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Mar 7, 2027
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The Little Rock Marathon is a USATF-certified, Boston-qualifying marathon through Arkansas's capital, held on the first weekend of March since 2003 as a project of, and fundraiser for, Little Rock Parks & Recreation. Race weekend also includes a half marathon, a 10K, a 5K, a kids' marathon and an All Abilities marathon, with the 5K and 10K on the Saturday and the marathon and half marathon on the Sunday. All races start and finish on LaHarpe Boulevard behind the Statehouse Convention Center. The course begins in downtown Little Rock, runs through the River Market District and the Quapaw Quarter, and passes the Clinton Presidential Center, City Hall and the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, with aid stations along the way in North Little Rock, by the State Capitol, on Kavanaugh Boulevard and beside the Arkansas River on Rebsamen Park Road and the River Trail. The organisers say of the hills: "What hills? It depends on your perspective." The marathon starts at 7:00 am. An early start at 5:00 am is available, by pre-approval, to walkers and slower runners who need more than six hours, and the time limit is eight hours. There are 19 aid stations on the course, and finishers receive a deliberately oversized medal.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
Early March in Little Rock averages a high of about 18°C and a low of about 5°C, with some rain on roughly ten days of the month, so a 7:00 am start is usually cool.
The Race
Little Rock
The Little Rock Marathon began in 2003 as a fundraiser for the City of Little Rock's Parks and Recreation department and started with 2,527 registered participants. By 2013 the event had grown to well over 10,000 runners and walkers. The organisers say it has since contributed over a million dollars to the city's parks system.
The first medals were standard size, then the organisers decided to "GO BIG" and kept enlarging them each year. Runner's World named the finisher's medal the world's largest in 2004, and the 2012 version measured 7.57 by 7.75 inches. When the organisers planned a press unveiling, an ice storm shut down the city, so they filmed the reveal on phones instead and the video went viral.
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