VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The annual Shamrock Marathon returned to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront this weekend.
25,000 runners came out to celebrate the 50th year of the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon weekend after a two-year hiatus.
The weekend kicked off with a ribbon-cutting to mark the start of the Sports and Fitness Expo at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, followed by packet pick up which included vendors from all over the US.
Saturday began with the TowneBank Shamrock 8K.
David Gregory of Virginia Beach crossed the finish line as the First Place Male with a time of 25:21. Julianne Quinn of Charlottesville crossed as the First Place Female with a time of 29:13.
After the 8K, events for children began. Both the Leprechaun Dash and the Operation Smile Shamrock Final Mile were said to have brought tons of energy to the beach with a grand finish by King Neptune.
The Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon and the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon both took place on Sunday providing a scenic route with historic landmarks and neighborhoods.
For the Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon, Harrison Toney of Richmond was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 1:06:43. Kate Sanborn of Raleigh was the First Place Female with a finish time of 1:13:29.
For the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon, Luke Rovenstine of Reading, Pennsylvania was the first to break the tape with a finish time of 2:25:58. Catherine Medvene of Washington, DC was the First Place Female with a finish time of 2:49:34.
Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne, former Governor George Allen, Attorney General Jason Miyares and Mayor Bob Dyer were all in attendance to welcome back the marathon weekend.
The founder of Shamrock, Jerry Bocrie, also participated in the weekend festivities, to celebrate a 50-year-old vision.
“We could not have had a better weekend to celebrate 50 years,” said Jerry Frostick, race director and co-owner of J&A Racing. “To see the sunshine, smiles and joy that this event brought to thousands of participants- that is what it is all about. We have been patiently waiting for this weekend to arrive, so to be treated to amazing weather, incredible community support and partnerships that have grown to friendships, it really was the perfect way to celebrate our Golden year.”
Shamrock Weekend 2023 is already in the works with dates set for March 17-19, 2023. Registration can be found here.
