The Galveston Marathon course is a double out and back of the half marathon course and is nearly completely flat - less than 100 feet of elevation gain over the entire course. The start and finish are at East Beach.
The Galveston Marathon was the 376th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 312th largest in 2022.
This year 4.9% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 5.8% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Galveston Marathon the 315th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 273rd highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 99.82 ranks it as the 44th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 1st fastest course in Texas.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are slightly above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Galveston Marathon a PR Score of 99.66. This PR Score ranks it as the 54th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 1st fastest in Texas.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Galveston Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 15 feet (4m) Min Elevation: 1 feet (0m)
On the positive side this is a pretty and flat course with friendly staffing. It’s a double loop with kind of “loop within loop†structure at the top end and at the bottom it runs down to past the piers. It had a kind of trail race vibe at the start/finish line. It was hotter than I expected but compared to Florida where I came from it was fine. The first loop is shared with the half marathoners and although its a relatively small race it was easy to be running with a group no matter your pace. Things changed after the half though. I was on my own and the crowd support thinned out a lot. The worse thing however was that the aid stations just seemed to give up after the half. At the points I needed it most - miles 19 and 23 the first was abandoned with no water and the second was only pickle juice no water. Overall I enjoyed the experience despite bonking but it could have been so much better
Race Tips
Parking at the start/finish is easy. Its also easy for friends/family to see you at multiple stops with just a little walking on their part.. review the course map and you can see them 6 or 7 times. Definitely bring your own nutrition and water and be prepared for a totally different experience first and second halfs.
Hotels fill up that time of year so make sure you get sorted in advance.
Aniko's review of 2019 Galveston Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
It's a completely flat race along the seawall, with nice scenery. Well organized, and have a nice small town feeling as people come out to watch the race. I was surprised how many spectators were on the course. The weather in 2019 was a little warm (69 at start), but cooled down to 60 later. Two loops (out and back) on a half marathon course, so it's perfect for friends, and family to cheer you on, because they'll see you passing several times. Water stations in every 1.5 miles, volunteers were awesome. I had a very good time, and a BQ :) The free food, beer, yogurt, and massage at the finish were also really nice.
Race Tips
There's always high chance it's gonna be windy, and humid, so be ready for that, and if you're running the full, you can end up running alone on the second loop. It's really flat flat, which makes the pacing easy, so one less thing to worry about. If the porta potty line is too long, check the restrooms in that big building at Stewart Beach, they were open this year with no lines.
There is free parking at the start/finish (Stewart Beach), on the sand, right next to the starting line, very convenient. (The race course is all paved, so no running on sand).
4 Stars from 2 Reviews
