Big Beach Marathon

I intended to run this in 2024 but had to defer due to an injury. The race coordinators were flexible with that and made it easy to do the deferral. When I finally got there this year in 2025, I found a delightful marathoning experience beginning-to-end. The pre-race expo was well-organized and they gave away a very colorful and fun shirt. The race began exactly on time and had the pace groups you'd expect for both the marathoners and half-marathoners. Runner support in the form of porta-potties and drinks are exactly what you'd expect, coming every other mile or so. Crowd support is nearly nil; most of the race runs through a state park system of roads which would be hard for most spectators to access -- but the ones who are there REALLY wanted to be there to cheer on friends and family. The race ends at the Hang Out, where they provide an excellent spread of food and drinks to tired runners.

The course is basically dead-flat, so prepare for that. Especially if you are on the faster end of the marathoners, be prepared to run without a ton of support from onlookers or from fellow runners. The boardwalk sections of the race weren't my favorite surfaces to run on, but probably only amount to a mile or two overall.

Hotels and STRs should be plentiful since this race occurs in January, far outside of the peak season for Gulf Shores.

Everything about this race was excellent - highly recommend it. The race starts next to the beach on a concrete pathway with the white sand and ocean at your fingertips. There's a large beach "bar" called The Hangout where you "hang out" while waiting for the start. This is great because even though it wasn't super cold outside at the start (around 40 degrees), you can keep warm inside the main bar area before heading to the starting line. The course itself is predominantly run on paved trails through Gulf State Park. It's a relatively flat course the entire way with very gradual inclines/declines. It's also very scenic and the miles tend to come quicker when you have stuff to look at. The course is listed on here as a multi-loop (because it's a loopy trail I guess), but you only replicate a small part of the course (maybe a couple miles tops) and you're going in the opposite direction when you do. The weather was great for the most part although it did get a little warmer than I wanted, but it was typically between 40 and 55 degrees while I was on the course. The one hill is a boardwalk-style foot bridge that crosses over Beach Blvd taking you back to the finish at The Hang Out along the beach. It's a bit of a tough climb, but not bad since it's really the only hill on the course. The last couple miles are run on Beach Blvd and there's definitely was definitely a head wind that will slow you down a bit, but you're close enough to the finish that it's not too bad. The water stations were pretty good and there were enough of them. Parking was easy and close, gear check was easy, there are bathrooms at The Hang Out and along the course and the course was clearly marked so you could really just concentrate on your race.

For me, the trickiest part of the course was the various boardwalks that you cross. None are too long, but it's definitely different than running on solid ground. Some of the boards are a bit ripped up so you can hear your sneakers picking at some of the splintery parts and there's a little bit of a give in the wood as well so it's just different. Not bad, but different. There aren't a lot of spectators in the park either so depending on your pace, you might not see too many other people in certain spots.

There are plenty of places to stay near the start/finish line, but I stayed at an AirBnB a couple miles from the start and had no problem finding a close parking spot in one of the public parking areas specified on the race site. I got to the race about an hour before the start so I didn't even have to get there really early to still get a good spot. Food options are plentiful, but Italian food options are slim if you're looking for pasta. You may want to cook pasta wherever you stay.

Trying to find a race was difficult for '21, but the organizers at Big Beach Marathon made it happen. Having everyone start in waves, and doubling up on the half to make a whole marathon worked great! Beautiful flat course with nice, although a little warm, weather. I would definitely recommend this race.

The course is pretty flat, so that was nice, although a little head wind during the 3-4 miles leading to the finish line The crowds were not bad. Very little traffic. All of this made for easy access to the starting line.

Being on the beach during off season made finding lodging a no brainier. There are also alot of good restaurants between Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. Although I would not recommend Original Oyster House! Big Mikes Steakhouse and DeSotos were very good restaurants.