Lake Merritthon

Welcome to the 2nd annual Lake Merritthon, a marathon and relay by Oakland Track Club celebrating the Jewel of Oakland!

Join OTC and our friends at Run Local for a completely unique racing experience, where you can run a fast, flat, and controlled marathon around our scenic home “track!” Beginning at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater, the marathon will head out clockwise for 13.1 miles before turning around to finish “trackwise” back in the same spot.

This race will feature a fully crewed aid station at the amphitheater, with volunteers ready to help each runner with their own water bottles and fuel for every 5k lap. Another aid station will be set up at the other end of the lake. Runners will have a chance to set up their fuel for our support volunteers before the start, or they can bring their own support crew.

The Relay—also unique in its flexible structure—will feature teams of 2-4 runners, each of whom must run at least once, and can exchange in any order and as many times as they like in the exchange zone at the amphitheater. Runners can split up the distance and the loops however they want, with one runner running 2 or 3 laps in a row, or trading off every lap, etc. Only the runner who will be running the final leg into the finish will need to be decided beforehand.

⏱️ Please note: there will be a 5 hour course time limit

Event schedule:

7:00am - Marathon and Relay Start

10:00am - Lake Merritthon festival and picnic