The Seattle Marathon is run in Seattle, WA the Sunday following Thanksgiving each year. It is run on a beautiful course that begins on 5th Ave. near the Seattle Center, works its way through downtown, along Lake Washington to Seward Park and back by the lake to the Arboretum and then back to finish in Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center. The course is rolling from the start and has two very big and steep hills toward the end.

The tough course, combined with the lack of prize money and the accompanying half-marathon causes the number of participants in the full marathon to be slightly lower than that of events in cities of similar size.

Event History

The race was started in 1970 by a group of friends from the University of Washington. Through the years the event has changed courses several times. Initially it was held on the Burke-Gilman Trail, but when it outgrew the relatively narrow path it moved to the streets of Seattle.

The race has been dominated by local runner Uli Steidel for the past few years.

Upcoming Events

The 2005 Seattle Marathon will be held on November 27.

Outside Links

• Official Homepage (http://www.seattlemarathon.org/)