Shoreline Half Marathon & 5K 2026

The Seattle Marathon is a road marathon in Seattle, Washington, typically held the weekend after Thanksgiving. It began in 1970, organized by University of Washington friends, with 38 starters and 31 finishers. The event is closely associated with Seattle Center; recent course details place the start near the Space Needle, and past finishes have occurred in Memorial Stadium. A recent edition saw 8,642 marathon finishers, indicating a growth from its early club-style origins. The course has evolved, often incorporating Seattle’s lakes, bridges, parks, and central neighborhoods instead of a single out-and-back route. Earlier courses ran down 5th Avenue through downtown and the International District, crossed Lake Washington to Mercer Island, circled Seward Park, ascended through Madison Park and the Washington Park Arboretum, and returned via Interlaken and Eastlake to Seattle Center. A subsequent route directed runners north over the Ship Canal Bridge, along the Burke-Gilman Trail near Matthews Beach, west towards Ballard, and back across Lake Union on the Aurora Bridge. This is a city marathon featuring distinct Seattle geography: waterfront sections, freeway crossings, trail segments, park roads, and a start-finish area near the Space Needle.