Dear Runners;

We have reached our limit for runners to receive medals and race shirts.  Clearly the weather is going to be perfect.  If you still would like to register using Race Roster, please use access code Mark23 to allow you to register.  Rest assured you will still get bus rides, racing bibs, water, orange gatorade and GU along the route.  Also the chance to win Mizuno prizes and  Base31 prizes (Base31 Ultra!), and, of course, at the finish line, chocolate milk, Prince Eddies beer and recovery snacks.

Thanks so much for your interest in our races.  If you decide to register on this weekend in person, please bring $130 in cash for your registration

Cheers and see you this weekend?

 September 27th 2023

Dear Runners;

We are closing in on our 20th running with perfect weather predicted!  We wanted to recognize Escape Landscaping  for their assistance in pulling the marathon together.  We also wanted to note the efforts of Cordes Property Solutions for their services as well.  Thank you also to the Eddie Hotel and Farm for providing their organic apples for the finish line.  Thank you to the Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward for providing chocolate milk at the finish line and Prince Eddies Brewery for providing their Fast Eddies light beer to our runners of a certain age in the Rotary Hall post race.

KInd support from the Prince Edward County community and its businesses has driven the County Marathon since 2004.  See you on Sunday as a runner, spectator or perhaps as a road closure volunteer?

Scroll down for event details and to see our other great sponsors!

September 20th 2023;

Thanks to Prinzen Ford our pace car for this year will be the all new electric Mustang! It's a vehicle they had already delivered! The owner is kindly allowing it to be used for this one event. Thank you to the owner and Prinzen Ford!!

Also thanks to Erin for putting 14 pace bunnies on our routes this year. There is no better way to nail your hoped for time than to follow one of these exceptional runners.

Half Marathon bunnies are delivering these times 1:40,1:45,1:50,2:00,2:10,2:15,2:30 and a sweep.
Full Marathon bunnies are delivering these times 3:30,3:45,4:00,4:15,4:45

So your choices are clear, if you can't quite keep up with the Mustang, perhaps these other clearly marked participants can help you get your best time at our 20th!

Best of luck,- from the Marathon Committee - you still have a few days to register before our last price increase!

September 18th 2023

2023 Event Details

Course Rules

• Stay to the right hand side of the road at all times except for the final KM to the finish (pylons will direct you to the left). This is for safety and Boston Qualifying standards.

Race Start Times

• The full marathon & Ultra start at 8:00am in Wellington at 167 Niles Street (Ball Diamond).
• For anyone planning to be 5 ½ hours or longer there will be an early 7:30am start for the full marathon.
• The half marathon starts at 10:00am at the junction of County Road #12 & County Road #18.

Vehicles

• Parking is at the Rotary Hall and in front and behind the arena 375 Main St., Picton. Runners will be transported to start lines via buses - please be on time!
• The Wellington Arena will be open providing access to washrooms and the indoor walking track.
• For the safety of runners no unauthorized people, vehicles or bicycles are permitted on the route. These are official police road closures. You will be towed if you park on the main street outside the fairgrounds.

Buses

(If you plan on getting yourself to the start of the full NOTE: Roads start to close at 7:30am No exceptions)

• Full Marathon and Ultra 6:45am
• Half Marathon 8:30am

Bib

• Marathon bibs are blue, half-marathon bibs are yellow, and the Ultra bibs are green on white.

Chips

• Your chip is in your bib, you must wear it at all times.

Medical Assistance

• Massage therapists are available in the Rotary Hall at the finish line.
• The finish line will have emergency trained physicians and first response trained volunteer fire fighters.
• Ambulance crews will provide constant surveillance during the race.

Baggage Drop Off

• Check your bag at the start line for transport to the finish line (bag tag provided at race kit pick-up).

Showers

• Showers will be available in the Community Centre, 376 Main Street, Picton from 11am-2pm. Males will use the ball diamond washroom/showers and females enter the back of the arena to get to the closest door on your right - the referee shower room.

