ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - The Harbor of Hospitality is prepared to live up to its name, and then some, the first weekend of March.
The second Coast Guard Marathon weekend runs from March 2-4, with a 5k scheduled for Friday afternoon and the marathon and half-marathon following on Saturday morning.
Race Director Corrina Ruffieux tells News 3 that signups in 2023 are up ten percent from the year prior — with more than 40 states represented, along with three countries.
“We have a lot of people coming from pretty far away to come run the Coast Guard Marathon and when they travel that far, they’re spending the night, several nights, of course and then they’re experiencing Elizabeth City," said Ruffieux, who is also Executive Director of Visit Elizabeth City, the city's tourism office.
Last year, according to numbers from Visit Elizabeth City, race weekend brought more than $700,000 in sales to city businesses, with more than $25,000 in tax revenue. Events supported nearly 300 jobs, News 3 is told.
That number is expected to increase in 2023, as more businesses come online, particularly in the downtown area, where the Start/Finish line will be.
“(The races add) a lot of people to the area, coming in, walking around. Some added events to the weekend, with First Friday Art Walk and other things [should make it] a busy weekend for us," said Dean Schaan, who opened Seven Sounds Brewing Company on the Pasquotank River waterfront in 2022.
The marathon course, which according to Ruffieux is one of the flattest in the country, extends out of downtown through the U.S. Coast Guard base and Elizabeth City State University's campus.
Visit Elizabeth City describes it as the only U.S. Coast Guard sanctioned road race; a qualifier for the Boston Marathon and the Olympics.
