RALEIGH, N.C. — Thousands of runners and spectators packed Glenwood Avenue in downtown Raleigh on Sunday for the annual City of Oaks Marathon, a charity race that started at 7 a.m.
Crowds were already lining the street more than an hour before the start. Glenwood Avenue was closed between Peace Street and Hillsborough Street for the race, and the full 26.2-mile route carried runners through downtown, Glenwood South, the NC State University campus, Boylan Heights and the Crabtree Valley area.
The event offers four distances so runners of every level can take part: the full marathon, a half marathon, a 10K and a 5K. USATF has certified the route, so a fast enough finish in the full race can qualify a runner for Boston. Elite runners can earn a free entry by meeting qualifying times: men need 2:46:00 in the marathon and women 3:18:00, while the half marathon cutoffs are 1:13:00 and 1:25:00.
This year’s presenting sponsor is Martin Marietta, the building materials supplier that is part of the S&P 500 and runs operations in 29 states, Canada and The Bahamas. Money raised by the race goes to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.
The museum uses donor support to reach more than 1 million visitors a year, care for its live animals and natural areas, and maintain a scientific collection numbering in the millions of specimens, along with conservation work across the state.
The race is one of the largest single-day events on Raleigh streets each fall, and drivers near Glenwood South and downtown should expect the usual weekend traffic once the course reopens.
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