Packet Pick-Up and Classic City Marathon Expo
Athens Classic Center | 300 North Thomas Street | Athens, GA
Grand Hall 8 (lower level)
Friday, January 23, and Saturday, January 24, 2026
Packet Pick-Up Hours:
Friday, January 23, 2026: 4 pm to 7 pm
Saturday, January 24, 2026: 6 am to 7 am
Yes, a friend can pick up your marathon or half marathon bib for you. They will need your registration confirmation email or a copy of your ID.
One member of each Relay team will check in for the team.
See more details about Packet Pick-Up in the Participants’ Guide.
Expo Hours:
Friday, January 23, 2026: 4 pm to 7 pm
Saturday, January 24, 2026: 8 am to 1 pm
The Classic City Marathon Expo: So much more than packet pick-up!
Friday Only
Meet UGA’s Hairy Dawg, 4:00 - 6:00 pm!
Cheer for the fun of three Classic City Wrestling pro wrestling matches!
Help make the crowd-sourced, community-effort laurel wreaths that all individual full-marathon finishers will receive!
Free sign-making supplies and free cowbells for friends, family, and other spectators!
Friday and Saturday
Learn your way around town with the Athens Welcome Wagon!
Shop for Classic City Marathon shirts, sweatshirts, and other merch. Talk with our dedicated Green Team volunteers.
A bounce house, recovery boots from Oconee Recovery Bar, and the best Photo Booth ever!
Samples from Gold Sponsor RedBull, samples from Gold Sponsor Michelob ULTRA Zero, gifts from Gold Sponsor Creature Comforts Brewery, and samples from local favorites Journey Juice and Publica Coffee.
And many other booths and activities, including from our other generous sponsors and partners Fleet Feet Athens-Oconee, RAIN Pure Mountain Spring Water, The Cancer Foundation of Northeast Georgia, 26 Foot & Ankle, Water Monster, Triad / ORB, HIBO drinks, and the UGA Miracle fundraising groups!
What is… the Twilight Buzz?
What is… the Clarke County School District STEAM Innovation Bus?
Come find out at the Classic City Marathon Expo!
Getting to the Expo
If you are staying in our race hotel, you are there already; the Expo at the Classic Center is downstairs in the next building. If you will be parking in downtown Athens for the Expo on Friday, try the Courthouse Parking Deck, the College Avenue Parking Deck, or metered street parking. The North Campus Parking Deck on the University of Georgia campus also allows paid visitor parking on weekdays and paid or free parking on weekends. The Classic Center Parking Deck will be overcrowded. The Expo and Saturday’s Post-Race Gathering and Celebrations area are all in Grand Hall 8, on the lower level of the Classic Center’s main building.
What is an “Expo”? What is a “Packet”?
Welcome, first-time racers! A race’s “expo” is always a meeting place, an entertainment spot, and a temporary shopping mall. Sponsors of the race and other suppliers will have tables or booths with information and with running gear, supplies, samples, and souvenirs for sale. It’s also where you will pick up your “packet,” which refers to the number you must pin to your shirt on race day (also known as your “race bib”), your commemorative race shirt to wear later, and the special team belt for relay participants. (Runners used to receive a whole packet of paper ads and other materials, but most races have gone green. You’ll get a “virtual packet” of great offers from our sponsors the day after the race, instead of paper ads.)
Pro tip: Enjoy the expo, but don’t spend too much time on your feet, and don’t let anyone at the expo convince you to try anything new on race day! Run in shoes you know, and use the nutrition you’ve been training with.