Groundhog Day Marathon

We’ve all heard of Punxsutawney Phil, the little furry guy in Pennsylvania who comes out, sees his shadow, and declares six more weeks of winter. Then there’s Augustus T. Groundhog, better known as Grand Rapids Gus. He’s Phil’s much more interesting cousin. Unlike Phil, who it seems can only see shadows, Gus has much better eyesight and can look at a calendar on February 2 and know that spring doesn’t start for six weeks. Gus suggested that instead of lamenting over six more weeks of winter, we should EMBRACE the cold and snow and do something fun. And so, the Groundhog Day Marathon was born.
EARLY START--If you're planning to be running more than about 6 hours, please start at the 7:00 am early start. The normal start is at 8:00 am
The BasicsIt’s a winter running event, outside Grand Rapids Michigan.  YES! THERE WILL PROBABLY BE LOTS OF SNOW ON THE COURSE.
The Friday and Saturday closest to Groundhog Day February. In 2024, it's February 2-3.
It’s more fun than you should have with your clothes on. (And we DEFINITELY suggest you keep your clothes on!)
Our EventsMarathon:Like the movie, you’ll feel like you’re repeating the same day over and over. A beautiful, snowy (we hope), approximately 4.4 mile course. Splits every 1/6th of a marathon. 8:00 a.m. Saturday.  500 Runner limit combined for full and half marathonsHalf Marathon:For those of you who couldn’t stay awake through the whole movie. Only three times around.Moonlight 1/6 Marathon on Groundhog Eve:WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1/6 MARATHON! Hey, we’re going to be set up anyway, no sense in just long-distance people having all the fun.  6:30 p.m. Friday. 300 Runner limit.CourseEver see the movie?  The course will give you the opportunity to relive the same day several times.  A total of 6 loops of approximately 4.4 miles on a CERTIFIED course (Yes!  You can qualify for Boston!) will have you feeling just a little case of deja vu.  Two aid stations plus the finish line area.  Don’t plan on the course being free of snow.  It’s paved, which means no underlying rocks and roots, but that’s about all we’re promising.
Hotels & Travel. Our airport is GRR. Look for hotels HERE
This is a middle of the freakin' winter thing.  Weather could suck.  You do know we're in Michigan, right?  So register at your own risk.  There are no refunds, no deferrals, no transfers. If there's a snowstorm of Biblical proportions, we'll have a snow date the next Saturday. If it's still not possible to hold the event, we'll give people registered for this year a 50% credit on next year's event.
You can transfer from one event to another--look yourself up and bring up your record. You'll have to pay the difference between the events. No refunds.
Contacts:(Note--if you write with a question that's very plainly stated on the page, the email may get a low priority)
Race Director: Don Kern  [email protected]  616 293 3145Associate Race Director: TJ Suchocki  [email protected]  616 406 9772Volunteer Coordinator: Stephanie Cornwell, [email protected] Mailing Address:  1170 Oakburn Ave SE  Grand Rapids, MI 49546