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Proud to be part of the Lake Placid Marathon

Runners begin the 2018 Lake Placid Marathon and Half on Main Street in front of the Olympic Speedskating Oval. (News photo — Lou Reuter)

With some warmer temperatures this week, it’s time to start thinking about springtime activities. For Lake Placid, that means the annual Lake Placid Marathon and Half Marathon, which is set for Sunday, June 14.

As the official newspaper of this race, the Lake Placid News is proud to say that we’ve been covering the Lake Placid Marathon and Half Marathon since it launched in 2005.

Runners and walkers who have participated in this event know how special it is. Some may ask, “How can you have a course that is so beautiful and so challenging at the same time?” Easy. This is Lake Placid, home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. We know how to put on some of the best sporting events in the world that test your mettle.

The course is best described as “moderate rolling, some flat, with a few steep hills.” The River Road section, following the West Branch of the AuSable River, is particularly beautiful.

The course starts and ends at the historic Olympic Speedskating Oval on Main Street. From there, it takes runners past the 1932 and 1980 Olympic arenas, up the Main Street business district, around picturesque Mirror Lake, down Mill Hill to the North Elba Showgrounds, past the Lake Placid Airport and ski jumps, up and down the River Road (twice for marathoners, once for half-marathoners), up the final hill to the middle-high school and the finish line.

There are 26 aid station opportunities along the full marathon course and 14 for the half marathon. The first four are water only and the remainder have water, sports drink, Clif products (energy gel and bars), fruit and other snacks.

The event is sanctioned and the course is certified by USA Track & Field, the governing body of running events in the U.S. It is also a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

This is one of the friendliest races for half marathon walkers, as there is a six-hour time limit: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. All finishers within the time limit get a finisher’s medal.

Signing up is easy. Just go online to https://lakeplacidmarathon.com/.

Starting at $1.44/week.

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