Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon

Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon takes place in Roanoke, Virginia, on April 17, 2027, with an unusually wide choice of distances: an untimed 5K (3.1 miles), a 10K (6.2 miles), the half marathon (13.1 miles), the marathon (26.2 miles) and a double marathon of 84 km (52.2 miles). The course runs through the mountainous terrain of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with substantial climbing depending on which format you pick.

That spread lets an occasional runner and a seasoned ultrarunner find their own challenge on the same day, in a natural setting close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mill Mountain. Mountain marathons are paced by effort, not by splits: train the climbs and, just as importantly, the long descents, and plan a 16- to 20-week build if the marathon or double marathon is your goal.