Gettysburg Festival of Races

REGISTRATION for 2026 is HERE!

Run where the North battled the South — The Battle of Gettysburg
THREE GREAT RACES — ONE HISTORIC EVENT

The Gettysburg Festival of Races is the combination of three historic races in one single weekend! Come and race just outside the hallowed grounds of Gettysburg battlefield. Our course winds through beautiful wooded back country roads, past fields and farms, and crossed the historic Mason-Dixon line into Maryland and back.

Choose your challenge: the Gettysburg North-South Marathon, the Gettysburg Blue-Gray Half Marathon, or the 2L Race Services 5K. 

Saturday, April 26th will feature our popular health and fitness, with plenty our local vendors, from 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM.

All registrants receive the following swag and amenities from our sponsors:

• A Tech Shirt
• A goodie bag with items donated by sponsors
• Chip Timing by 2L Race Services
• Real time GPS tracking using RaceJoy (requires that you run with your mobile phone)
• Fluid stations with water and electrolyte beverage every 1.5-2 miles
• A commemorative finishers medal (Marathon & Half Marathon only)
• All finishers in the marathon, half marathon, and 5K will receive a commemorative finishers gift – a beautiful pint glass the event logo printed on it.
• Free digital finisher photos
• Digital Finisher’s Certificate
• Post-race food and beverages including a beer garden for participants 21+

Awards will be given to the top 3 overall Male and Female Finishers in all three races as well as top finishers in the following age groups:

Marathon: 19 & Under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70+
1/2 Marathon: 19 & Under, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, and 70+
5K: 14 & Under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60+

North-South Marathon Course Map (Boston Certified)

Printable Map
Interactive STRAVA Map

Blue-Gray Half Marathon Course Map

Printable Map
Interactive STRAVA Map

2L Race Services 5K Course Map

Printable Map
Interactive STRAVA Map

How will the race be timed?

• We will offer disposable chip timing which allows us to sort results by Net Time (which means chip time will determine your rankings)

Is there a course time limit?

• Our limit is 6 hours which is more than enough for the half marathon walkers.  

Do you allow deferrals, transfers, or refunds?

• Requests for deferrals and transfers will be evaluated on an individual basis.  Runners can change their event (dropping down if injured, behind on training, etc.) until the day before the race.  We do not offer refunds at any time.  We do allow participants to purchase registration insurance that will cover the cost of their entry if they cannot attend.  Additional information about this coverage is available at https://www.allianzworldwidepartners.com/usa/terms-and-conditions/001004651.  

Do you allow headphones, baby joggers, or pets on the course?

• Because the majority of the course is open to vehicles and we want everyone to be safe, we do not allow these.

A block of rooms will be reserved for race participants at the Aspire Gettysburg as well as the Eisenhower Hotel, both of which are part of the Eisenhower Conference Center, where we hold our expo and also start and finish the races.

The block of rooms is only held through April 21, 2024. After that, pricing and/or availability may change.

ASPIRE HOTEL

2632 EMMITSBURG RD,  GETTYSBURG, PA 17325
Two Queen Beds — $125/night
Two King Beds — $129/night
King Suite — $135/night

BOOK NOW or call (717) 334-8121

EISENHOWER HOTEL

2632 EMMITSBURG RD,  GETTYSBURG, PA 17325
One King Bed— $119/night
Two Queen Beds — $119/night
Double Queen Hospitality Suite — $135/night
BOOK NOW or call (717) 334-8121

To help plan for your race weekend, we have put together this document.  There are usually a few minor changes as we get closer to race weekend and some items might be tweaked a little.  Please check back and make sure you have the latest information to help you have a great event!

Gettysburg Festival of Races Beer Garden!

Your race bib has a tear tag (ticket) that entitles you (runners 21+) to one FREE BEER from Appalachian Brewing Co. — Gettysburg.

You must have an ID on you to receive your beer(s). Fortunately, we have more than enough parking right on site, so you can keep your ID in your car and retrieve it as soon as you finish.

GETTYSBURG NORTH-SOUTH MARATHON TESTIMONIALS

What a fabulous race on Sunday. What a beautiful course and wonderful people. Each part of the experience was awesome — from the registration to the awards. There were so many smiling and helpful faces throughout the day. And I can’t forget the medical staff who put me back together after the finish. It didn’t hurt that I was able to qualify for Boston with a whopping 17 seconds to spare!!

— Dan S.

Just wanted to write a quick note of thanks and congratulations for another great marathon. Loved the new course, loved your terrific volunteers, loved everything about it. I ran the Bull Run 50 miler just two weeks earlier, so I had my doubts about even finishing, but came through in good fashion.

In any event, I talked so much about your inaugural race that two of my running pals came up this year, and now we’re talking about making it an annual outing.

Congrats again on a marvelous event.

— Tom F. (Washington, D.C.)

This is long overdue. I have been meaning to send you an Email saying what a great race the marathon was. It was my 45th marathon and I have done most of the big ones, including 13 Bostons, 3 in Europe and 3 in Canada. I thought that you and your team did an excellent job in all respects. Granted that it is a smaller marathon, but the course was very scenic and there were more spectators than I expected. The finisher’s medal was very nice and if you haven’t already done so, I would like to suggest that you send one to Marathon & Beyond to be entered into their best medals selection. I thought that the cannon awards were really special! I liked that fact that the description of the cannon was included. My husband and I stayed at the Wyndham which was very nice and the bus service to the race was great.

