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03May

Shiprock Marathon

4.0

WhereShiprock, NM, United States

Start time17:00

Website

Sub-events

04May

Marathon 6.5 Split

Distance: Other

Start time: 07:00

04May

Marathon 13.1 Split

Distance: Half Marathon

Start time: 07:00

04May

Charity Bib- Marathon

Distance: Marathon

Start time: 07:00

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Race Details

Welcome to the 42nd Annual Shiprock Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K

Shiprock Youth Center – Friday, May 2 & Saturday, May 3, 2025

The 2025 Shiprock Marathon will provide a unique and memorable running experience the first weekend of May in Shiprock, New Mexico!

The Shiprock 5K Trail Race will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 2 on the Blueberry Hill course, beginning and ending at the Youth Center. There are awards for top individual (overall and age-group top three) and team winners. All runners will receive a performance t-shirt, race poster, swag and post-race snacks.

The Marathon will begin at 7:00 a.m. with the start/finish area in Shiprock. Runners who expect to compete for overall or age-group awards should start in the front of the mass start at 7:00. Shiprock Marathon is a USATF Certified Course.

The Half Marathon will start at 7:30 a.m.

The out-and-back road course includes views of Shiprock Pinnacle and a gentle long downhill slope on the return. There will be great course support and live music along the way. Expect to see the likes of Dark Sky, Red Hawk, Pinon Pickers, Mountain Spring and Skoolboykook, sharing a variety of traditional, country, Navajo blues, classic rock and rez metal sounds.

Packet pick-up will take place at the large Shiprock Youth Center parking lot on Friday from 2:00-7:00 p.m. and again from 6:00-6:45 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Saturday’s Race Day Parking

Race day in Shiprock is exciting and busy, so please take a minute to review this information about parking.

From Farmington hotels – drive west on Hwy 64, approximately 30 miles. Once in Shiprock, continue straight through a stoplight (near Wells Fargo and church), across the San Juan River and to the second stoplight (near gas stations). Keep going straight again, past Basha’s and the post office until you see event parking on your right.

Farmington has a vast array of lodging options, for all levels of comfort and price.

If you are coming from the south, you will encounter the event parking on your left just as you enter Shiprock. Our parking team will help you get parked and situated for your big event!

Race Day Logistics

Results & Timing – The team from Rocky Mountain Timing is timing both races. RESULTS will be available via QR codes – posted throughout the finish area – or at www.rmtiming.co All awards are based on gun time.
The Course and Course Support – Aid stations will be available every single mile along the Marathon and Half Marathon courses. Aid stations will include Honey Stinger gels, fresh fruit, Gatorade and water, and sweets and salties. Portajohns will be available at the start lines and along the course. There will be medical support throughout the route and at the finish.

The Finish Line

Food Area – You will receive a hearty snack box when you cross the finish line, which will also have a variety of beverages – water, Gatorade and chocolate milk. Be sure to visit the Domino’s food truck and flash your bib for your slice of Domino’s pizza. You will also want to visit Jose’s Food Tent, next to Domino’s, for a nice assortment of fresh fruit, melon, chips, Clif Bars and trail mix.
Post-Race Party & Awards – We will have live music, great food and awards at the finish line. All Marathon and Half Marathon finishers will receive a well-earned medal when they finish. Results will be available instantly and awards will be presented to overall and age-group winners as soon as possible. All awards are based on gun time. Any awards that are not presented will be mailed or delivered to the winners.
There will be overall awards (top three, male and female) and age-group awards based on 10-year age groups. Awards include medallions, plaques and/or Native arts and crafts; age-group podium awards will go four deep.

Kudos to all of our amazing Safety and Medical Team – Navajo Nation EMS, Shiprock Fire Dept., Shiprock Police Dept, Beclabito CERT, the Navajo Rangers, Red Valley CERT, Sanostee CERT, T’iis Nazbas Fire Dept, Newcomb Fire Dept, Ojo Amarillo Fire Dept and New Mexico State Police.

