Are You Marathon Ready?

Hatfield McCoy Marathon 2023 

Are You Marathon Ready? 

Of course, the Hatfield McCoy Marathon is a major event for runners in the Tug Valley.  The event is also a major  for runners on a national and even an international scale, with runners from across the country and around the world, coming to run in the marathon. 

The race started in 2000 as a part of the Hatfield-McCoy reunion festival, and the first ever race took its 30 participants around various sites from the historic feud across southern WV and eastern KY. It has grown exponentially since then, with more than 1,000 participants at the 20th anniversary race in 2019. Runnersworld.com named the marathon one of the top most fun half-marathons to run in 2023, in advance of the upcoming marathon, which will be Saturday, June 10 at 7am sharp. 

The marathon is the star of the show, taking folks from a start at Belfry High School, through birthplaces, homes, gravesites, and more. Runners will go through Matewan, where the historic Battle of Matewan took place, at the halfway point, before bringing folks back to downtown Williamson, where the race ends. There will be two half marathons: the Blackberry Mountain Half Marathon, which will begin in Belfry and end in Matewan, and the River Road Half Marathon, which will begin in Matewan and finish in downtown Williamson. 

There will also be the Jeannie Rivard 5K, which will start and end in downtown Williamson, and like the marathon and half marathon, will take runners through both WV and Kentucky. There’s also a free children’s race scheduled. To learn more about start times and locations, check out the webpage from the Hatfield McCoy Marathon website. 

A unique finisher medal will be offered for each of the main 4 races, and runners can pick up bibs and t-shirts before the race. Participants can pre-register online until 6:30 am on June 10. 

To learn more about the event and get registered for the run of a lifetime, check out the website and the Facebook event page. 

Graphic from Hatfield McCoy Marathon Facebook page.