The Seattle Marathon is an annual marathon in Seattle, Washington, U.S. It was first held in 1970 and typically takes place the weekend following Thanksgiving.
History
The inaugural race took place on November 15, 1970.[3] It was organized by a group of friends from the University of Washington.[4] A total of 38 runners participated, with 31 running the full distance.[4][a]
The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[6][7] Entrants were given the option to defer their entry to 2021 or get refunded.
A former course began on 5th Avenue N. between Harrison and Mercer Streets in front of the Museum of Pop Culture on the eastern edge of the Seattle Center campus, followed 5th Avenue through Downtown and the International District to Interstate 90, followed I-90 across Lake Washington to Mercer Island, turned around and headed back across the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge to the shoreline, followed Lake Washington Boulevard S. to Seward Park, looped Bailey Peninsula, and followed Lake Washington Boulevard S. back up the shoreline to McGilvra Boulevard E. in Madison Park. From there, the course followed E. Madison Street southwest to the southern entrance of the Washington Park Arboretum, turning north on Lake Washington Boulevard E. to E. Interlaken Boulevard. The course followed Interlaken northwest out of the Arboretum and through Interlaken Park, then west across Interstate 5 to Boylston Avenue E. Heading south, it followed Boylston back under the freeway, where it becomes Lakeview Boulevard E., then followed Lakeview south, once again over the interstate, to Eastlake Avenue E. The course turned west on Republican Street through Cascade to Dexter Avenue N., where it jogged north one block to Mercer Street, then turned south on 4th Avenue N. and finished within Memorial Stadium in Seattle Center.[10]
The Seattle Marathon used to be the last of a series of four marathons in four days referred to as the Seattle Quadzilla. The race series also included the Wattle Waddle Marathon on Thursday, the Wishbone Run on Friday, and the Ghost of Seattle Marathon on Saturday.[14]
There were 24 finishers in 2010, the first year the series was held.[15]
In recent years, there have been changes to these races and, as a result, the Seattle Quadzilla series. The Wattle Waddle continues to be held on Thanksgiving, but it is under new management. The Wishbone Run no longer takes place, and it has been replaced by the Grateful Runners Turkey Revenge. The Ghost of Seattle Marathon is also under new ownership as of 2024, and it is now known as the Seattle Ghost Marathon. Finally, the Seattle Marathon is no longer considered an official part of the Seattle Quadzilla. To earn the Quadzilla medal, a runner must instead complete the It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas pop-up race.[16]
^"Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). www.seattlemarathon.org. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 18, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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