Yes. The Gettysburg North-South Marathon course is certified according to USATF (PA22010NP) standards allowing you to qualify for Boston. Once our race results are made official, we forward them directly to Boston’s registration department. Click here for more information about Boston qualifying.

We will have disposable bib chip timing provided by 2L Race Services to ensure fast and accurate results for all competitors. There is also RaceJoy GPS tracking and official timing so family and friends can follow your progress on the course during the race.

Yes. The course will remain open for 6 hours.  For marathon runners, that is ~ 14:00/mile, so unless you can walk VERY fast, it is a run-only event. The half marathon also has 6 hours which makes it very walker friendly.  The 5K technically has a limit of 5:45.  At that 2:00 pm, we will begin breaking down aid stations and packing up the timing, but we try to keep the medals out and food and drinks available as long as possible.

We do not allow refunds.  Deferrals are self managed through RunSignup and allowed until one month prior to the event (log into Runsignup where you registered and you can elect to defer if needed). You can change to the Gettysburg Blue-Gray Half Marathon or the 2L Race Services 5K (both are held together with the Gettysburg North-South Marathon) until race morning.

If a race is not sold out, we will have race weekend registration.

No. Portions of the course will have roads closed, while other areas will be open to light traffic on back-country roads. A combination of police officers, park rangers, and certified flaggers will direct traffic and runners to ensure your safety.

Headphones are strongly discouraged but not banned. Headphones present safety concerns for yourself and, more importantly, the other runners around you. Having a safe course is one of the top priorities. If you elect to wear headphones, we encourage you to use them in such a manner that you can hear surrounding sounds (traffic control personnel, vehicles, volunteers, and other runners).  All participants who choose to wear any form of headphones assume all responsibilities and risks.

Unfortunately, our course is not closed to traffic, so we cannot allow baby joggers or strollers. These present safety concerns for yourself and, more importantly, the other runners around you. Having a safe course is one of the top priorities for all our participants.

Pets are not permitted in any of the Gettysburg Festival of Races events.

Yes.
The Gettysburg North-South Marathon:  500 Runners participants
The Gettysburg Blue-Gray Half Marathon: 1500 participants
The 2L Race Services 5K: 500 participants

Sadly, the event can no longer travel through the Gettysburg National Military Park. Park Management instituted a new policy in 2022 that officially bans all races of any kind. We fought as hard as we could to get them to change this policy, but in the end, they dug in and were unwilling to change. The new route which travels through southern Adams County and crosses the Mason-Dixon Line into Maryland is wooded and beautiful.

We will have medals based on the event logo for all finishers of the Gettysburg North-South Marathon and the Gettysburg Blue-Gray Half Marathon.

There are no finisher medals for the 2L Race Services 5K.

Your bib gets you entry to the post-race party, and your bib has a tear tag (ticket) that entitles you to ONE FREE BEER (if you are 21+).

Yes, but there is a late pickup fee of $20. We have a fantastic expo on Saturday and want everyone to attend.  However, we understand there are circumstances that make it too difficult, if not impossible, to come Saturday from 1-7 pm. You can pay $10 to have your packet shipped to you up until 3 weeks prior to race day.  After that, you can pay $20 for late/express shipping to have your packet shipped to you.

Because of the rural nature of our course, spectators are not allowed on the course.  There is no where for vehicles to park without going onto private property (not allowed) or parking on the side of the road and creating dangerous conditions for the runners.  Our event offers the RaceJoy app which allows family and friends to watch participants move along the race course and send digital text-to-talk cheer messages.  It does require that participants run with a phone and have the app set up and activated.  We have used the app since 2020 and it has been very popular among users.

• There is one exception to spectators on the course.  We do need volunteers working aid stations to supply runners with water and gatorade.  Some family/friends who want to see their loved ones and cheer them on in person elect to volunteer to work an aid station.  Please contact us for more information if you want to find out more about this.