Two Rivers Marathon Race Festival

The Two Rivers Marathon Race Festival will be held on March 27-28, 2021.

Update January 25, 2021:

There will be an elite start wave at 0800 for both the women and men. I'll be sending out information on it in the next athlete group email for those runners who want to be in a fast pace group.

The Endless Mountains events will be held April 24-25, 2021 in Forest City PA. You can find info about the races here: https://raceroster.com/events/2021/38554/endless-mountains-marathon-race-festival

If you do any Two Rivers event and any Endless Mountain event, we have a special gift for you!

Our finisher's medals are now in production. Here's a photo of them! We think they are the best medals yet.

Saturday finishers will receive the Bear medal, and Sunday finishers will receive the Eagle. They interlock nicely! Nice size at 4" also!

Update January 4, 2021: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has relaxed coronavirus restrictions. I've reopened online registration for now. I am permitting the number of athletes per race that was originally approved by the local township. I will update here with any changes.

The last day to register and be guaranteed a jacket will be January 10, 2021. After that, only athletes completing two races will be awarded a jacket.

Update December 17, 2020: The artwork for the two interlocking finisher's medals is complete! (the right medal will have a March 28, 2021 date on it). They look fantastic!

Update December 11, 2020: The Governor of Pennsylvania yesterday put further restrictions in place for gatherings of groups of people. These restrictions are in effect until January 4, 2021. No gatherings of people may have more than 50 people.

Because of this, I have paused registration, as the permit only allows 150 people.

I am hopeful that the restrictions will be lifted prior to the race date. I will keep everyone updated.

Online registration is paused until January 4, 2021. I am doing this for public health reasons and to be compliant with all current regulations.

Please call me at 570 470 4922 or email at markfastfinishes@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Mark

Update December 8, 2020: The events are capped for the number of athletes to race. The Saturday marathon and half marathon are basically sold out. I decided to take spots from the dual races (those that register to race both days at the marathon or half distance). They had some slots available, so I move openings to the Saturday marathon and half marathon, which will still keep the total number of athletes racing under the limit.

Update November 22, 2020: If there aren't any slots remaining for the event for which you'd like to register, please email me. Right now, I'm trying to figure out/guesstimate how many actual athletes will be on the course on race day. I should be able to exceed the slots blocked. Just email markfastfinishes@gmail.com if you're not able to register for the event you'd like. Thank you!

I just added virtual events if you'd like to race that way. You get all the fun jackets and medals. They will be mailed to you.

The Saturday, March 27, marathon is getting near the initial slot limit.

Event update November 20, 2020

Hi Everybody,

The township has given approval for the events to take place on March 27-28, 2021.

Of course, with the public health situation, things can change quickly. I'll be monitoring event safety requirements right up to raceday. I'll keep all athletes and volunteers informed.

As of now, the plan for the events are:

--the marathon (2 loops) and half marathon (one loop) will be run on Rte 590/Towpath Road. This course is equivalent to miles 11.75 to 18.64 on the old course. This course will start at the finish area in the park, turn right on Rte 590, go over the bridge and go left for almost 6+ miles. A course map is here (it shows one loop of the course. Double it for the marathon.

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/3672549139

--course elevation: I know there are different definitions about course descriptions. What is a hill to one is only a boomp to another. What we can say about the elevation on the course is this: The low point of the course is at 617'. The high point is 5 miles later at 821.' This means in 5 miles on the way out to the turnaround, you 'climb' 204.' That calculates to a grade/climb of .77%. This means the climb is less than 1%. You are running with the Lackawaxen River on your left on the way out to the turnaround. This will be the less than 1% climb going out. You'll also have less than 1% elevation loss on the way back to the start/finish area (You'll do this twice for the marathon.

--we had to move the course due to the old start area not being available and the need to keep athletes socially distanced, which meant eliminating the shuttle bus to Woodloch Pines for the start.

--the township and state have capped the events at 250 runners each day. That means that the sum of all athletes on Saturday in the marathon/half marathon/5k and 10k cannot exceed 250.

--if you have deferred to the 2021 events, please register for the 2021 event. https://raceroster.com/events/2021/32745/two-rivers-marathon-race-festival

--the Saturday marathon and half marathon have 28 spots available as of Nov. 20. The Sunday events have 100+ spots remaining.

--the 5k and 10k courses will remain the same.

--the marathon will be on a certified course

--aid stations: There will be three on the course, which means you'll have 6 aid stations per loop (13.1 miles). The aid stations will be self-serve, with sealed small water and gatorade bottles. There will be plenty of garbage cans on the course. Athletes are responsible for putting used water, gatorade, bananas, gels, or similar items in the garbage cans. The township has requested a zero garbage on the ground policy for health reasons. There will be garbage cans 50 yards on each side of the aid station, as well as a garbage can placed halfway to the next aid station.

--there will not be any marathon pacers for the Saturday marathon in order to minimize grouping of athletes.

--We will have post race food. It will be packaged. There won't be any food truck or buffet this year.

OK, that's the changes and updates. What fun stuff will there be?!

--if you register by November 30, 2020, or you do two races on two days, you'll receive a very nice jacket. If you register after that, you'll receive a very nice tech shirt. All athletes who race on two days will still receive a jacket.

--All athletes who register by January 1, 2021 will receive wearable speakers made by Zulu Audio.

--If you post a Boston Qualifying time in the marathon, you'll receive an "I Qualified for Boston At the Two Rivers Marathon" shirt.

--We'll have interlocking finisher's medals again in 2021 (I have 700 2020 finisher's medals left from this year which I'll bring to the race if you'd like 1 or 20!).

--We'll have an open start line for the marathon and half marathon. You can start anytime between 0745 and 0900. If you'd like to start before 0745, just let me know and I'll get you off and running!

--the marathon will have a 6 hour time limit. Please start early if you think you may exceed the 2:30pm course closure. We'll have the finish arch up for you and have your finisher's medal ready for you!

There is additional information and registration available at www.tworiversmarathon.com

I appreciate your support of these events. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Thank you!

Mark

Event update October 23, 2020. We are approved for 250 athletes each day to race. This, of course, is subject to change up or down depending on the severity of the Covid pandemic.

I have asked all athletes who deferred from 2020 to 2021 to register for 2021 by October 30 so that we'll know how many slots will be available for general registration. I'll of course keep everyone updated if registration has to close or if the cap on registration is raised.

If you register, please remember that we are in a pandemic. Events can be cancelled or changed to a new date quickly.

I cannot guarantee that your entry fee will be refunded because of the health crisis all of us are experiencing. I will do my best to put on the most fun events possible!

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Mark

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

We have the best new sponsor ever. Zulu Audio is supplying Alpha Series Wearable Bluetooth Speakers to any athlete to runs the marathon or the half marathon! These are VERY high quality with

4.5 star rating on amazon out of 5 stars.

Here's the 2020 finisher's medals:

Refunds with Ticket Guardian

For 6% of your entry fee ($4.20 for a $60 entry), you'll be able to get a refund, withdraw or defer for any reason from the event. You are protected. We want you to have a great time at our event.

The shirts are gender specific this year!