The marathon is an out-and-back route with gentle elevation gain then heads back down towards the finish.
The first four and last four miles are within the scenic village of Sackets Harbor and along Lake Ontario. The half and full marathons share the first 13.1 miles.
The Sackets Harbor Marathon was the 223rd largest marathon in the U.S. last year.
This year 12% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 9.3% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Sackets Harbor Marathon the 211th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 111th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.76 ranks it as the 248th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 11th fastest course in New York.
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 Sackets Harbor Marathon a PR Score of 96.11. This PR Score ranks it as the 373rd fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 14th fastest in New York.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Sackets Harbor Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 470 feet (143m) Min Elevation: 246 feet (75m)
Very organized! Lots of volunteer support. Beautiful course with rolling hills. The shirts are my absolute favorite race shirts! The medal is gorgeous!
This was our 7th marathon (I run the full, my wife the half). This run is really well done. Well organized, phenomenal community support, and a good route in a great setting. This was the second running of the race, so I was a little concerned the organizers wouldn't be on top of things, but they nailed it. It's run in a small upstate NY lakeside community and the town really turns out to support the runners.
Race Tips
Good course to run for PRs. Out and back with a slight uphill on the out. The downhill on the way back is slight, but very helpful.
Be ready to eat. This town is little, but has a number of top notch restaurants. We stayed in an AirBnB right on Lake Ontario in the next town north.
El's review of 2024 Sackets Harbor Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
It was a wonderful day ! The volunteers were great , the organisation : the top , the scenic view near the lac and in the land was helping us forgetting the effort and the fatigue . I did my PR et had my qualifying time for Boston so this race will stay in my heart for ever . Sackets is a beautiful town with great people and I will bring my friends next year .
Race Tips
Bring water because it's sunny and hot .. but there is a lot of water station but I was so thirsty at the end .it is a good thing that it's starts at 7:00 am !
Excellent organization from the race directors. course was surprisingly varied between the harbor, residential areas, and farmland. elevation on the way out is fairly gradual and only noticeable in a few places. does give you some solid momentum on the way back
Race Tips
Would go out conservatively/by effort and then take advantage of the downhill elevation on the second half with the goal to slightly negative split