Special mention to our SRM partners!! And “ahe’hee” to our incredible race team and over 200 race weekend volunteers! Proceeds of the Shiprock Marathon benefit year-round outdoor adventure programs for Dine’ youth and families. Find out more about NavajoYES and our programs at www.navajoyes.org or at www.Facebook.com/NavajoYES

This year’s race is USATF-certified and is a Boston qualifier!

And Shiprock Marathon will be a qualifier for the

Abbott Marathon Majors Masters World Championships!

https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/rankings/world-championships

See you in Shiprock on May 2 & 3, 2025 for the 42nd running of Shiprock Marathon!

E-mail us at chuskaman@yahoo.com or at info@rmtiming.co if you have any questions at all.

Training Plan

Free 20 week Basic Marathon Training Plan

A detailed plan created by our Head Coach designed for help you prepare for your first marathon.

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Reviews

general:4.2

course:4.5

organization:4.5

spectators:3.5

Carla Koretsky

May 05, 2024

Unique, tremendous organization, great community

The Shiprock Marathon was a truly one-of-a-kind experience - it's no wonder it was just ranked as a top marathon by USA Today! The marathon is relatively small, with less than 200 runners. Quite a few more run the half. Positives: -Fantastic communication from the race director in the weeks leading up to the race. -All around stellar organization, from easy parking to absolutely on time start(to the second!) to plenty of portapotties at the start and along the course. -Incredibly supportive community. So much positivity all along the course and at the expo! -Water stops every mile(!). All water stops had gatorade and water, and many had pickle juice, pretzels, gummy bears, oranges and gels. -A small but nice expo outside at the start/finish area. Free massage and free medal engraving at the race end, several different food stalls in addition to the free pizza and snack box for all runners. -Music wasn't all set up on course when I went out with marathon (presumably was for half marathon runners who went out a little later), but what was on course was great. -Starting the half marathon 30 minutes after the marathon made for an easy, congestion-free start to the marathon. -Hearing the national anthem sung in Navajo was really special, as was the traditional music and prayer. -Beautiful views of Shiprock an the way out. -Closed course, with car lanes blocked. -Awesome finisher medal and age group medal, too. And the first time I've gotten one of those - amazing that they go 3 deep in each age group for a small race. Negatives -Tough! The altitude, dry air and a warm day made this a very challenging run. -Not necessarily a negative, but I had expected a flatter course. I actually liked the rolling hills, but was not totally prepared for the fact that most of the course was either uphill or downhill. -I don't love an out and back course, although I understand that the logistics wouldn't work well to do this one differently. It was also a bummer not to be able to see Shiprock on the way back. Again, I don't think that the organizers could do anything about this, but it did make for a less scenic return. All in all, this is a terrific marathon. Not easy to get to Shiprock, but absolutely worth it. A huge thank you to everyone who makes this race so incredible!

5.0

Steve Stein

May 08, 2022

Amazing support for runners on a hot, windy day

A scaled down race due to continuing COVID concerns, so only about 150 of us ran the marathon; about 450 ran the half. It was also on a different course than previous years: an out-and-back on 491 and N13 with the turnaround near Shiprock Mtn. It's quite scenic once you turn on to N13 (if you enjoy high desert scenery). The day started out nice, but the heat and wind picked up after the first two hours. We had headwinds most of the way back on N13, which slowed many of us already slow runners. I've never gone through this much water in a race. Temps were in the mid-80s with high winds when I finished in my slowest time ever. The course support was amazing. Lots of music on the course, and aid stations every mile with water, gels, Honey Stinger waffles, and other food choices. Navajo Rangers and EMTs regularly checked on anyone who was struggling. A few folks needed medical help, but I think most of us finished, though with a lot of walking in the last miles. One guy walked it in 9 hours, by which time the temperature and wind must have been brutal. It was an amazingly well organized race whose volunteers handled the conditions very well. A surprising amount of fan support, too, along 491. Definitely a race worth doing, and has peaked my interest in the other races in the Navajo series.

5.0

Phil Wahba

July 03, 2019

Terrific NM marathon

Flawless. So much fun and incredible vistas on this run. It was my NM race in my 50-state quest and I highly recommend it. Nice swag, great pasta party the dinner before with some members of the Navajo nation singing traditional songs. Just lovely all around.