Course

The award-winning Amica Newport Marathon and Half Marathon courses are a veritable highlight tour of the best Newport has to offer!

Elevation Profile

Both the marathon and half-marathon courses are beautiful but both also feature their share of rolling hills – particularly the second half of the marathon on Middletown’s quiet, rural roads. We encourage runners to review the course and prepare for these hills, particularly if they are chasing personal bests or qualifying times. The total elevation gain is measured at 847 feet, with a maximum elevation of 105 feet and minimum of 3 feet.

Waved Start

The Marathon and Half Marathon both start at 7:30 AM with multiple waves starting minutes apart. Runners will be asked to loosely organize by pace time, with the faster runners going off first and slower paces going last. There will be volunteers assisting with the pacing process.

Course Support

Water, Nuun, and restrooms will be available roughly every two miles, at miles 2.1, 3.7, 5.4, 7.1, 8.7, 9.3, 11.5, 13.1, 14.7, 15.3, 17.2, 18.7, 20.5, 21.5, 22.2, 23.8, and 24.4.

Bananas, GU Energy gels, candy and medical stations will be offered at select marathon aid stations. Digital clocks will be placed every five miles. Please review the course map to see the specific aid station offerings.

All Nuun on course will be their Lemon Lime Endurance mix. The GU Energy Gels will be an equal mix of Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bean, and Strawberry Banana.

Time Limits

We welcome runners and walkers of all speeds. However, volunteers, on course-aid and roads can only be secured and staffed for a set amount of time.

All participants must be able to finish in 6 hours for the marathon, and 3.5 hours for the half-marathon. This requires a pace of 16:01 per mile. for the half marathon, and 13:44 per mile for the marathon. Runners who do not meet the cutoffs will be asked to move to the sidewalk and/or escorted to the finish area in a vehicle, as determined by race officials.

Because of our strict time limit, we encourage anyone with an estimated finish time close to 3.5 hours/6 hours for the half and full respectively to consider the early start option.

Early Start Option

We offer an early 6:30 AM start option for those concerned about meeting the course time limits. Please note that the course is not yet fully supported and secure at this time.

The course will be marked, but we ask that you are familiar with the route and stay on the sidewalks/side of the road. Aid station supplies will be available but may be in the process of being set up at the first few aid stations. Early starters are ineligible for age group and overall awards.

Please email us at [email protected] if you are registered and would like to start early so we can adjust your gun time results accordingly.

Pacers

Please respect your fellow participants and queue up at the race start according to your anticipated pace. Our Ragged Island Brewing Pace Team made up of the Rhode Island Road Runners will be providing individual pacers for the marathon and half marathon at the following times:

1:30 Half / 3:00 Full — 6:52/per mile
1:37 Half / 3:15 Full — 7:26/per mile
1:45 Half / 3:30 Full — 8:00/per mile
1:52 Half / 3:45 Full — 8:34/per mile
2:00 Half / 4:00 Full — 9:09/per mile
2:15 Half / 4:30 Full — 10:17/per mile
2:30 Half / 5:00 Full — 11:26/per mile
2:45 Half / 5:30 Full — 12:35/per mile
3:00 Half / 6:00 Full — 13:43/per mile

Course Certification & Boston Qualifying

Both courses are certified by USA Track & Field. Marathon finishers can use their net time for qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Net time is calculated when the individual runner crosses the start line and finish line.

Half Marathon USATF Certification
Marathon USATF Certification

Prohibited on the Course

We do not allow the following on the course: unregistered runners, pets, baby joggers, strollers, any wheeled vehicles other than wheelchairs (In accordance with USATF guidelines, wheelchair athletes must wear helmets).

Spectators

Spectators may use the shuttles, but runners get first preference. We suggest spectators use the full marathon parking lot (Second Beach). Get there early if you want to be there for the start! Other great viewing spots include Fort Adams State Park, Brenton Point State Park and Sachuest Point.

Traffic and Community Impact

We consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to share the beauty of Newport and Middletown with our runners. Please be respectful of the local communities and do your best to only discard clothing layers and trash at aid stations and/or mile-markers.

The race starts and finishes at Easton’s Beach. Roads will be managed by the Newport and Middletown Police Departments and will largely remain open to traffic throughout the day, but delays and temporary stoppages can be expected from 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM throughout the course.