Salisbury Marathon - Race Reviews

This is a no-hassle, well-run, well supported race. Starting and finishing in a smallish college town on the Eastern Shore, the course is mostly rural (don't count on many spectators) and flat, but with just enough roll to it to relieve your muscles now and then. Full and half (I ran the full) start at the same time, but with only 800 or 900 runners overall I never felt like I was running in traffic, nor was I ever completely alone, even after the half split off. The race director was responsive, and conducted an informative online meetup a few days before the event. Police and state troopers provided excellent traffic control on rural roads. The finish was spirited, with a great food layout and beer and easy reunion with your fans. Highly recommended.

I was looking through MarathonGuide for a marathon on the weekend of April 5-6, 2025. I checked out the Salisbury Marathon and found that it had pretty good reviews so I decided to give it a shot. I was not disappointed. This is a top notch race. Of all the marathons I’ve done, this one’s ranks among the best in all aspects. The organization and execution were flawless. Starting with the website and sign up process to communication, updates, easy packet pick up, nice race shirt, easy free garage parking, excellent signage , super easy bag drop, good start line vibe, beautiful rural course, wonderful and safe course management from plenty of police at major road crossings to fire department EMTs on bikes, supportive volunteers, adequately stocked aid stations, finish line announcer calling out runners’ names, a nice variety of finish line food and drinks, different medals for different distances, heat wraps, free massages, free race photos including a personalized finish photo with your own personal finishing time, several great bands made up of very talented kids, and 2 free craft beers with the option to buy more……everything was great! This is a race organization that takes runner feedback seriously and is open to any advice, suggestions, or criticism in order to continue to try and deliver a great runner experience. I don’t think you can go wrong choosing this race.

Such a hometown vibe. One of the runners I met runs a local gymnastics gym and she said she wanted to qualify for Boston that day. When I saw her later, she said close but next time, and I said, "You did awesome, clearly have a compassion for running, and others. It's contagious, many of us - me, included - got more out of ourselves out there today, got to the finish line, thanks to YOU, others, all in this together. I can tell there is a lot of local pride in this." She noted the mayor who promoted it, ran it himself, and added, "That aid station at Mile 25, that's my family!" How could we miss it, music blaring, shots flowing, if we choose that, such a positive vibe, "We all got this, together." Race directors Jason and Laura, too, so encouraging for all of us - thank you. I also met several from a group called Team 360, able-bodied athletes paired with a differently-abled athlete. Many entrants come over from Annapolis, too, and an Eastern Shore Running Club person said they have had an unofficial fun competition, who has more entrants. Lots of both, orange singlets for one, Navy blue for the other! Finish on the downtown mall is so much fun, with music, food, drink, but not too much, emphasis on the running. Salisbury Marathon is incredible!

The weather was rainy and windy, that said, it was a great race other than that. The RD is awesome! Lots of communication, especially with the weather--he kept us updated on the situation. The bag drop was good, the volunteers at the aide stations were awesome--they stayed even though the weather was pretty brutal at times. The course was fairly flat with small hills throughout, which is nice for working different muscles. I did not rent a car, I Ubered around and that worked out fine. Some people may prefer to rent a car because the parking situation was great, close to the start and finish. Shirt is a nice Tee that you can wear anywhere and the medal is nice.

I just completed the 2023 Salisbury Marathon during my 50 state quest and I felt this race in particular deserved a glowing review. This race has a small town feel yet the race director and all the volunteers did such an excellent job from start to finish, making sure questions were answered in a timely manner and providing a ton of pre-race email updates and reminders, all with a very supportive and engaging tone (not always the case with some races). It rained nearly the entire race, yet the volunteers seemed to weather it out with all of us runners and were very supportive along the way. If you like smaller races, this is an excellent choice. The aid stations were all well stocked (even for us back of the packers), parking was easy and well explained, and there were port a potties all along the course at each aid station. I would highly recommend this race, especially if you are looking to check Maryland off your 50 state quest.

We had a lot of rain and strong winds but the race went on as planned. It seemed that most of the volunteers showed up as well. Even pacing works well for this course as there are small hills throughout but no big hills on the course. Everything was pretty easy, from packet pickup, race start with drop bags, to finish line. Parking close to the start/finish is easy.

I flew to this race from Arizona, and it did not disappoint. It was my 50th Marathon. Salisbury is about 2hr drive from BWI. Lots of hotel options. The RD does a great job of communicating everything you need to know pre-race. Packet pick-up is very quick / no frills. Free parking is available in a nearby parking garage. The course is relatively flat, very little spectators, but this race is perfect! All aid stations have gels & bathrooms, there is pizza & gatorade at the finish, & lots of local restaurant options. The ONLY thing I think they can improve on is having more porta-potties available at the start. Otherwise, this race is top notch & I would definitely recommend it for a Maryland Marathon!

I haven't written a race review in ages, but this one deserves it. I was nervous coming up from Florida with Covid scare, but I'm so glad I did. I have never seen a RD with this much communication. Send an email, get a response in under 5 minutes. 27 degrees at the start, but sunny. Course was flat and fast. I've run 25 marathons, this is a good one. Another BQ, but I actually enjoyed the last few miles. Not a lot of fan support, or party after, and not even my best time, but during these times it was just AWESOME to get back out there. Thanks for all you did race crew and RD. It's SO good to be back.

This is a flat, fast, beautiful course. Superbly organized, fine water stops, enthusiastic volunteers. Plenty of variety on the course (runs right through scenic Salisbury University) with blooming trees, green meadows, fine residential streets, and downtown Salisbury (all on asphalt). I have run 434 marathons and I don't know a better one than this. Highly recommended!

I enjoyed this race very much. The course was flat and logistics were fairly easy. Flights into Balitimore were relatively cheap and I stayed at the host hotel and was able to walk to packet pickup and start/finish line. There were plenty of water stops manned by very enthusiastic volunteers. Part of the course was along open roads but there was a plentiful police presence keeping it under control. I thought the shirts were okay and the medals were nice. My only suggestion for improvements is to have more port-a-potties at the start.

I ran the Full Marathon, I thought there could of been more food on the journey, the gatorade wasn't prepared well it was too watery. The T Shirts were awful I never got a glass at the end. I did enjoy the run.

For an inaugural year marathon, it was done pretty well. The course took you through a lot of the Salisbury neighborhoods and through a bit of Salisbury University, including the tunnel under Rt 13. Some roads were open, but the police kept it under control. They could use more port-a-pots, 5 at the start for about 1,000 runners is too few. The post race party was great, the medal and pint glass were great as well. It's a nice race in a small town.