The Steamtown Marathon is an annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

(26.2 mi or 42.2 km) in northeastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, held the Sunday before Columbus Day. The race starts at Forest City High School in Forest City and finishes at Courthouse Square in downtown

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. The race has a limit of 3000 runners, and usually sells out.

History

The marathon was founded in 1996 by Scranton Organized Area Runners in conjunction with the Scranton Cultural Center and the Lackawanna County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to

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, with all registrants automatically receiving full refunds.

Course

The point-to-point course starts at Forest City High School in Forest City and passes through 13 communities before finishing at Courthouse Square in downtown

. The course is certified by

USA Track and Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national Sport governing body, governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was kn ...

and has been ranked as one of the fastest qualifying courses for the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

. On average, between 22% and 25% of all Steamtown finishers qualify for the Boston Marathon. In 2009, only five other marathons had a higher percentage of Boston qualifiers than Steamtown. Also in 2009, a Runners World survey ranked Steamtown as the 6th best overall marathon. However, in recent years the percentage of finishers who qualify has decreased to less than 10%; in 2018, 8.4% of the 1,251 runners had qualifying times.

Community impact

The race benefits St. Joseph's Center, a facility that assists families in need and handicapped children. Since 1996, the Marathon has donated more than $1.3 million to St. Joseph's Center.

References

External links

*
Steamtown Marathon at marathonguide.com
{{coord, 41.40829, -75.66336, type:event_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Marathons in the United States Tourist attractions in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Scranton, Pennsylvania Recurring sporting events established in 1996 1996 establishments in Pennsylvania