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| EVENT INFORMATION You may receive additional Marathon updates as we get closer to race day!
Race Date: Sunday, November 13th
Race Start Time: 8am for runners and relay teams. Walkers start at 6:30am.
Location: Start is on Market St Bridge/City Island, finish in in downtown Harrisburg at 2nd and Locust St
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| DEFERRALS AND RACE COMMUNICATIONS Deferrals
The deadline to defer your entry is Tuesday, November 8th at 11:59pm. No deferrals will be accepted after this date. Race Communications
It is our desire that every participant has a wonderful experience and is equipped with all necessary information for race day! This is why our Harrisburg Marathon race staff has made this pre-race email as comprehensive as possible. If you have additional questions that cannot be answered within the contents of this email, please refer to the guidelines below! - Phone Calls: Due to extensive time out of the office preparing prior to the race, we kindly request no phone calls after Wednesday, November 9th. We will not be able to return phone calls after this time.
- Emails: If you have any questions, please hit reply to this email and let us know as soon as possible! Any email submissions after Thursday, November 10th may not be returned in a timely manner.
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| RACE START AND COURSE CLOSE INFORMATION
Runners and relay teams will start at 8am.
Walkers will start at 6:30am. - Anyone who wants to start with the walkers at 6:30am must be registered to do so by the close of online registration. It is not a problem to change from a runner (8am start) to a walker (6:30am start).
- If you would like to change from a runner to a walker, please read the Walker section in this email first and then hit "reply" to this email and request to change your status to a walker. You must have this request in by Monday, November 7th.
The race will start on the Market St Bridge at City Island. The bridge will be closed to all traffic around 7:30am. Please refrain from standing on the Market St Bridge until the road is closed to traffic.
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The course will officially close at 2pm. At this time, police and volunteers will no longer be on the course.
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| PACKET PICK-UP AND EXPO
There are three opportunities for packet pick-up:
Friday, November 11th - Location: Carousel Pavilion on City Island
- Reference address: 25 Station Road, Harrisburg, PA 17101
- Time: 5pm to 7:30pm
Saturday, November 12th- Location: Carousel Pavilion on City Island
- Reference address: 25 Station Road, Harrisburg, PA 17101
- Time: 11am to 4pm
Sunday, November 13th- Location: Carousel Pavilion on City Island
- Reference address: 25 Station Road, Harrisburg, PA 17101
- Time: 6am to 7:45am (the race start at 8am, so please do not cut it too close!)
Check out the new expo presented by Fleet Feet Sports Mechanicsburg!- We are excited to announce an expo as part of the Harrisburg Marathon this year! The expo will be held during packet pickup times on Friday and Saturday.
- The expo will be held in the Carousel Pavilion on City Island
- Come check our various vendors and outfitters to help get you ready for race day! The expo attendee list currently includes Fleet Feet Sports Mechanicsburg, New Balance, Nike, On, Skechers, Elliptigo, Inside Track, Aspire Urgent Care and Family Medicine, Girls on the Run, Athletes Serving Athletes, River Runners, MarathonPacing.com, and Supernola.
Notes- Walkers, please pick up your race bib and race gear on Friday or Saturday. All walkers go off at 6:30am on Sunday morning, so do not cut it too close on Sunday morning. If you miss the 6:30am start time (this will be gun timed), you will not receive an official time for the race. Please give yourself plenty of time to get there early.
- Relay teams, all relay bibs will be packaged together. When one person picks up, they will pick up all race bibs, shirts, and race bags for the whole team.
- Picking up for someone else. You may pick up a race packet and bib for another person, but please notify them if you do so. We do not want any participants to come to packet pick up and not be able to find their race bib because it was picked up by another person.
- No race packets and bibs will be mailed prior to the race
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| RESULTS
Results will be posted on this page as soon as they are ready following the event. Please keep this link handy and check back after the race for full results to be uploaded.
