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America’s toughest road marathon returns this weekend

The Blue Ridge Marathon draws thousands from all over the globe to Roanoke

ROANOKE, Va. – America’s toughest road marathon is back for another year, with over 3,000 runners.

Racers from as far as Hong Kong will make their way to Roanoke this week for Saturday’s marathon.

The course begins downtown, but in between, runners will have to face miles of climbing.

Last year, the race got cut short due to severe weather, but organizers said it’s just more motivation to come back and finish this year.

“They want to be able to complete America’s toughest road marathon, so it’s a different challenge,” said Director of the Roanoke Outside Foundation, Pete Eshelman. “So last year’s weather just added to being the toughest race in the world. So this is a great opportunity for them to come back and complete that. We absolutely have the runners coming back to do that, as well as new runners.”

Race organizers said they are always in need of more volunteers.

Information on volunteering can be found here.

Road closures and detours can be found here.


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Abbie Coleman officially joined the WSLS 10 News team in January 2023.