Bend Marathon and Half

News update!!

The Bend marathon is going virtual!
It is with great disappointment that we must inform you we be a virtual only event this year. The Bend City Council voted last night, and unfortunately decided not to allow special event permits at this time. As a result we will not be having an in-person event this April. We fought and delayed as long as possible to give you the best chance of having a safe in-person race. We are deeply saddened by this decision.

However, we know you've been training hard and you're ready to run! So, we are putting all of our energy into having the best virtual race we can possibly have! We may not be able to get together physically on race morning but that doesn't mean you can't run a fun race, get cool swag, and meet up with your race buddies to crank out a good run. We are excited! We will be planning several virtual events that y'all will be able to participate in leading up to the April 18th race date. Training and nutrition plans are up on our website, we'll be doing a live Facebook/Instagram feed on race morning to connect our community, fun videos to help you prepare for your run, and more.

If you were traveling to Bend for the race, make a fun weekend out of doing the virtual race. Come to Bend, run the course (downloadable maps are on the website), and enjoy the great outdoors that Bend has to offer. We guarantee you'll find some other runners out on course April 18th doing the same. Just remember to stay safe out there and adhere to State and local health guidelines.

We hope you'll join us in our virtual format to keep this event alive as the best mountain town community oriented event ever! Many of you have been with the Bend Marathon event for years now, and whether a new or long time Bend Marathon racer, we absolutely appreciate your continued support.

If you're currently registered for the in-person race you've got a few options that you'll need to choose from. We of course want to see you do the virtual option to take advantage of getting a good run, the swag, and the community but, we know that doesn't work for everyone.
So, by March 12th those registered for the in-person race will need to select between the following options by logging into your RunSignUp account:

A) I'm ready to run! Put me in for the Virtual Race! Plus I'll take that 50% refund. More details and instructions will follow for virtual racers.

B) Let's help out the community. Donate my entry fee to a local Bend Marathon non-profit partner. We'll split the gathered funds and donate to Family Access Network, Deschutes Trails Coalition, and The American Cancer Society.

C) Support small business. I don't want to run virtual, but want to support this event and small business. Keep my entry fee as my support of this and other running events

D) Defer me. I don't want to run virtual, but would be happy to join you next year. Roll my entry over to 2022.

E) That's a bummer, I'll take the full refund minus the RunSignUp fee.

We truly appreciate all the support in helping us keep this event going from our community, participants, and the members of the City Council that were supportive. We're looking forward to this year's virtual race and getting back to a big in-person, the-best-ever Bend Marathon Race Weekend extravaganza in 2022!

Kari and Max
The Bend Marathon Team

For many of you in the virtual race, we're putting tremendous energy into fun ways to hold our race community together and have some ideas planned that will make this the best virtual race you've ever done!

We are very excited to announce that we have our shirt and medal designs to share with you, and we're thrilled about both! They are awesome!

*Hydroflask is in half and full marathon package only!

*Please see our new COVID cancellation policy.

Sunday April 18, 2021

Virtual challenge - April 12 - May 25, 2021

“Trust me, this is the latest addition to YOUR 'Running Bucket List'. You won’t regret it. Prepare to be blown away." – Matt Rasmussen, Run Oregon

online registration open

Consider donating to one of our local beneficiaries during registration

We wanted to take a minute and highlight the Bend Marathon beneficiaries that you help support when you sign up and donate to them. The past two months have been particularly hard on local charities and the cancellation of the Marathon didn’t help. We’d like to encourage you, if you have the means right now, to support one of these local organizations. There’s still time to donate and still time to make a difference.

DONATE

NEW! BEND MARATHON YOUTH RUNNING PROGRAM

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NORTHWEST COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION, Princess Athletic, AND TULA

Bend Marathon is offering a FREE virtual running program for local youth. The Bend Marathon Youth Running Program in partnership with Northwest Community Credit Union, Princess Athletic, and Tula is all about running off some of that extra energy and getting our youth moving. Now, more than ever, it's important to keep them moving for their physical and mental health.

This virtual program allows youth in Central Oregon to complete (either at one time or over a series of efforts) any of the Bend Marathon virtual race distances. After completing their 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or marathon, email us your distance you completed and you will receive the corresponding race medal. You can do this however you would like to and does not need to be completed all at one (but you can). You just have to get it done by May 31st and send us an email with how far you ran.
You can keep track on your own or print and use the Mileage Tracking Sheet to keep track of laps and miles.

The virtual youth program is free for all Central Oregon youth. For those able, a donation to support FAN (Family Access Network, providing crucial resources such as food, shelter, and clothing to children and families in need in Central Oregon) would be appreciated during this especially difficult time.

A huge thanks goes out to Northwest Community Credit Union and Tula Movement Arts for stepping up to support this youth running initiative!

MORE INFO AND YOUTH RESOURCES

Virtual tour of marathon course

If you can't get to Bend for the marathon, why not have the marathon come to you! Check out a virtual tour of the whole Bend Marathon (and Half) course...in less than 10min! Might be a bit faster than you can run it but we didn't think you should sit in front of your screen for that long when you can get outside on another run.

Recent news

NEW BEND MARATHON INITIATIVES FOR 2020
This past year was certainly anything but normal and while we didn't get to move ahead with our initiatives we had in mind for our 2020 race we'll be looking to implement those for our 2021 race. Carrying forward what we hoped was going to be moves toward sustainability and better community will still be primary objectives, but some will have to wait due to the current state of the world.
Accepting the challenge of taking on the Bend Marathon was no easy decision but one thing we knew for sure was that we wanted to turn it into an event that gave back to the community of Bend and took better care of the environment. We want to be a leader in the sport of road running in sustainability and to do that we're needing to make some changes. Some will be easy, other's not so easy.
Leading up to the 2021 race date we will still be rolling out changes to how we operate in order to be better stewards of our town and our planet. We hope you'll agree that it's the right thing to do.

CHECK OUT OUR BEND MARATHON INITIATIVES

2019 Photos are up!!

There are some great photos of you out on the course. Check out all the race photos at GoActionPhotos.com

New cheer stations for family and friends

check out our spectating guide

YOUR SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER 1 PRIORITY

To make your stay easier and give you all the info about the race you'll need go through the Get Ready, Get Set, GO checklist below. You'll find all your pre-race and race day info you'll need in there.

Welcome to the Bend Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k. We're already gearing up for another exciting race weekend. The April 19, 2020 events will be the best mountain town races anywhere. These are spectacularly scenic courses through West Bend emphasizing everything that makes Bend, Oregon great. You'll cruise around neighborhood parks, through ponderosa pine forests, along the mighty Deschutes River, and finish in a beautiful iconic Bend location to a hoppin' afterparty where the kombucha and craft beer are flowing, delicious food is waiting, and you can relax because you just finished your best race ever! Join us for the 6th edition of the Bend Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k.