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| PARKING ON RACE DAY
Parking on City Island on race day is free to all participants and spectators. We will be closing City Island around 7:30am in order to start the race on time. The island will be reopened at approximately 8:15am. After this point, spectators who did not arrive prior to 7:30am can come and go from City Island as they please. Please do not attempt to park or drop off runners on City Island past 7:30am.
When you are driving towards City Island, you may see signs that say "Road Work Ahead" or something similar. These signs will be there for lanes that will be closed for the race.
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| BAG CHECK
A bag check area, courtesy of Fleet Feet Sports in Mechanicsburg, will be set up in the Carousel Pavilion on City Island on race morning. These items will then be transported for pick-up in downtown Harrisburg in an area near the finish line/food/post-race food tents, all located in the area around 2nd and Locust St. All bags must be picked up by 1:30pm. Bags that are not picked up will not be mailed.
Clear bags will be provided for participants to use. These clear bags will be the only bags allowed to be checked into packet pickup.
No suitcases, luggage, duffle bags, or any kind of large bag will be accepted.
Please do not drop off valuable items in the bag such as wallets, keys, cell phones, etc.
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| RACE TIMING
The race is timed by PARunners using a disposable chip timing system (runners and walkers) and an ankle strap chip system for relay participants. All participants must wear their assigned bibs at the start of the race. The timing chip will be attached to the back of your bib number.
Race Bib
Please double check and make sure you have the correct bib before leaving packet pick-up. If you are not wearing your bib on the front of your chest during the race, you will not be timed properly.
Timing Chips
The timing chips are disposable and do not need to be turned in at the finish line. Your time is recorded when you cross both the start and finish line mats. If you don't cross these mats, your time will not be recorded accurately. Walkers must cross the finish line only. Your starting time will be adjusted accordingly.
Chip time will be used for Boston qualification. Results will be posted on PARunners.com following the race.
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| WALKERS
Please pick up your race bag and bib on Friday or Saturday. If you try to pick up on Sunday morning and have to wait in line, you may miss the start at 6:30am. At about 6:20am, please report to the Market St Bridge on City Island in advance of the race starting at 6:30am. Police and volunteers will not be available until closer to 8am. Please provide your own water until this time.
Yellow directional signs will be located at all turns and intersections to tell you which direction to go. Please follow all signs.
Exercise extreme caution in crossing busy intersections and in navigating the course. You will be on the Greenbelth path, sidewalks, and the walking lane of the Harvey Taylor Bridge.
Roads will still be open to traffic prior to the 8am start time. The finish line will close at 2:00pm.
Walkers are permitted to do a walk/jog while on the course.
Please only use the 6:30am start time if you think you need the extra time to finish all 26.2 miles.
If any participant would like to change their status from a runner to a walker, you must hit "reply" to this email and request the change by Monday, November 7th. Participants not registered as walkers cannot show up at the early 6:30am start. This will result in not having an official time in the results.
All walker times will be gun time at the start and chip time at the finish.
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| PACERS
We will be offering pace groups courtesy of MarathonPacing.com. The pace team will be available on Saturday at packet pick-up to meet with runners and to discuss your race plan. The pacers are experienced marathon coaches. On race morning, they will be lined up at the starting line according to pace holding finishing time signs. There is no cost to run with a pacer.
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| AID STATIONS AND BATHROOMS
Aid stations will be located approximately every 2 to 2.5 miles on the course. They will have water, Gatorade (Frost Glacier Freeze), and Honey Stinger Energy Gels (Vanilla, Acai Pomengranate, and Fruit Smoothie). Water station #1 will only have water.
You may carry your own liquid and gels. Aid station personnel and course monitors will have cellular phones to call for medical assistance, if needed. EMS support will be located on a roving basis throughout the course.
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Port-o-potties will be located approximately every 2 miles along the course.
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| COURSE
The race will start on the Market St Bridge at City Island. The Arooga's finish line is in downtown Harrisburg at the intersection of 2nd and Locust St.
Additional split timing mats: Additional split timing mats will be placed on the course. The location of the split timing mats will not be revealed prior to the race. Split timing mats on the course will be backed up by manual data. Split timing mats on the course will be cross-referenced prior to the awards ceremony.
