The Hilton Head Island Marathon course loops twice through several communities and parks on Hilton Head Island. The only inclines are crossing over Broad Creek on the Cross Island Parkway.
The Hilton Head Island Marathon was the 191st largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 317th largest in 2022.
This year 7.2% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 10.1% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Hilton Head Island Marathon the 180th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 211th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.98 ranks it as the 202nd fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 4th fastest course in South Carolina.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Hilton Head Island Marathon a PR Score of 98.98. This PR Score ranks it as the 147th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 4th fastest in South Carolina.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Hilton Head Island Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 75 feet (22m) Min Elevation: 7 feet (2m)
Hotel & VRBO Accommodations for the Hilton Head Island Marathon
View available accomodations around the Hilton Head Island Marathon Finish Line and Course. Book your Reservation now before the best places are sold out.
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How Fast Can You Go?
If you ran the Hilton Head Island Marathon in 4:21:00, what would your time in other marathons be?
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Greg's review of 2022 Hilton Head Island Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Great race! Lots of volunteers and aid stations. Beautiful scenery of live oaks and marsh/water. While running the connector bridge doesn't sound ideal, it helped me vary the terrain just enough and to keep it interesting. I think switching the muscle groups helps vs running a simply pancake flat course. They only start the half and full together now, which is nice. They also had 2 free beers at the end, which was much appreciated. There are 2-3 random spots where you are running in the woods/ on a trail, but they were all relatively short and didn't seem to slow me down too much.
Race Tips
Run occurs mostly on roads and through a few parks - I enjoyed it. My GPS watch went crazy in some of the wooded sections though, so I relied more on the mile markers to keep track of pace.
There was a hotel that was .3 miles away from the start, Simple Rewards. It is like only a 2 star place, but is very affordable and the room was clean. The check in people even let me do a late check out for free to shower after the race!
dc's review of 2015 Hilton Head Island Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Great Marathon!
(Bit tougher than I expected...)
Wish I could have seen more of the residential parts / shore line of the Island rather than so much of the Cross Island Pkwy...
Well organized, marked and supplied.
Starting all 3 races (Full/Half/5K) at once is not close to ideal...It REALLY threw me off my pace...
Need to change running across that open field! It was hell...and not good for keeping pace nor for ankles! (Mile 15.5)
Wish I didn't have to hunt for water at the finish line...(delirious) (No free beer -_- ) GREAT pizza though!
Race Tips
Miles 9 thru 16 and 20 thru 22 were FABULOUS!
Volunteers were great but had to ask many which way to go and many were inconsistent in how they were using their flags to point us through the turns...
The way back from the start to your second trip over the bridge (16 thru 19.5) was mind numbingly boring...The second time over the bridge is not that bad...but there's a steady rise (ground overpass @ mile 18) before you climb the bridge outbound...don't get discouraged!
