Course, Rules, & Awards

Course Certification/Boston Qualifying

The Tallahassee Marathon, Half Marathon, and Relay are run on USATF-certified courses. The full marathon is a qualifying course for the Boston Marathon.

Course Description

The Tallahassee Marathon and Half Marathon begins on Monroe Street across the street from the Florida Capitol. Runners begin travelling north through Downtown before turning onto the rolling hills of the Glenview Drive residential area, through trendy Midtown, and on the tree-lined Calhoun Street and Franklin Boulevard.

After passing the Smoky Hollow Commemoration, runners loop around Cascades Park beside ponds and open green spaces, then climb the Lafayette Street hill to pass through the beautiful Myers Park neighborhood.

The runners next enjoy a long downhill as they cross the Capital Cascades Crossing pedestrian bridge and run along FAMU Way, getting into the Rattler spirit with Florida A&M University to the left and the funky Railroad Square Art Park to the right. The half marathon runners head toward Florida State University, and the full marathon runners turn onto the pancake-flat St. Marks Trail, a paved footpath in a former railroad bed with sections of tree canopy to enjoy. In the middle of the St. Marks Trail section, the course runs alongside Lake Henrietta and through the Jake Gaither neighborhood, so-named for the legendary Florida A&M University football coach.

The full marathon runners then re-join the half marathon course and make their way to Florida State University, passing through the Stadium Drive pedestrian tunnel leading past Doak Campbell Stadium and Dick Howser Stadium. The course then crosses through the southwestern end of campus and through the CollegeTown district’s Madison Mile to the finish line.

The course is on completely paved surfaces except for a 0.1 mile dirt access path on the full marathon route only.

Course Maps

Full and Half Marathon Map. Both courses are certified by USA Track & Field.

Full Marathon Course

Click on map image to view full course map (pdf)


Full Marathon/Relay on MapMyRun. Note distance and mile marks on MapMyRun are estimates. One-the-ground measurements are certified by USATF.

Half Marathon on MapMyRun. Note distance and mile marks on MapMyRun are estimates. One-the-ground measurements are certified by USATF.

Starting Line Location:
Between the Florida Capitol and the Leon County Courthouse, 301 S. Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32301

Finish Line Location:
College Town district, 815 W. Madison Street, Tallahassee, FL 32304

Elevation Charts

Full marathon elevation chart

full marathon elevation chart

Half marathon elevation chart

half marathon elevation chart

Relay

Teams of 4 may participate in the race relay-style, with each team member covering a different section of the course. The relay is held on the full marathon course only. There is a 6-hour cutoff, which means all relay members must be able to run 13:44 per mile or faster.

There will be 3 divisions: men, women, and coed. Men’s and women’s teams must include members of a single gender only. Coed teams must include at least 1 member of each gender. Team members must register separately.

  • Leg 1 – About 6 miles.
  • Leg 2 – About 6 miles.
  • Leg 3 – About 9 miles.
  • Leg 4 – About 5 miles.

Team members will tag off at Exchange Zones on the course. Download full relay rules and instructions here.

Note: Relay Runners will not receive a finisher’s medal.

Course Cut-off Time and Event Timing

All races will start together at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time. All half marathoners must maintain a 15 minute per mile average. All full marathoners and relay runners must maintain an average pace of 13:44 per mile or faster. There is a 6-hour cutoff. Runners who cannot make the needed time checkpoints at every mile are encouraged to stop as there will not be traffic control, water tables, or a finish time provided to those participants. While they will not be forced to stop, any runners who continue must do so unsupported on the sidewalk and not in the road. Unsupported means that police will not be available to stop traffic at intersections and runners will be responsible for their own safety.

The race will be scored with an electronic timing system. Timing mats will be located at the start/finish area and at certain spots along the course. All participants will receive both a gun time and a chip time. Runners on the full marathon course will also receive a 13.1-mile split time.

Awards

Overall, masters, and grandmasters winners in both races will be awarded based on gun time. All other awards will be based on net time.

Full marathon: Cash awards of $1,000, $750, and $500 will be given to the top 3 males and females and $250 for the top masters male/female.
Half marathon: Cash awards of $500 will be given to the top male/female.

Top 3 age group awards for half marathon race beginning with 14-19, and continuing to 70+. Top 3 age group award for marathon race beginning with 16-19, and continuing to 70+. Top 1 award to each relay team in mens, womens, and coed categories.

Minimum Age Requirements

Any participant under the age of 18 must have the waiver signed by a parent. The Race Directors reserve the right to speak with a parent of a participant under 18 years of age and to disallow participation by a minor if we feel the minor is not adequately prepared to participate.