Course

This is a 4.87-mile course on all paved roads. Conditions vary by year and may include slippery, snowy, and/or icy conditions. It has numerous rolling hills, with nothing steep or long. I often hear locals calling it a hilly course, but anyone living outside of Cape Cod will probably find it perfectly flat!

Why 4.87 and not 5 miles? The course used to incorporate a town-owned dirt road, finishing at the Weary Travelers Club. However, in recent years, maintenance of the dirt road has become unreliable and it is frequently challenging to run (or drive) on. Therefore, we made the decision to alter the route and remove the dirt road. The revised course fell just short of an even five miles.

The entire course is open to traffic on race day. However, it is a Sunday on Cape Cod in the winter. That means there is usually little traffic. Many runners will cut most of the corners with little concern of being squished. I won’t go so far as to suggest you will be able to cut corners, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself able to.

The route includes about a half-mile stretch along the ocean (Monument Beach & Phinney’s Harbor area). If there is any head-wind, it will be in this area. The wind is rarely an issue (other than giving those drafting off you the pleasure of your lovely smell).

There is one water stop about halfway through the route.

Mile marker 3 (as placed on the course) is short. It is actually placed at mile 2.87. I do this to keep the distance from mile marker 4 to the finish consistent with the mile from the start to mile marker 1 (thus mile marker 1 and mile marker 4 are in the same spot on the course). Make sense? No? That’s okay… At least I tried…

Below is an embedded map of the course, an elevation profile, and elevation change by split (mile). Here is a link to the Garmin course (or click View Details in the map): http://connect.garmin.com/course/2626428