The Tacoma City Marathon is a point-topoint course. The course starts by running across the iconic Narrows Bridge and finishes at Dune Peninsula Park at Point Ruston.
The course passes through Point Defiance Park. After exiting Pt. Defiance, runners cross over the Wilson Way Bridge with a half mile dowhill to the Puget Sound and Dune Peninsula Park. After a hilly first 12 miles, the course then continues on the flat and fast waterfront. The marathon turnaround is along the Thea Foss Waterway Esplanade. Runners then retrace their steps along the waterfront to the finish at Dune Peninsula Park.
The Tacoma City Marathon was the 156th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 227th largest in 2022.
This year 4.9% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 5.2% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Tacoma City Marathon the 334th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 285th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.49 ranks it as the 276th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 17th fastest course in Washington.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Tacoma City Marathon a PR Score of 98.49. This PR Score ranks it as the 213th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 16th fastest in Washington.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Tacoma City Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 411 feet (125m) Min Elevation: 9 feet (2m)
Weather is perfect in late April. Low 40's to high 50's consistently. City of Tacoma is surrounded by some amazing scenery and the race incorporates a few really neat views of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Point Defiance Park, Commencement Bay, and Mount Rainier. Gorgeous race and well run.
Race Tips
Big hill in Point Defiance park from mile 16-18. 200 feet of elevation gain over these two miles. Race start can be extra chilly, especially when windy but you warm up quickly on the run.
Gear check and shuttle available from downtown Tacoma is free. Shuttle picks people up in downtown and takes you to the Tacoma Marathon start point at the airport. Free coffee, bagels, and snacks at the start.
Jim T.'s review of 2014 Tacoma City Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
The cool drizzly weather and net elevation downhill make this course very friendly to making your PR and the elevation profile isn't accurate for the first few miles because it mistakenly records the route into the channel instead of on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge which is similar to running over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco where I live. This route has a lot of similarities to the San Francisco Marathon though it isn't a loop and is definitely easier being net downhill. In fact, the level changes really act to break up the monotony of the run and helped build pace for me. I PR'd here though I didn't qualify for Boston.
Race Tips
Hopefully, this is corrected for next time, but the elevation profile on their website is wrong and needs to be corrected around the bridge. You lose about a third of the listed uphill elevation when this is corrected. Also, the expo is very small and underwhelming but don't let that keep you from taking advantage of a relatively small event that has a great route and location for the price imo.
Parking is easy and free near the finish of the race in downtown Tacoma so no need to use hotel parking and the shuttle to the start is fine. If you come from out of town, having a rental car is great to checkout the area, including Seattle.
