Mega Size March Event
Its one of the first monster size events of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for the year. Offering less screaming than the polar plunge over a month ago, the Shamrock Marathon has exploded into one of the largest races on the East Coast. This is no cliche if you look at how many people now do it, either as a spectator or participant.
How Big Is It?
Jerry and Amy Frostick family, owners of J&A Racing Headquarters have helped expand the event from a notable 3,000 people to upwards of 30,000+people. This has made this a major running event and one of the most well known in the Virginia Beach/ Hampton Roads area. This growth has been amazing when you consider the race started in 1996. And that number is just the PARTICIPANTS!
And that is just the runners.
The actual crowd will be more like 70,000 giving Virginia Beach a sort of Spring preview of the summer size crowds we get after Memorial Day.
All the race events
There are a number of events. Naturally there is the main event but a number of other athletic events make the Shamrock weekend memorable which include
• Yuenling Marathon
• Anthem 1/2 Marathon
• Townebank 8K
• Operation Smile Final Mile
The Expo
There will be a Sports and Fitness Expo at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The Expo will have multiple exhibits and speakers and Entertainment.
There will be live music, celebration and more during the multiple events of the weekend which are scheduled as follows:
On March 19th, 2016
• Borderline Crazy
On March 20th, 2016
• Cheap Thrills
• Buckshot
• The Deloreans
Will The concerts cost money?
The concerts are FREE. Enjoy
For The Runners
Topics For Runners
A few tips: The Packet
Will the race packet be sent to me before the race?
You have to pick up your packet on race day if you are a participant
Where do I get the Shamrock Marathon Packet?
At the Virginia Beach Convention Center
Where is that in terms of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront?
It is about a mile from the Oceanfront, you passed it on the way in most likely
What do I need to do If I need someone else to pick it up?
You will need a SPECIFIC authorization form from the Shamrock Marathon site
Things for the Kids
Go to Racekids.org for information about some racing activities for your children while you run the Shamrock course
www.racekids.org/shamrock-marathon
Runner Bonus
Runners will receive free race photos this year!
Amazing Feats of the Shamrock Marathon
A Special Operations Officer will run the marathon in an 80 pound bomb suit. On top of being really heavy it is also cumbersome and very limited in terms of allowing joint movement. Impressive feat.
Shamrock Marathon Parking
with over 70,000 people at the event you probably have asked yourself this important question:
Where do I Park?
It is not a glamorous topic but it is important. Here is a link to an html map you can view in your mobile browser listing where to park. Here are the parking areas, make sure to park here or you could get towed.
Parking For The Shamrock Marathon
Here are the locations for parking during the event
- First Baptist Church 35th & Holly Road
This is only for Saturday
- 34th Street Garage (34th & Pacific Ave)
- 33rd Street east side of Pacific Ave
- 31st Street Garage
- 29th Street & Pacific private parking lot
Must enter 29th Street from Arctic Ave
- Chicho’s Pizza 29th Street & Pacific Ave
Must enter 29th Street from Arctic Ave
- 28th limited amount of on street parking available
23rd Street & Pacific Ave This lot will not be accessible from 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Saturday
- 21st Street lot east of Pacific Ave
- 20th Street lots east and west of Pacific Ave
- 19th Street North & South lots
Both of these lots are free city lots
- Virginia Beach Convention Center
Free parking is available at the convention center
check out this map you can use right from your cell phone for Virginia Beach Parking for the Shamrock Marathon
Spectator training…not really
If you are little less ambitious you can enjoy Virginia Beach in early Spring at Abbey Road Restaurant. Depending on the weather we have a host of food and beverage items that hit the spot including;
Special Needs: Gluten Free Near The Marathon
If you have special dietary needs requiring a gluten free menu Abbey Road has one of the largest gluten free menus and the Virginia Oceanfront.
Sponsor
The event sponsor is near and dear to our heart. Abbey Road prides itself on having one of the largest selections of both craft beers and draft beers on the Virginia Oceanfront. The sponsor of the Shamrock Marathon is Yuengling
We have Yuengling on tap
And we have it on tap as one of our 24 on tap beers. We will be serving the Yuengling Lager which is a great medium body brew. Like most lagers it goes great with our Yuengling Lager, Pennsylvania
Rich amber color & med. bodied. 3.49
choices for safe food go down drastically. Abbey Road will give you one of the largest gluten free kids menus AND one of the largest gluten free menus in Hampton Roads.
