Salisbury Marathon

I was looking through MarathonGuide for a marathon on the weekend of April 5-6, 2025. I checked out the Salisbury Marathon and found that it had pretty good reviews so I decided to give it a shot. I was not disappointed. This is a top notch race. Of all the marathons I’ve done, this one’s ranks among the best in all aspects. The organization and execution were flawless. Starting with the website and sign up process to communication, updates, easy packet pick up, nice race shirt, easy free garage parking, excellent signage , super easy bag drop, good start line vibe, beautiful rural course, wonderful and safe course management from plenty of police at major road crossings to fire department EMTs on bikes, supportive volunteers, adequately stocked aid stations, finish line announcer calling out runners’ names, a nice variety of finish line food and drinks, different medals for different distances, heat wraps, free massages, free race photos including a personalized finish photo with your own personal finishing time, several great bands made up of very talented kids, and 2 free craft beers with the option to buy more……everything was great! This is a race organization that takes runner feedback seriously and is open to any advice, suggestions, or criticism in order to continue to try and deliver a great runner experience. I don’t think you can go wrong choosing this race.

Such a hometown vibe. One of the runners I met runs a local gymnastics gym and she said she wanted to qualify for Boston that day. When I saw her later, she said close but next time, and I said, "You did awesome, clearly have a compassion for running, and others. It's contagious, many of us - me, included - got more out of ourselves out there today, got to the finish line, thanks to YOU, others, all in this together. I can tell there is a lot of local pride in this." She noted the mayor who promoted it, ran it himself, and added, "That aid station at Mile 25, that's my family!" How could we miss it, music blaring, shots flowing, if we choose that, such a positive vibe, "We all got this, together." Race directors Jason and Laura, too, so encouraging for all of us - thank you. I also met several from a group called Team 360, able-bodied athletes paired with a differently-abled athlete. Many entrants come over from Annapolis, too, and an Eastern Shore Running Club person said they have had an unofficial fun competition, who has more entrants. Lots of both, orange singlets for one, Navy blue for the other! Finish on the downtown mall is so much fun, with music, food, drink, but not too much, emphasis on the running. Salisbury Marathon is incredible!

The weather was rainy and windy, that said, it was a great race other than that. The RD is awesome! Lots of communication, especially with the weather--he kept us updated on the situation. The bag drop was good, the volunteers at the aide stations were awesome--they stayed even though the weather was pretty brutal at times. The course was fairly flat with small hills throughout, which is nice for working different muscles. I did not rent a car, I Ubered around and that worked out fine. Some people may prefer to rent a car because the parking situation was great, close to the start and finish. Shirt is a nice Tee that you can wear anywhere and the medal is nice.