Re/Max Water Stations

• Water/Orange Gatorade stations are every 4km (first 2 water stations will have water only) in the first half of the course for Full and Ultra runners. In the 2nd half there are stations every 2 KM. GU gels will be available at water stations 20km and 30km. All water and Gatorade will be provided in sanitary single use bottles - please try to throw your empties into the recycling bins located past every station. Port-a-Potties are located just past each water station and the half marathon start line. At the Full and Ultra start line there are washrooms in the Lehigh Centre and at the ball diamond near the start line.

KM Marking

• Every KM is well marked throughout the course for all 3 races except when Ultra runners leave the course to do the 7.8 KM loop 1.5 KM after the half marathon start line (at the 4 way corner go straight on Lakeshore Lodge Road then on the Lakeview Trail - look for the small white flags every 100 metres along your course. At the Ultra turn around at your 3.9 KM mark (at the end of the Lakeview Trail) there will be a table with water, gatorade and a limited number of Gu gels.

Post Run Events

• As you finish enjoy your Recharge with Milk provided by real Prince Edward County Dairy farmers. Please then go to the Rotary Hall for food and complimentary Prince Eddys beers. Your certificate of completion and placing is found on the Race Roster website. Due to ongoing Covid concerns there will be a short award ceremony for 1st through 3rd place finishers in the half and Full thanks to Mizuno and 1st place finishers for the Ultra thanks to Base 31.

The County Marathon Executive wishes you the very best in your run with us! Thank you for participating in our race and sharing in our 20th edition of the races.

September 14th 2023

Dear Runners;

There are still 10 days of great rates (even better if you are an AthleticsOntario or KRRA member). We are excited because there is actually a chance we will have great weather on the October 1st weekend (the long range forecasts are very positive). We are also excited because Base31 has agreed to provide amazing prizes to our fastest Male and Female in what we are going to call: the Base31 Ultra50. We think tickets to Justin Rutledge November18th are worth the extra 7.8 KM you would have to run to win!

Is this your year to switch to the Base31 Ultra 50?

Also thrilled to have 4 Prince Edward County Firefighters with first response training at the finish line. You will be in good hands!

Cheers
Mark and Lynne

August 31st 2023

As we close in one one month before race weekend we are delighted to have Mizuno return to The County Marathon as a key sponsor! At our awards ceremony we will be awarding the following amazing Mizuno prizes

½ Marathon (Women/Men)
1st - Rebellion Pro (Carbon) Shoe ($290 value)
2nd- Duffle Bag + Hoodie ($165 value)
3rd- Duffle Bag ($90 value)

Marathon (Women/Men)
1st - Rebellion Pro (Carbon) Shoe ($290 value)
2nd- Duffle Bag + Hoodie ($165 value)
3rd- Duffle Bag ($90 value)

Sincere thanks to this great sports company and to our great friends at Runners Choice Kingston.

Civic Holiday weekend 2023

Dear Runners;

We are thrilled to be able to have the Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward County back with us for the 18th year! There will be milk at the finish line handed to you by actual County Dairy farmers. They are on our race shirts for a reason!

We expect to have Prince Eddies beer Prince Eddy's Brewing Co. (princeeddys.store) as well - when that is confirmed we will let you know! Can't run our races without this option either!

Also, if you are looking for accommodations, we are pleased to be able to include Places in PEC as a new option. We also recommend the Royal, Home - The Royal Hotel and Sandbanks Vacations Sandbanks Vacations | Explore the County, Your Way.

Cheers and happy running!
Mark and Lynne

July 26th 2023

Dear Runners;

Hoping your summer is going well.

As we approach October 1st (but not too quickly - summer can linger as long as it wants!) We will be starting to update our instagram page. The main street in front of the Picton Fairgrounds is under construction so you will need to use the back entrance to the fairgrounds. Since photos are worth a 1000 words we will be putting out a series of entries to guide you in to what is :the registration site, bus departure site and post race site.

Meanwhile, if you haven't registered yet, your best rates are as an Athletics Ontario or Kingston Road Runners Association member. Check with your association for the promo codes.

Best of luck with your training, and at anytime feel free to contact us about anything race related - volunteers are particularly welcome to connect with us.

Cheers!
Mark and Lynne

June 30th 2023

Dear Runners;

With almost exactly 3 months to go we are happy to report that registration is up about 10% The 20th running is having a certain appeal especially to the amazing runners who have braved all of our 19 races - real and virtual!

