On your mark…

Race Weekend is the Celebration.

RACE DAY

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2026

7:30 A.M.

510 North Thomas Street, Athens

You are ready!

Find the Starting Line with all your details in place, and be ready to celebrate at the Finish Line!

Here’s what to expect on Race Day.

  • Friday, January 23, 2026, 4:00 - 7:00 PM, or Saturday, January 24, 2026, 6:00 - 7:00 AM, in Grand Hall 8 at the Classic Center (300 North Thomas Street, Athens)

  • We suggest staying in the Hyatt Place Athens/Downtown, our partner hotel. If you are driving to downtown Athens on race day, locals would suggest parking on the University of Georgia campus (many lots and decks are free on weekends, but do read carefully). The College Avenue Parking Deck is possible. The Classic Center Parking Deck will be overcrowded, and the Courthouse parking deck will be almost impossible to get out of until after the race.

  • All races start near 510 North Thomas Street, in downtown Athens (on the west side of the Classic Center)

  • The first member of all relay teams starts at the main starting line at 7:30 a.m. All other relay team members, be sure you understand when and where to meet your shuttle!

  • All races start together at 7:30 AM, including the first segment of the relay. We suggest arriving to the downtown area by 7:00 AM and being in your assigned corral by 7:15 AM.

  • Gear check will be available in Grand Hall 8, inside the Classic Center, starting at 6:00 AM.

  • Plenty of warm, dry restrooms are available inside the Classic Center. Port-a-potties will also be set up near the Starting Line, near the Finish Line, and at aid stations and water stops along the course.

  • The final mile of the marathon (from 25.2 to the Finish Line) and the final mile of the half marathon (from 12.1 to the Finish Line) is your Home-Stretch Mile! Special awards for the fastest male and fastest female full marathoner, and fastest male and fastest female half marathoner, to finish this mile.

  • The finish line is at the corner of Foundry Street and East Dougherty Street, outside the north-east corner of the Classic Center. (If you are inside, find Grand Hall 8 and go out its back door to the loading dock, or find the Atrium — the big room with all the big stairs and lots of glass doors facing Foundry Street. If you are outside and walking, try mapping “440 Foundry Pavilion” — depending on where you are, going through the Classic Center might be fastest.)

  • Race results, plus post-race relaxation, celebrations, food, drinks, and other activities, will all be in Grand Hall 8, inside the Classic Center.

  • Overall awards for the Half Marathon, and the Home-Stretch Half Marathoner awards, will be presented in Grand Hall 8 at 9:30 a.m. Overall awards for the Marathon and Marathon Relay, and the Home-Stretch Marathoner awards, will be presented in Grand Hall 8 at 11:30 a.m. Age-group awards will be available at a table in Grand Hall 8 after overall winners have been finalized. (Please note that age-group awards are not announced live, and we do not mail awards. Check your time and find the awards table before you leave, if awards matter to you.)

  • Everyone is welcome at the post-post race After Party, Saturday evening at Creature Comforts Brewery in downtown Athens. More details soon!

All finishers (marathon, half marathon, and all members of all relay teams) who did not opt out at registration will receive medals at the finish line. If you opted out of receiving a medal, we are making a donation to the Firefly Trail project in honor of your sustainable no-waste choice. All individual marathon finishers will receive a compostable, natural laurel wreath. And all runners will have the chance to celebrate a personal best time or personal farthest distance with our celebration gong at the finish line!

Fun fact: Our medals are designed every year by a different Clarke County School District student!

Celebrate with a finisher’s medal, a marathoner’s laurel wreath, and our Personal Best gong!

Post-Race Celebrations Indoors!

Come inside the warm, dry Classic Center after your race to find race results and find the awards table — with water, snacks, food, family, friends, photo opportunities, fun activities, a band, Expo vendors, and more. You did it. You deserve to celebrate.

Other Race Day Details

Read many other important details in our detailed Participants’ Guide.

Water Stops

Water stops are approximately every 2-3 miles. Marathon and marathon relay water stops will be near Miles 2.2, 4.8, 6.5, 8.4 (drinks and GU), 10.1, 11.3, 13.4 (drinks and GU), 15.7, 17.4, 19.8 (drinks and bananas), 22.75 (drinks and GU), 23.8, 24.8, and 25.8. Half Marathon water stops will be near Miles 3.3, 4.2, 6.5 (drinks and bananas), 9.5 (drinks and GU), 10.7, 11.5, and 12.6. All water stops have water and Powerade.

Nutrition

GU energy gels will be available at approximately Miles 8.4, 13.4, and 22.75 of the marathon course (salted caramel, with caffeine; vanilla, with caffeine; raspberry lemonade, no caffeine; and strawberry banana, no caffeine). GU energy gels will be available at Mile 9.5 of the half marathon (same flavors). Real bananas will be provided at approximately Mile 19.8 of the marathon, which is approximately Mile 6.5 of the half marathon. We suggest that you also carry plenty of whatever fuel has worked for you in your training.

Relay Details

See the Relay Teams page or the Relay Guide for Relay Leg maps, details about the Relay Exchange Zones and Relay Shuttles, and other information for the marathon relay.

Safety on the Course

Medical tents, medical personnel, aid tents, police and sheriff’s officers, and volunteer HAM radio operators will all be easily identifiable along the course. Please familiarize yourself ahead of time with the safety details presented in the Participants’ Guide.

Bands and Entertainment

Lots! See the list on our Bands and Entertainment page.

Home-Stretch Mile

Watch for signs marking the final mile of the course! Special Home-Stretch Marathoner and Home-Stretch Half Marathoner Awards will be presented to the male and female marathoner, and the male and female half marathoner, who cover the Home-Stretch Mile in the fastest time.

Course Closing Time

The course will be fully supported until 1:30 PM. The Finish Line will be fully supported until 2:30 PM.

Awards

We run for the joy of running, and we celebrate every participant, all day, no matter your pace! We also provide awards for the few people who ran the fastest, but our awards are fun, symbolic, and of almost no actual monetary value (no worries about your status as a student-athlete or an amateur). Overall awards (only) will be announced in brief awards presentations at approximately 9:30 a.m. (half marathon) and 11:30 a.m. (marathon and marathon relay). We do not announce age-group award winners out loud during the awards presentations, and we do not mail awards. Please take the time to find race results inside after the race and find the awards table before you leave, if awards matter to you.

Partner Restaurants

Try one of our partner restaurants for food and drink Friday evening, Saturday after your race, or Sunday morning!

Can I Do This?

Welcome, first-timer racers! And yes, you can do this!

Trust your training. You have been working hard, and you are ready.

Lay out everything you will need the night before, eat whatever you have been eating before your training runs, and have a plan in your head for your race. Racers tell each other “Don’t go out too fast,” which means not to let the excitement at the starting line sweep you up into running a pace that you will not be able to maintain. Racers also tell each other “Run your own race,” “Have a great run,” and (our local favorite, here in Athens) “Have a good race, and have a safe race!”

If you are looking for any other details about your race, try the Course Information page, read the Detailed Guides, use the navigation options at the top of the page to find many more details about our races, or try our Instagram account or our Facebook page.

Or email us!