Groundhog Day Marathon

We’ve all heard of Punxsutawney Phil, the little furry guy in Pennsylvania who comes out, sees his shadow, and declares six more weeks of winter. Then there’s Augustus T. Groundhog, better known as Grand Rapids Gus. He’s Phil’s much more interesting cousin. Unlike Phil, who it seems can only see shadows, Gus has much better eyesight and can look at a calendar on February 2 and know that spring doesn’t start for six weeks. Gus suggested that instead of lamenting over six more weeks of winter, we should EMBRACE the cold and snow and do something fun. And so, the Groundhog Day Marathon was born.

The modified course for 2024 was pretty popular. We've certified the new course, so we'll be starting behind the pavilion this year again. Looking forward to seeing you in 2026! 

EARLY START--If you're planning to be running more than about 6 hours, please start at the 7:00 am early start. The normal start is at 8:00 am

The Basics
It’s a winter running event, outside Grand Rapids Michigan.  YES! THERE WILL PROBABLY BE LOTS OF SNOW ON THE COURSE.

The Friday and Saturday beginning of February. In 2026, it's February 6-7.

It’s more fun than you should have with your clothes on. (And we DEFINITELY suggest you keep your clothes on!)

Our Events

Friday -  Moonlight 1/6 Marathon on Groundhog Eve: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1/6 MARATHON! Hey, we’re going to be set up anyway, no sense in just long-distance people having all the fun. Two loops of the course. 6:30 p.m. Friday. 300 Runner limit.

Saturday - Marathon: Like the movie, you’ll feel like you’re repeating the same day over and over. A beautiful, snowy (we hope), approximately 2.2 mile course. Splits every 1/12th of a marathon. 8:00 a.m. Saturday.  500 Runner limit combined for full and half marathons

Saturday - Half Marathon: For those of you who couldn’t stay awake through the whole movie. Only six times around.

Course
Ever see the movie?  The course will give you the opportunity to relive the same day several times.  A total of 12 loops of approximately 2.18 miles on a CERTIFIED course (Yes!  You can qualify for Boston!) will have you feeling just a little case of deja vu.  Aid stations at 1 mile plus the finish line area.  Don’t plan on the course being free of snow.  It’s paved, which means no underlying rocks and roots, but that’s about all we’re promising.

Swag - Every participant will get an awesome hoodie, finisher medal. Whole and Half-Hog get a stocking cap as well.

Training Partner - And our Official Training Program for Groundhog

RunGR is our largest local running club and has multiple coaches, who provide training programs for all of our races. With a club of more than 300 runners, the club provides a great opportunity to not only get a coaching plan, but also do your training with a large group of local athletes. RunGR will be offering a training plan, specific to Groundhog distances, as well as a prorated membership, known as their FAST program, so you can try out the club for 20 weeks. https://rungr.com/

For our Official Training Program, CLICK

Hotels & Travel. 
Our airport is GRR. Look for hotels HERE

This is a middle of the freakin' winter thing.  Weather could suck.  (Usually does.) You do know we're in Michigan, right?  So register at your own risk.  There are no refunds, deferrals until Friday of race weekend, no transfers. If there's a snowstorm of Biblical proportions, we'll have a snow date the next Saturday. If it's still not possible to hold the event, we'll give people registered for this year a 50% credit on next year's event.

You can transfer from one event to another--look yourself up and bring up your record. You'll have to pay the difference between the events. No refunds.

Contacts:
(Note--if you write with a question that's very plainly stated on the page, the email may get a low priority)

Race Director: Don Kern  donkern1@gmail.com  616 293 3145
Volunteer Coordinator: Stephanie Cornwell, happy.steph.1976@gmail.com 
Mailing Address:  1170 Oakburn Ave SE  Grand Rapids, MI 49546