Lower Level Greenbelth Path. There are some parts of the lower level Greenbelt Path (along the river) that are uneven. Please use caution and watch your step when running on the lower level path along the river.
Bikes on the course. There will be a group of designated lead bikers and bike sweepers on the course. While we want all participants to have as much support as possible, we are not able to allow spectator bikes on the course to ride alongside participants.
The course is a USATF certified course and a Boston Marathon Qualifying race. The certification number is PA15036WB.
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| FINISH LINE
The Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District Finish Line is in downtown Harrisburg at the intersection of 2nd and Locust St. For a diagram of how to get from City Island to the finish line area, click here. There will not be a shuttle from the finish line back to City Island.
Please note that there is a hard-finish time at 2pm. After 2pm, police and volunteers will no longer be on the course and the race timer will begin breaking down their timing equipment.
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| RACE PHOTOS
Penn Images will be on hand taking pictures Harrisburg Marathon! The race pictures will be uploaded to their website at PennImages.com in the days following the event.
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| AWARD SCORING INFORMATION
Awards for this race are scored in the same format as the Boston Marathon:
- Overall awards - Gun time
- Age group awards - Chip time
If you are not familiar with the difference between chip time and gun time, please take a moment to read below.
Chip time is the total time between when you race bib cross the starting line mats and the finish line mats. Your race bib has a timing chip that will trigger when you cross both locations.
With chip time, order of finish does not determine award placement. Just because you cross the finish line before another participant does not mean you ran a faster time than them.
Example: Participant A crosses the finish line 5 seconds before participant B. It appears that Participant A had a faster time and would place above Participant B in the awards. But, Participant B actually crossed the starting line 30 seconds AFTER Participant A. In the final results, Participant B had a chip time that was 25 seconds faster than Participant A, so Participant B would be seeded higher in the final results and for the age group awards.
In summary, just because you cross the finish line before someone does not necessarily mean your chip time was faster.
Gun time starts when the air horn goes off and finishes when your race bib (timing chip on the back) crosses the finish line mats.
With gun time, all participants have a starting time that begins when the air horn sounds at the beginning of the race. Their official time is determined when they cross the finish line and their bib triggers when they cross the finish line mats.
All gun times are seeded in direct order of finish. With gun time, any time you cross the finish line before someone, you are seeded above that person in the results.
Example: The first male who crosses the finish line gets first place overall, the second male who crosses the finish line gets second place overall, and that continues in that exact order until the last person finishes.
All overall awards are seeded based on gun time (order of finish)
All age group awards are seeded by chip time
All relay awards are seeded by cumulative time results from all four team members
No exceptions will be made when designating overall, age group, and relay awards
When checking results, please make sure you are looking at the correct category when looking to see if you placed for an award.
If you are planning on competing for an age group award, it is highly recommended you start at close to the starting line as possible.
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| AWARD CATEGORIES
Overall Categories (gun time):- Overall open male (1st, 2nd, 3rd place)
- Overall open female (1st, 2nd, 3rd place)
- Overall open male masters (40+, 1st, 2nd, 3rd place)
- Overall open female masters (40+, 1st, 2nd, 3rd place)
Age Group Awards (chip time, 1st, 2nd 3rd place for each age group, male and female):- 19 and under
- 20-24
- 25-29
- 30-34
- 35-39
- 40-44
- 45-49
- 50-54
- 55-59
- 60-64
- 65-69
- 70+
Relay Awards (cumulative chip time, first place for each category listed below)- All male
- All female
- Mixed
- All male masters (cumulative age of 160+)
- All female masters (cumulative age of 160+)
- Mixed Masters (cumulative age of 160+)
- All 50+
No duplicate awards. For example, the person who wins the "overall open male, 1st place" will not also receive first place in his age group.
Awards ceremony will begin at approximately 12pm in the area on 2nd St just past the finish line. The awards ceremony will be at the DJ table.
Awards will not be mailed. Any award winner who is not present to pick up their award can arrange a pick up time at the East Shore YMCA the week following the race.
