Holland Haven Marathon runners experience the beautiful coast of Lake Michigan as they travel from Grand Haven to Holland. This point-to-point marathon follows Lakeshore Drive past summer cottages and over majestic hills right into downtown Holland. The early September weekend allows for mild weather and a last chance to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Boston qualifying hopefuls love this opportunity to make the cut only one day before registration opens.
The Holland Haven Marathon was the 178th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 165th largest in 2022.
This year 12.8% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 14.8% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Holland Haven Marathon the 104th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 114th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.87 ranks it as the 223rd fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 8th fastest course in Michigan.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Holland Haven Marathon a PR Score of 96.50. This PR Score ranks it as the 358th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 12th fastest in Michigan.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Holland Haven Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 649 feet (197m) Min Elevation: 581 feet (177m)
We had 4 ppl, (2 first timers). Course well marked. Scenic. People were very friendly. Suggestions: Couple of side streets could have used 2 ppl or police to direct traffic/prevent cars turning. Would have liked water around Mile 18ish.
Arriving at start 7 am was plenty of time to park (there is plenty of space in school lot and along street) and get ready for race at 7:30. Easy to find places to park along course to cheer on runners, ie we did cross streets near Mile 6, 16, 21
Anonymous's review of 2023 Holland Haven Marathon.
2 /
5 Stars
Review
You run on a sidewalk next to a busy road most of the time. Very few roads are blocked off for the runners. You never run through downtown holland. There are very few spectators and poor directions for the course. It felt like a training run on an ugly sidewalk and then you finish next to a junkyard and parking lot. It's a shame because holland is a beautiful town; if they closed off the downtown streets and made it a loop course to show off the city it could be much better.
The "course description" says "follow the coast of western Michigan" and "finish in downtown Holland." I never saw the water, and "downtown Holland" is a technicality at best. The last quarter of a mile finishes into a parking lot right on the outskirts of downtown, I didn't see anything worth seeing.
The "rolling hills" are very intense for someone traveling from a different area. I thought I did train on hills, apparently not significant enough hills for this. I'm not sure that "rolling hills" adequately describes many of these, especially from mile 9-14.
The course had very warm water that was hard to drink. They also put it in plastic cups which are for sure better for the environment but make ingestion quite difficult.
Running this race was no different than my training runs in terms of spectators. Races I've done in the past have done a REALLY good job of encouraging the runners by creating a party atmosphere around the race. The miles really dragged on without the community support I've been used to in the past.
Race Tips
Make sure you have a Garmin watch, or something else similar to a Garmin for multiple reasons:
1) no pacers
2) very challenging for your crew to track you and get ahead of you without your own means of tracking.
Stay in Grand Haven, navigation around this area can be challenging in my opinion
CCC's review of 2020 Holland Haven Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Huge credit to the race director for pulling this off with covid restrictions. The marathon was capped at 300, split into 3 "events" of 100 separated by an hour, and each "event" was split into 3 equal waves 10 minutes apart. Runners were put into corrals based on estimated finish time to minimize passing on the course, plus several other restrictions (no touch aid stations, etc.) Very impressive to put this race on at all with the restrictions necessary to keep it safe.
The only negative I'd share is that the course markings were small, non-reflective-paint stencils on the asphalt path -- none of those 10-foot-tall "Mile 6" signs. With the pre-sunrise start, it was impossible to track mile splits, and still hard when the sun came out.
It's also a small, rural marathon (mostly run in between two nice little beach towns), so crowd support is sparse. But it is a pretty run along a woodsy, residential area with a few peaks at the lake here and there. If you're up for small but well-organized, I'd highly recommend it.
Race Tips
The elevation map doesn't really do justice to a few of the hills. The bike path follows alongside a road, but the path isn't leveled to the same standard of gentleness as the road itself. It rolls up and down, and around miles 9-11, there are few very intense grades. They're short but deadly.
The shade on the course is pretty strong except for the portion running west-to-east on James Street, which is straight into the blazing sunrise.
This year it started at 6:00 a.m. to accommodate extra waves required by covid restrictions. Twilight was at 6:50, and sunrise 7:20. Usually the race starts at 7:30, but if it starts before sunrise again, bring a headlamp. I know it's annoying but it really is that dark and the path rolls, bends, has dropped sticks and level changes, etc.
It is the best race combination I've experienced, with hometown flare and big race professionalism—the friendliness of volunteers and road marshals, but the organization, aid stations, and usual perks of a big run. I believe this Lakeshore Half/Full Marathon will be an epic run that will be hard to secure a spot in the near future. I’m registering now for next year. Won’t miss it for anything. And one important additional note for first timers: the after party is not to be missed—there was food, like real food (bbq, cookies, fruit) and craft beer for the whole family, with a band and a climbing wall—my kids loved it! We stayed for an hour to celebrate. See you in 2017!
Race Tips
Bring a watch to pace yourself or run with a pacing buddy because there are not pacers on the course.
3.7 Stars from 7 Reviews
