Hampton Half Marathon

One of the longest running half marathons on the New Hampshire seacoast, this Hampton Beach race sits early enough in the calendar to serve as a hard tune up for spring marathons. It draws close to a thousand runners across the half and 5K, most of them from New England, and the flat oceanfront profile keeps pulling back people hunting a time.

The route runs the Ocean Boulevard seawall and the marsh roads behind Hampton Beach, with roughly 115 feet of total gain across the whole distance. Long straight sections make it easy to lock into a rhythm and just as easy to overcook the first three miles. Nothing about the terrain will slow you down, which puts the entire pacing decision on the wind.

Early March on the seacoast is cold and often raw, with starts commonly in the 30s. The onshore wind matters far more than the temperature, and the exposed oceanfront miles can feel a good deal colder than the reading. Gloves and a wind layer are usually the right call.