Although there clearly is a trend away from medals (some races are planting trees) we decided that the 20th running needed a medal - a true keepsake. Final details were concluded today with the order guaranteed to arrive on time. We think it's a great looking item but the first time you see it won't likely be before the finish line!

Our merchandise supplier has informed us that they are having supply issues with the beautiful line of items we had on offer. As a result the link on our website is not working. Hoping to have things sorted out soon - we will let you know when that happens. On a related note, we have been assured our runners' shirts will be waiting for you at registration.

Great rates are in effect for most of the month of July, we also want to sincerely thank our registrants who have donated to our Hospital Building Fund - simply amazing!

Cheers and happy running!
Mark and Lynne

May 20th 2023

The Kingston Road Runners Association has just approved our becoming part of their 2023 1/2 marathon running series! This is wonderful news for us as it was the KRRA that assisted us in the first days of our development of the County Marathon in the late 1990's!

To be a part of the KRRA calendar, in our 20th running, is huge!

Still days available for our best registration rates! But, as a thank you to the Kingston running community, we will be increasing your incentive to run our races with a larger KRRA discount starting June 1st

Sincerely
Mark and Lynne on behalf of the Marathon Committee

May 11th 2023

Dear Runners,

We have finally decided on our tech shirts for this year. Fully professionally designed by Surge Activewear (something we have never done before) this year's short sleeved can be quickly thrown on over your usual running gear to celebrate our 20th running!

It is the year to race in this shirt!

Happy running!
Mark and Lynne

March 31st 2023

Thank you to all of those of you who have already taken advantage of our best rates to register. Special thanks to Laura Westerhof, James Swinnerton and Kim-Ellen Hurst for your generous donations to the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation. It's support like yours that will allow us to make a spring donation for the 2nd year in a row!

We are also so thrilled to be able to offer our first on-line merchandise! Surge Activewear has been our runners kit supplier for 20 years now. We have always had the best quality product from this, our only clothing supplier. Now through their design department we have 6 offerings for you to consider from singlet to hoodie. Check them out at https://surgeactivewear.com/collections/the-county-marathon

We pledge our portion of the funds we receive from sales will go to support our local hospital as it nears its final goals before construction begins!

Not to worry about rates for registration, you still have time before they change! Will we see you at our 20th running this fall?

March 8th

We count on up to 200 volunteers to make the County Marathon happen every year. Below are the best options for high school students.

The County Marathon - student volunteer options for September 29th, 30th and October 1st 2023 - our 20th running!

Almost all shifts are 4 hours long. All volunteers will get instruction. You will also receive a 2023, 20th running, County Marathon ball cap. We will sign your volunteer sheets at the end of your shifts.

Friday September 29th at the Picton Arena

Set up in the Hall working with experienced Marathon committee members - 2 hours, 6-8 PM, no heavy lifting

Saturday September 30th at the Picton Arena

Assisting with registration - shifts are 9 AM to 1 PM, 1 PM to 5 PM. You will be working with experienced Marathon committee members.

Sunday October 1st starting from the Picton Arena at 8 AM. These are all 4 hour assignments

Race-kit management requires that you ride First Student school buses in teams of at least 4 students. Your job will be to manage runners backpacks. Taking them from runners you will ride back to the Picton Arena and arrange them for easy pick-up post race. There will be a number of trips involved.

Buses will run to the Marathon and 50 KM Ultra start at the Lehigh Centre in Wellington until 8 AM. Buses will also run to the 1/2 Marathon start, corner of County Roads 10 and 18 until 10 AM.

Picton Arena post race support includes, management of post race runner nutrition - setting out drinks and snacks as well as post race clean-up.

Assisting in Road Closure management. Senior students will be assigned low volume road intersections, where your job will be to restrict traffic access to the closed race course. In most instances drivers will be asked to turn around and head back to roads which will be open. You will receive instructions and maps to hand out to drivers. You will be given a high-vis traffic vest to wear that day along with critical phone numbers to call if needed. The OPP will be on course for the entire event with 12-18 officers.

Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested. We encourage you to apply in teams of at least 2 for each assignment. Thanking you in advance, from the County Marathon Race Committee