I look forward to this run festival every year! It's so fun! Many different races, 5k, new this year 10k, half marathon and full. They take you all over the city, Start and Finish line are near downtown. This year the 10k started at Camden Yards. So fun! There's thousands of people cheering you on. Other years there's been upwards of 25,000 runners/walkers, hey you get to the end by any means necessary! No Shame in my game! Due to Covid, number of runners was down, around 10,000, but still A LOT of fun! Plenty of fruit, water and snacks waiting for you past the finish line. Free goodies at the booths along the Harbor at the Village of tents. Clothes and shoes to shop. With your race packet comes a drink wristband for a beer or a Truely to enjoy in the beer garden, relaxing listening to the live band. Great fun in the City! read more

Baltimore Running Festival - 5k - Festivals Near Me

What an awesome race! I did the full marathon in 2014 and the half in 2019. I loved both courses and experiences! The unique thing about this festival is that at some points there are three races on the course: full, half, and relay. It changes the dynamic and I found that runners were very supportive of each other, especially for the full marathoners. It was inspiring seeing them at the last miles and being able to cheer for them was amazing. The people of Baltimore who come out to cheer were the best! Playing music, clapping, cheering... It was really motivating and fun! The race is kind of pricey but if you watch out around Cyber Monday there are huge discounts. I highly recommend registering for next year! read more

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What a unique and fun medal! I am glad I finally got to run this half-marathon. Packet pick-up: Communication was smooth throughout - we received our bib confirmations the Monday before the race along with a very helpful event booklet, which detailed the different races and the race courses. The packet pick-up at the convention center was very convenient. I drove up from DC at around 5:30 and got in around 7 with an hour to spare for the packet pick-up deadline. I don't normally shop around at expos, so I am not sure about the different vendors, but there was no line for the pick-up process! Start line: CHECK YOUR BIBS. I am a decently fast runner, but for some reason, they placed me in the walker wave so I just started in the back of wave 1. The start and finish is at the inner harbor, which was very convenient for me and where I was staying - I really appreciated the five minute walk to and from the race! Because you are starting at the 13.1 mark for the marathon, you will NOT start the race with the star spangled banner. I look forward to the moment of silence and solidarity at the start of each race, so I was disappointed by this. Race course: I thought half of the course is quite boring. To be fair, I have been spoiled by running races in San Diego, DC and NY so missed a more scenic route. It picks up around mile 7 when you hit a lake, but just note to make yourself a really good playlist. Plus, there are hills at every.single.mile. If you trained for this, I am sure it would have been fine, but I totally did not expect it and was sad for the seconds shaved from my time. There were water stations and porta-potties every two miles as well as a banana and gu station at around mile 7. The finish: I appreciated the variety of snacks at the finish line, which included multiple power bars and chips along with your banana. Aside from the hills and the somewhat boring course, I thought the race was very well organized. A big thank you to all the volunteers and spectators who supported us and cheered us on. The race would not have been so special without you! read more

Baltimore Running Festival - Festivals Near Me

I finished the 2010 Baltimore marathon in Baltimore, MD on 10/16/2010. It was my 21st marathon and 9th state on my quest to knock off marathons in all 50 states. It was a hard time in the initial buildup of miles, but I did it and financially doing this has been quite a challenge, to say the least. It was the first time for me on the eastern seaboard, marathon related. It was until then that I hadn't reached this part of my life that this was what I was meant to do. The travel was pretty amazing and this lifestyle was definitely well worth the financial sacrifice! The logistics were pretty easy for this race, flying directly into BWI international airport and making my way into the downtown area via public transportation. Of course, you can get here by other means - usually car or Amtrak. However you get here, the Baltimore marathon is a pretty cool gig to do. The hills are quite tame, but the experience here is memorable for sure. The start is in downtown Baltimore and the finish line is 26.2 miles or 13.1 miles away in Camden Yards. At least, I think I know what I am doing. The Baltimore Marathon and half marathon is one of Maryland's most popular races. While there's not much to choose from these days, this one is surely a good choice for a nice fall race to train and prepare for. The year that I did it, there was a hill at mile 5 or 6 and we ran through the ghetto at miles 13-18. I could never forget that portion of the race, where I was near the back of the pack, and those residents on the course were looking at me like, "wha you doin in mah 'hood?" I didn't feel a sense of security here, but I guess it was part of the race course and made it through alright. There was a part of the race course that was a long stretch of out and back, that I didn't really particularly enjoy, but the scenery made up for it. I think it was in the first half, if I wasn't mistaken. The price for enjoying Baltimore in racing shoes can range from $65 to $115, depending on when you sign up, and what distance you decide on conquering. The half marathon usually priced proportionately, covering $45-$75. Industry standard way of registering is online, taking major credit cards, so registering is usually a breeze. Training and preparing for one - not so much, but the preparation is always fun and something worth doing. The Baltimore Marathon packet pick up and expo was held at the M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. It was kind of cool to have an expo here, but it was alright. We had to walk in a circle around the facility before making our way out. It took about 45 minutes to see everything, more or less. The marathon participation field leveled out at about 10,000 runners and the half capped out at 15,000. It was definitely popular one to do, if you are looking for one in Maryland. I find myself looking for another Maryland race on return, but as much as I realize it, it probably will be Baltimore again. The course itself is scenic and 75% residential, weaving in and out of the downtown areas, and into the ghetto, before marching onwards to more residential sections of the course, and finally weaving to the finish line at Camden Yards. It was nice to finish at Camden Yards, since it was close enough to the hotel where I was staying in the Inner Harbor. Running 26.2 miles through Baltimore was pretty daunting, but definitely well worth the experience and financial commitment involved. The finisher medal I received that year was alright. I think they use the Maryland crab as their centerpiece idea for their design. Thought it was a little tacky, but that's how it is. Like many major urban marathons, the course support is rather good and there are aid stations every 2 miles, so that's always fun. Be prepared to take supplemental aid, if you need to and prepare for the conditions you will be inevitably going to be running in. It was a cool morning, but warmed up considerably. I enjoyed myself here at the Baltimore Running Festival marathon and half marathon. I would recommend this one for your next fall marathon. It's worth traveling for. Run more! Support local! B+ read more

