26.2 | Full Marathon
The Full Marathon is the perfect Boston Marathon qualifying event because it’s fast, flat, and notorious for being the backdrop for setting personal bests. The course starts in Wrightsville Beach and makes a straight shot to downtown Wilmington. The back half of the marathon is in beautiful Greenfield Lake and will finish at Riverfront Park. Runners will explore the best Wilmington, NC has to offer. Come span the Cape Fear Coast and run from destination to destination.
13.1 | Half Marathon
Who wants to run from Wrightsville Beach to Downtown Wilmington? Designed to test your limits, the Half-Marathon guides runners on a fast-paced trip around Wrightsville Beach’s waterfront straight to the Cape Fear River. This run is a popular one with veterans, first-time half marathoners, and experienced runners alike. Known for the flat terrain and running 1 straight line from the Beach to Downtown Wilmington, this is a fun, fast destination to destination race.
26.2 Relay
Marathon Relay
Grab a friend (or three) and get ready to cover some ground! The Marathon Relay is the perfect opportunity to perfect your skills as a team, with flat course expanses and a route that takes each of you through an iconic part of Wilmington or the Wrightsville Beach area. The exchanges happen quickly, so make sure each runner is ready to go, right from the starting line.
The Downtown 5K
3.1 miles
If you’re not into the long distance, the 5K is a great place to participate and enjoy the weekend experience. The 5K provides a manageable course that makes it easy to mark your progress along the way and finishes Saturday morning in the same location as the half and full marathon route. Show off all your hard work and use this mostly flat, maintained course to improve your skills as a runner.
1 Mile Glow Run
Presented by Truist
Calling all Kids! The NOVANT HEALTH Wilmington Marathon features a free kids 1 mile Glow race. Thank you Truist bank for coming on board and helping support our healthy kids initiative. We want to inspire kids to run without the cost and get kids from all backgrounds to participate. Kids will get a race t-shirt, bib, and free Waffles from Waffle House at the finish!
OUR PASSIONATE TEAM IS READY TO PUT ON AN AMAZING RACE FOR YOU!
“THIS RACE IS HIGH ON MY LIST OF EVENTS PEOPLE SHOULD COME TO” ~Dave McGillivray
Course Maps
Whether you are a runner looking to win your age group or a first time marathoner, you need to know the course. Check out our detailed maps page. Full, Half and Relay race begins at Wrightsville Beach and the 5K and 1 mile are both downtown. Explore Wilmington, NC from our Beaches to Historic Riverfront!
Schedule of Events
Thursday February 24th, 2022
5:00pm to 7:00pm – Expo/Packet Pickup at Wilmington Convention Center
Friday February 25th, 2022
11:00AM – Expo/Packet Pickup at Wilmington Convention Center
6:00pm – 1 mile Kids Glow Run presented by Truist
8:00pm Packet Pickup Ends
Saturday, February 26th
4:45am Shuttle Service Begins
7:05am: National Anthem
7:10 am: Half and Full Marathon and Marathon Relay Start
7:10am: 5K start downtown Wilmington at Riverfront Park
10:00am Half Marathon Award
11:00am Full Marathon Award
1:20pm Course Cutoff
Novant Health Wilmington Marathon Releases New Logo
Novant Health and New Hanover Regional Medical Center are the title sponsor of the Wilmington NC Marathon and Half Marathon weekend. Novant Health’s new branding will now take over for the Wilmington Marathon which became a perfect time to redesign our logo to...
2021 Wave Start Times
IMPORTANT START LINE INFORMATION When to Arrive: Participants will first come to the Start Line Check In, then will make their way to the Pre-Start Area, then to the Start Line. Please arrive to Start Line Check In 15 minutes prior to your Start Time. Masks:...
“Just a quick note to thank you for the outstanding race you put on every year. WB Half Marathon is my favorite event. Well done! I do a lot of half marathons and when I take their surveys, I can never in good conscience check (x) “the best” under their questions because your race is simply the best. Don’t let it get to you about the medals! That stuff happens in business. I run a business and we get curve balls every day. You handled it with class. I saw you and your friends running Sunday morning (I was about to go back over the bridge) and I noticed you picking up trash along the route. That just shows the amount of class in which you operate. Thank You”
