Half-Marathon (First Half of Full)

The race starts on Elm Street in Downtown Manchester in front of the SNHU Arena, one block from Race Day HQ at Veteran’s Park. Heading south from the start, runners will turn left onto Wyoming Street towards Calef Road. Runners will then face a slight uphill turning on Mitchell Street before a sharp downhill as they descend towards the first of two journeys onto Manchester’s Riverwalk. Runners continue past Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (Home of the NH Fisher Cats) to Granite Street before a trip past the start line and down Elm Street. They will then journey down Mechanic Street towards Canal Street in the heart of Manchester’s historic mill yard district. The course heads north on to North River Road and travels past Stark Park, named for General John Stark, New Hampshire’s foremost Revolutionary War hero and author of New Hampshire’s motto “Live free or Die.”

This section of the course consists of rolling hills leading up to the intersection of North River Road and Bennington Street where the run turns right. Just after the 7.5 mile mark the course turns right on Campbell Road and heads downhill to Juniper Street and enters the Dorrs Pond trail.

From here the route crosses the Daniel Webster Highway and turns left then right before entering Belmont Street and heading south. At approximately 10.5 miles the run turns left on Circular Drive and sweeps around the perimeter of Derryfield Park.  It exits the park on Bridge St and turns right on to Mammoth Road past the Derryfield Country Club. The course joins Hanover Street for a one-mile cruise back to downtown Manchester. At the intersection of Hanover and Elm Street, the half Marathon turns left and heads to the finish line.

Full-Marathon (Miles 14-26.2, 1-13 same as the Half)

The Full Marathon turns right on Elm Street at Mile 13. This will be the location of the second transition. The course then crosses the Merrimack River on the Bridge Street Bridge, and sweeps through the Rimmon Heights section of the city.

At mile 16 the run will cross the Piscataquog River on the Kelly Street Bridge, and then turns right before entering the Piscataquog Trail. From this point on, right through to the finish, the course is very flat. Runners will stay on the rail trail until the UNH Co-op parking lot before a quick run onto Route 114 until the 19-mile mark where they will find the third, and final, relay transition point.

The course turns right on Henry Bridge Road then right again on the Goffstown Rail Trail. This is a very scenic portion of the route as it follows the Piscataquog back to Manchester. At mile 22 the run crosses the new “Trestle” bridge and continues back to the city, crossing the footbridge over the Merrimack River and running the final miles in downtown Manchester with a final trip across the Notre Dame Bridge and back to Elm Street where the race began.

Penmen for Patriots 5k

The 5k will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, and will take place on campus at Southern New Hampshire University. Course to be announced soon.