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I've been running marathons for years, but I have never run this event before. I loved the run so much, it gave a little bit of everything you train for in a good run. Great hills with high elevation and deep lows. Lots of flat land as well, giving many opportunities to pass. Moving to Florida a few years ago, I miss Baltimore even more. So, it felt less like running, more like seeing old memories. One thing I would also mention there are many distances you can run during the festival including a Marathon, Half Marathon, Relay, and a 5K. Only challenge, if you want to run multiple events like I do normally at weekend events; you might not be able to here as they do all of them in one morning. I tried running a 5K and a Half Marathon with only 45 minutes in between finish and start. Was not one of my best ideas lol read more

Baltimore Running Festival - Right before the Baltimore Half Marathon - Festivals Near Me

I'd definitely have to say that Under Armor and the city of Baltimore sets up one of the best organized road races. They take excellent care of racers and the needs of your spectators. Safety is their number one concern, It never felt overcrowded at the start of finish lines and all the main roads downtown are closed to traffic. UA has got it all covered with directions and hotel recommendations too. It was a really impressive event! My advice to participants is to get to the runner's expo early to pick up your bib and bring plenty of cash or your credit card because the running gear, and shoes they have displays are all awesome designed and runner specific. I found a lot of really great deals actually; they had some discontinued products that I was happy to snach up. Awesome experience! read more

Baltimore Running Festival - Festivals Near Me

I have run this for the past 10 years. It is well organized for sign up and alot of fun to run. I really liked that I could pay extra to have my shirt and bib sent to me. We live a distance away and did not have to take off work early to make sure we would get here in time to pick up my stuff. The Baltimore Police do a wonderful job at the intersections. The crowds in Baltimore are great too with different groups cheering us on. This past year had some changes that were not so great. The start was not in waves, do we were extremely crowded the entire race. Also there were no signs or anything telling people where to line up according to their speed. I Line up middle of the pack and people were ahead of me who were walkers and it was difficult to get around them because of crowding. Also the post covid numbers were half what they used to be so they had less people at the water stations and less bathrooms. However they probably should have had more since we were so crowded. I had to wait a few minutes for a Porta pot at mile 3 and had to wait a bit for Gatorade instead of being able to grab one on the run. Overall it is a great race and I will continue running it. read more

Four years ago, Baltimore half marathon was my first ever half marathon. It was my first ever actual race too (I just jumped right in!) But anyway, I never really had any desire to go back and do another run. Until this year! I just did the little old 5k, but I loved how organized Baltimore Running Fest was. They make good use of social media to communicate with runners... great quality shirts, expo fun stuff, post race runners area... It makes me want to go back and do the relay next year! I love that they have different races that everyone can participate: from the kids run, to the 5k, relay, half, and full marathons. read more

As a Baltimore City resident, I understand that there will be events in the city from time to time. Most of those events are limited to a few blocks or a few streets. This festival was a total nightmare for those of us that live here. The entire downtown corridor was blocked. Very poorly planned and managed. I would not support the city hosting this again. There are enough other places to run. read more

I recently was in the BRF this past weekend, and for a first timer, it was a lot of fun. I was running with team HUM of Baltimore's Helping Up Mission. Its a blessing. I very much enjoyed all of the race! read more

First marathon and what an incredible experience! Extremely organized, easy to find everything, tons of information, and the city of Baltimore was INCREDIBLY motivating! Highly, highly, highly recommend this race to anyone! read more

This was my first marathon and it was a fabulous one. The race itself was well-organized with plenty of water stops and port-o-pots along the routes. The residents really come out to support the runners too; the crowd provided everything from gummy bears to Natty Boh along the way! read more