Only relay teams with 4 members will be eligible for awards. Relay teams 2 and 3 participants are permitted but will not have separate award categories.
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| FINISHER MEDALS
All individual race participants will receive a finisher’s medal at the finish line.
All relay participants will receive relay-specific finisher medals. The person finishing the last leg of the relay will receive 4 medals and will then be responsible for distributing those medals to their team members.
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| LODGING The hotel block at the Hilton is now sold out. There are other hotels in downtown Harrisburg including the Harrisburg Crowne Plaza, the Comfort Inn (525 South Front St), and other rooms at the Hilton that are not included in the Marathon block.
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| MARATHON WEEKEND KICKOFF PARTY!
Zeroday Brewing Company will release a special beer brewed exclusively for and with the Harrisburg Marathon Board for the 2016 Marathon as part of their new "Qualifier Series."
Air Horn One is a session IPA, clocking in at an easy-drinking 5-6% ABV. Brewed with pale and pilsner malts, bittered with Columbus hops, and dry-hopped with Mosaic and Simcoe, this refreshing, light-bodied ale will be a thirst-quenching choice for runners and spectators alike.
Stop by on Friday between 6pm-9pm for a special kilderkin of Air Horn One (tapped by last year's Marathon winners), food trucks, DJ and more!
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| SPECTATORS - VIEWING AREAS ON THE COURSE
There are multiple places for spectators to view the participants during the race. The most convenient location is on City Island and along the riverfront by the Walnut St walking bridge (connects City Island to the east shore). Here are some good spectator locations and approximate mile markers (see course maps in previous section).
Start of race (8am) - Market St Bridge
Transition from Walnut St to the lower level path (at base of the Walnut St Bridge) - approx mile 3.6
City Island - mile 9 to 10
Along the upper level Greenbelth Path (runners will be on the upper level path going both north and south) - approx miles 11 to 13.5 (heading north) and 22.1 to 24.8 (heading south)
Finish - downtown Harrisburg (2nd and Locust St) There are no indoor areas designated for spectators on the course. If spectators want an indoor area to go during the race, please see the section below regarding the downtown establishments by the finish line.
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| SPECTATORS - CHECK OUT THE DOWNTOWN
FINISH LINE BLOCK PARTY!
For the second year in a row, the Harrisburg YMCA Races Aspire Care Harrisburg Marathon will finish in the heart of downtown. The finish line is located on 2nd Street at the Locust Street intersection. This is a great area for spectators to gather and watch the exciting downtown finish.
Various downtown bars and restaurants as several will be open offering breakfast, brunch, & drink specials (see details below). Show your spirit by wearing red and stop by one of the cheer stations and pick up some great red cheer swag!
Block Party Highlights (Participating Bars & Restaurants will open at 10am):
- Sawyer's will feature a tent with a Bloody Mary Bar & The IMPACT Band will perform at 1 pm following the race awards.
- Zembie's Sports Tavern will feature $2.25 Coors Lite Pints, $6.50 pitchers, 60 cent wings, & $6 bloody mary's (and they have the NFL Ticket).
- The Brick Haus will have their infamous Bleacher Creature ready for spectators and will be carrying the Zeroday race beer and offering drink specials.
- McGrath's Pub will open at 9am and will serve a special brunch menu all day. They will be carrying the Zeroday race beer as well and offering drink specials.
- Arooga's Draft House & Sports Bar - Downtown will open at 9:30am and offer a special breakfast menu. They will be carrying the Zeroday race beer and offering drink specials.
- Federal Taphouse Harrisburg will be open and featuring their Brunch menu along with various specials.
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| THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE EAST SHORE YMCA!
The Harrisburg Marathon is organized by and supports the mission of the East Shore YMCA, which is a nonprofit association in Harrisburg, PA. Thank you all for participating in this event and supporting our mission of building strong kids, strong families, and strong communities!
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| A special thanks to the 2016 Harrisburg Marathon Title Sponsor
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| The 2016 Harrisburg Marathon medical services are proudly provided by Pinnacle Health
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