State Capital Building, Glenwood South, Hillsborough Street, Meredith College, N.C. State University and the Bell Tower. Marathon runners will be treated to running through Umstead State Park. This jewel of the Triangle has long been a favorite destination for local runners. The courses showcase the diversity of Raleigh's landscape, from modern city to forest trails and open farmland.
Both the Sony Ericsson City of Oaks Marathon and the Rex Healthcare Half Marathon will run together for the first roughly eight miles. Half marathoners will then pick up the last 5 miles of the marathon course and continue to the finish. Marathoners will continue out onto the marathon course. Part of the marathon course will traverse 3.5 miles of wide, fine-packed gravel trails through Umstead State Park. Some rolling hills before, within, and after the park make the full marathon course more hilly than the half marathon.
Turn-by-turn Directions
- Begin on Main Campus Drive on Centennial Campus, near the intersection of Varsity Drive
- Continue NE on Main Campus Drive
- Turn left onto Oval Drive
- Turn left onto Centennial Parkway
- Turn right onto Nazareth Street
- Turn right onto Western Boulevard
- Turn left onto Ashe Avenue
- Turn right onto Hillsborough Street
- Turn right onto Dawson Street
- Turn left onto Davie Street
- Turn left onto Fayetteville Street
- Turn right onto Morgan Street
- Turn left onto Wilmington Street
- Turn left onto Edenton Street
- Turn right onto Hillsborough Street
- Turn right onto Glenwood Avenue
- Turn left onto Peace Street
- Continue onto Clark Avenue
- Turn right onto Brooks Avenue
- Turn left onto Kilgore Avenue
- Turn left onto Dixie Trail
- Turn right onto Clark Avenue
- Turn right onto Hillsborough Street
- Turn right onto Blue Ridge
- Half marathon will turn around near Blue Ridge and Trinity and will go back the same way as the marathon (go to step 35)
- Turn left onto Reedy Creek Road
- Turn right onto Edwards Mill Road
- Turn left onto Duraleigh Road
- Turn left onto Ebenezer Church Road
- Turn left onto Graylyn Road
- Continue onto Graylyn Trail in Umstead
- Turn left onto Reedy Creek Trail in Umstead
- Continue on Reedy Creek Road towards Art Museum
- Turn right onto Blue Ridge Road
- Turn left onto Hillsborough Street
- Turn right onto Pullen Road
- Turn right onto Western Boulevard
- Turn left onto Nazareth Street
- Turn left onto Centennial Boulevard
- Turn right onto Oval Drive
- Turn right onto Main Campus Drive
- Finish just past Research Drive on Main Campus Drive
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