Again, let me say Thank You to you and your committee. The Gettysburg North-South Marathon is truly a class act. You should all be very proud of such a great event!

— Muffet C.

 My wife and I ran this marathon this past weekend and had an awesome time. It was our first marathon and I have to say I was impressed with the organization of the race. What a tremendous place to run your first marathon. The people on the course were fantastic at one point a man cheering came out on the course and ran up a tough hill with me as he could see I was losing steam. I will never forget that, as he helped me so much at about mile 23.

— Runner’s World Posting (Newtown, CT)

GETTYSBURG BLUE-GRAY HALF MARATHON TESTIMONIALS

Congratulations on a job well done. I thoroughly enjoyed everything your race had to offer. I have always run big city marathons and half-marathons and didn’t realize what I was missing in a smaller race. Let’s see. . . no waiting at packet pick-up, lots of convenient parking space, 9:00 start, no port-o-john lines, no shoving and pushing at the start, lots of fluids for everyone, beautiful rolling countryside, no traffic on the course, no screaming and yelling, nice shirts, top-of-the-line medals, apple pie for awards, and lots of sunshine!! I couldn’t think of a thing that I would change. Thanks again for a wonderful experience and for all the work that went into making it happen.

— Patti G.

I would like to compliment you on a wonderful day. This was my first half marathon, although I have done many 5k and 10k runs as well as several bike races. This event was well managed, the course was well marked, and the volunteers were great cheerleaders and very helpful. I REALLY appreciated the same day number pickup as I drove 105 miles to attend the event, and a hotel room was not in the budget this year. If my legs are still in shape, I will definitely do this one again next year.

— Mike F.

 Perfect race day! Thank you Lowell! This was my 4th Gettysburg event. Thanks for bringing distance (Half Marathon) running to Gettysburg!

— Lisa W.

 Mr. Ladd…Just to give you Kudos — it was a great race…very well organized!!! The volunteers and aid stations were great…mile markers matched my Garmin perfectly — great weather — beautiful course. You did an amazing job!!! I’ve run Boston, New York, Disney…thought this was excellent for only second race!!! Will definitely try to run the full in April. Thank you.

— Laura R.

 I would wholeheartedly recommend the Gettysburg Blue-Gray Half Marathon! The race is extremely well organized. The course is beautiful featuring gorgeous fall foliage, safe roads, and good spectator support. The course has a few rolling hills but very manageable and a good opportunity for a PR. The amenities were excellent and prizes outstanding! It’s well worth the hard work of 13.1 miles if you win one of the terrific home-baked apple pies as a prize! I will definitely run it again!

— Chris D.

ONLINE RACE REVIEWS

Best Things Pennsylvania Review

Marathonguide.com online reviews

Instant Coffee Wisdom Blog review

HalfMarathons.Net online reviews

FOX 43 News video and article

Believe in the Run online review

RaceJoy — Live Phone Tracking, GPS Progress Alerts & Cheers!

We are providing RaceJoy as part of the official race experience for the Gettysburg Festival of Races.

Download the RaceJoy mobile app in advance to ensure proper phone setup. Invite your friends and family to track you and send you cheers!

Some key RaceJoy features include:

• GPS Progress Alerts
• Receive continual progress updates as you complete your goal.
• Live GPS Tracking
• Remote spectators can track your progress live in a map view. You can also track others.
• Send-a-Cheer
• Receive supportive audio cheers from remote friends & family.
• Enter your race-assigned bib number to submit your finish data for real-time scored results automatically.

To use RaceJoy, you must carry your phone and activate tracking on the day you run your race.

RaceJoy Directions Participant Lookup

GET REWARDED FOR REFERRING YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY!

Invite them to join you on race day.

All you have to do is share your unique referral link via email or social media!

How it Works

    1. Register for the Gettysburg Festival of Races (any distance).

    2. Share your unique referral link on Facebook, Twitter, or email from your participant account, confirmation webpage, or confirmation email.

    3. Our registration company will track registration generated from your unique referral link.

    4. Anyone who refers the specified number of participants will receive a refund.

    5. Referral refund will be credited to participants automatically.

Find Your Referral Code

There are three main locations where you can find your referral code

    1. Within your Confirmation Email

    2. Within your RunSignup Profile

    3. Within the confirmation page following the Registration

Locating Your Referral Code From Your Confirmation Email

Within your confirmation email, you can find your referral code/link. 

Locating Your Referral Code From Your RunSignup Profile

From your RunSignup profile, you can access your referral code by scrolling down to the bottom of your profile and selecting My Referrals under the Runner Links section. If you have registered for multiple races with setup referral tracking, you can see all of your referral codes from here. 

Locating Your Referral Code From the Confirmation Page Following Registration

Following your registration, you will be taken to your confirmation page. At the top of the page, you will find a Refer Your Friends link. When selected, you can share your referral link with your friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, or email.