This half marathon originated in 2015 as part of the famous Bristol 4th of July Celebration – the oldest continuous celebration in America. If you haven’t yet seen the parade, I highly recommend doing so – while Bristol is a beautiful community year in and year out, it really shines in the 2 weeks before the 4th. I think the free outdoor concerts are my favorite part of the festivities but there are a whole lot more activities than just the parade!
As a little background, we have had to tweak the course in the last few years. Many have asked why we no longer use Colt State Park: the Department of Environmental Management, which manages Colt State Park as well as the East Bay Bike Path, has put a moratorium on events from Memorial Day to Labor Day – even for events in place before this moratorium such as ours. So our choice was to either move the date of the race, or change the course. As the race is part of the 4th of July Celebration, we couldn’t move the date – so we moved the course! The new course does showcase more of the parade route, iconic Bristol locations and the historic downtown sections. It did make for a bit of a challenge to find 13.1 miles in southern Bristol that is safe, but we continue to tweak the course to find one that is best for all our participants. There is one small section with a shell path, but that adds a bit of a fun element to the race and it provides beautiful views of the Mt Hope Bridge that are only available by foot!
So to start – BIB PICK UP is easy and quick. We will be at Rhode Runner on N. Main in Providence on Thursday from 5-7p, and at the beautiful Bristol Maritime Center on Thames St Friday from 3-7p. We do have race day bib pick up but we HIGHLY recommend picking up early. As the race has an early start, you would have to be there EVEN EARLIER to ensure you are checked in and ready to go for the on-time start. As a reminder, you do need to show ID to pick up your bib.
While there is no PARKING at the race start, Bristol has plenty of on-street or public parking options. They host a couple hundred people each night for the concerts at Independence Park, so we have no problem with available parking. Guiteras School, Washington St, Hope St or any of the side streets off of Hope are great options, and there are a few public lots further down on Thames St.
START/FINISH The race does have an early start – 6:30am. This is to try and avoid much of the heat from an early summer race, but also because Bristol does get busy later in the day this time of year, so we do need to be off the streets early. For this reason – the race has a 3.5 hour time limit, but if you need more time than this – we offer an Early Start option (There is a DQ if you finish in under 2.5 hours and you started early, just FYI). Please reach out to us at [email protected] for more information if this is of interest to you.
COURSE Follow along with our course map available here.
The start is right on Thames St, just up a few feet from the finish at Independence Park, near the Quito’s parking lot. The start is flat and fast, racing along Thames St to Hope St. where you will pick up your first intersection with the parade route and the famous red, white and blue line.
From Hope St., it is a right onto Chestnut, there is a climb at mile 1 as we head towards the region’s High School (I do coach cross country at this high school so this hill is part of our daily workout, as is much of this course!). We take a right on Sherry, at the mid-point of the Chestnut Rd hill, so there is some relief and, for those that ran last year’s course, you now get to run DOWN the Perry St hill at mile 2! 🙂
The next few miles, from 2 to nearly 7, we criss cross the parade route a few times as we run past historic sailing homes, an original RI State House (and the original home to Brown University) and Bristol’s courtyard with the famous 4th of July Carnival! You will pass the post-race party location at Mile 3 at Pivotal Brewing, so you know where to head back after your run!
For our Relay teams, the Aid Station at Mile 7.5 is also the Relay Exchange Zone. There are signs as to where you will exchange your bib and race belt within that zone. As you do have to transport yourself to that location, there is parking in the adjacent North Lot. We just ask that you are cognizant of the runners crossing past the parking lot entrance as you enter. We highly recommend utilizing the RaceJoy app to track your lead runner so you know exactly when to arrive and don’t forget to exchange car keys with your race bib 😉
Mile 7.5 through 9 is in RWU as we take a quick tour of the campus, including their boat house and shell path along Mt Hope Bay. Mile 8 to about 8.3 is the only unpaved part of the course this year but it does afford a GORGEOUS view of the Bay and the Mt Hope bridge only available by foot! There is a bit of downhill towards the water as you enter RWU and then a climb back up after the shell path, and then a flat and downhill as we exit out the campus and onto Old Ferry Rd.
You will take a left onto Old Ferry and then enjoy a beautiful downhill to a view rarely seen, underneath the Mt Hope bridge – it truly will take your breath away. There is an aid station there and a turn around point to head back up the hill, and back towards Ferry Rd.
Once you exit Old Ferry Rd, you hop back onto Ferry briefly before a loop through Low Lane and Monkeywrench for mile 10 – which is a neighborhood of just stunning homes. This does have a bit of a downhill and then a climb back up so prepare for that.
After Ferry transitions to Hope, you will take a left onto Columban Father’s property and complete a loop through mile 11. This replaces the grassy section in Blithewold, so it should be a welcome change.
There is a lovely flat stretch as we head back towards Ferry St and it transitions to Hope. You will pass more gorgeous views of Narragansett Bay and the America’s Cup Museum on your right around mile 12. There will be left onto Constitution and a right onto Thames and then finishing up waterside in Independence Park.
AID STATIONS – Each aid station will have a portable toilet or two. We will also have water, nuun and Clif. You can bring your own water bottle or Hydrapak cup for a more environmentally friendly solution – the aid stations will have pitchers for quick refills. Each mile marker will have a 5 gallon bucket for any trash, especially those terrible gel packets that are the bane of our environmental initiatives! Please try to dispose of all your trash, clothing, cast offs in these buckets (or at least as close as you can toss them to the bucket). The later aid stations will also have vaseline, cramp cream, band aids, etc. If at any point during your race you need medical assistance or transportation, you can ask the aid station volunteers to call our roving on-course vehicles for you. The RaceJoy app also has an SOS function in which we can track your GPS locations for pick up. We will have ambulances on course for medical assistance as well.
Please be sure to hydrate in the days before the race, as well as race morning. The race can be humid and even if the sun is not out, you can dehydrate quickly. Proper hydration and nutrition is key in the days leading up to the race, waiting until you are on the race course is often too late for your best performance.
ATHLETE TRACKING – We also recommend using RaceJoy as your family and friends can track your exact location via the GPS in your phone, as well as send you cheers along the way! This app is free to both you and your Cheer-squad. RaceJoy also has off course alerts, pace notifications, and some great points of interest along the course that will play as you run past them.
POST RACE – The finish is right at Independence Park on Thames St. You can sign up to have your results texted right to you at this link. We will send the official race photos in a few days following the event. We will have a few options for post-race food for our Athletes, as well as a Recovery Tent, thanks to OPT/Pappas Physical Therapy.
This year we have a great post-race party at Pivotal Brewing which is just 3 blocks up the street from the start and finish. Your bib will have a tear off for a free post-race beer on race day!
But please check out some of the great local restaurants and shops and help support other small businesses in the area. Stay and enjoy the concert that night at the Park – it is a great time for young and old alike! Tag #RhodeRaces for a chance to be featured on our socials!
We hope this answered many of your questions but please check out our FAQs and Athlete Guide for even more information. Be sure to check out our race video to get a true feeling of what race day will look like.
Thanks for joining us for this most patriotic of road races and we hope you will join us again!
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