Annapolis Run for The Light House Half Marathon

Entry fees fund The Light House, an Annapolis shelter and workforce nonprofit, and the race has held its September slot for more than a decade. The half is the long distance on a morning that also runs a 5K and a one mile walk, and the whole field is off the course before midday.

Runners open with a clockwise road loop through Hillsmere Shores, a Chesapeake-front neighborhood south of the park, then come back for two clockwise circuits inside Quiet Waters Park. The park paths are paved and rolling rather than flat, and repeating them means learning every rise twice.

Mid September on the Chesapeake usually brings a mild start with humidity that has not fully broken for the season. An eight o'clock gun keeps most of the race out of direct sun, though the second park loop can feel warm.