History of the Ellerbe Marathon
The Ellerbe Marathon first ran in 1992. Its origin dates to the fall of 1991 as Mark Long and Doug Dawkins were returning from the Greensboro Marathon. At that time there were but a few marathons in North Carolina. By the time the pair had reached Richmond County on Highway 220 they had mostly agreed on the idea of working together to create a local marathon. That first race was held April 12, 1992 with 41 entrants and 39 finishers. There was no online entry. No website. All those interested had to request a paper entry form be mailed to them and return it with a check to enter. Aid stations had no food, just water and Gatorade. Runners had to finish the race to get a t-shirt. There were no medals. All Old School. There was a period in the 1990s when The Ellerbe Marathon and The Grandfather Mountain Marathon were the only two marathons in North Carolina.

The Ellerbe Marathon has survived many challenges and changes since that first year. We have survived changes in hosts, locations, and race directors. We survived Covid. But the Ellerbe Marathon has not missed a year since that first event in 1992, and we are now the oldest continuously held marathon in North Carolina. We followed the trend and now present t-shirts before the race. We have nice pottery wine cups for all who finish. And we have a nice custom medal. We have snacks at the aid stations and a post-race meal just like all the others. We have no sponsors we have to oblige. The only ones we have to please are our runners. We still have that Old School feel and hope to keep it. We don't have hundreds of entrants. But we have a good crowd every year, and we all have fun.

Certified Course
The Ellerbe Marathon and Ellerbe Half Marathon courses are USATF certified. Course details and certification details are on our race web site. Our host is the Ellerbe Rescue Squad and the start and finish will be near their headquarters in downtown Ellerbe. Runners will leave Ellerbe on Page St. and do a loop in the countryside before returning to Ellerbe at 13.1 miles and a half marathon finish. Marathoners will do the same loop a second time to get the 26.2 mile marathon distance. All roads are paved state secondary roads and open to traffic. A map is on the race web site.

2026 event fees for both events. All registrations will have the Ultrasignup registration fee added at checkout
Old School Deal- Oct. 1 through Oct. 10 $60
$75--Oct. 11 through Dec. 31
$85--Jan. 1 through registration closing

Contact Doug Dawkins
[email protected]
910-206-2095 text or call

Erin Dawkins Suwattana, assistant director/webmaster