On Saturday, November 4, the Macon Tracks Running Club – along with Visit Macon, Macon-Bibb County, and Presenting Sponsor Atrium Health Navicent – will host the Macon Music Half Marathon, the first of its kind in nearly 20 years. 

More than 570 runners from 13 states and Washington, DC are already signed up, and each day, more join in this inaugural event. Runners will be coming to Macon-Bibb from Alabama, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.

“What a great response for our first half marathon; I know people will thoroughly enjoy the tour of our musical heritage and learning about why we’re such a great community,” says Mayor Lester Miller. “One of the things people told me they wanted in our community was more opportunities for recreation, and this race – along with the new indoor pickleball facility and sporting events – have helped put us on that path.”

A map of the full route is below. Streets will reopen as the final runner passes by them, with the full route being reopened by 11:30 a.m.

The Macon Music Half Marathon will start and end in Carolyn Crayton Park (formerly Central City Park). The race will begin and 8:00 a.m., and the course will take runners by many of the locations linked to the community’s musical heritage, including the Big House, the Grand Opera House, Capricorn Studios, Mercer’s McDuffie Center for Strings, Vineville Academy, and more. 

You can sign up for the race at www.macontracks.org/macon-music-half-marathon. If someone does not want to run but would like to volunteer to make it a success, they can email [email protected].

Sponsoring and supporting partners include Fall Line Brewing Co., James Bates Brannan Groover, First Choice Primary Care, Simplenexus, Mercer University, the Cherry Blossom Festival, Global Graphics, Hometown Yoga, and Northwestern Mutual.

Hosting the race helped Macon-Bibb County be named a Runner Friendly Community by the Road Runners Club of America for the first time ever. The race was used in addition to years of improvements to the trail system, bike lanes, and roads to make them safer for everyone to use. 

That includes bike lanes around Downtown and neighborhoods, expansion of the Ocmulgee Heritage Trails, trails at Amerson River Park and Carolyn Crayton Park, a 12-mile run course with parking and gathering areas, the trails in the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, and more. It also pointed out that many of the trails currently being developed or expanded will connect in the next few years to create a trail of 12-15 miles, allowing there to be a half marathon that never crosses a road.