THE BOSTON FEVER RELIEVER

Runner's High is pleased to announce the NOTSOB MARATHON.

Entries are still being accepted, but shirts are not guaranteed after Sept 2.

COURSE CERTIFICATION
The course measurement has been approved by the regional certifier of the Road Race Technical Committee. Once the national chair person for the committee does a final review, it will be granted the certification number of PA20008NP. Until that time, it will not be searchable in the national database. Hopefully this will occur in the next day or so. For practical purposes, the course is certified and will serve as an official Boston Qualifier

QUALIFICATIONS
Since the 2020 Boston Marathon turned virtual, this event is providing a venue to compete and complete a marathon and submit the time to the BAA. Join others who aren’t excited about running 26 miles on their own. This is a one and done event. No plans for an annual event.

Originally, the event was to be open only to officially registered runners of the 2020 BAA Virtual Boston Marathon. Due to multiple requests from other marathoners, this requirement has been dropped.

Entries strictly limited to 70 entrants.

Entrants should be able to complete the marathon in under 5:00:00.

Lake Latonka, a private community about 5 miles north of Mercer, PA
Near the intersection of I-79 and I-80 in Western PA
One hour north of Pgh, PA and one hour south of Erie, PA
GPS Address of start: 420 Latonka Drive, Mercer, PA 16137

Once you get off I-79 (exit 121 Mercer / Rt 62) , it will take an additional 10 minutes to get to the actual venue.. When you enter the community (no need to stop at the guard shack unless it is occupied by staff), you'll proceed to a "T". The lake is in front of you. Take a right and proceed almost 2 miles to the community center on your left. Look for the flag poles and large gazebo.

RESTRICTIONS
Due to restrictions placed by the Lake Latonka community, the field will be limited to the first 70 on-line registrants.

ONLINE REGISTRATION WINDOW
On-line registration will open at 12:01 pm (noon Eastern Time) on Saturday, August 1, 2020
Entries will close at 11:59 pm on Sept 10th unless the field limit has been reached.
No day of race entry.
No mail-in entries accepted.

PACKET PICKUP
Entrants with accommodations at Candlewood Suites in Grove City will have their packets delivered there on Saturday.
Packet pick-up will open at 6am on the morning of the race at the Gazebo (start/finish area)
Packet will include bib (with timing chip attached to back), pins, shirt, Euro-sticker
Finisher medallions will be distributed at the finish line.

COURSE
Course consists of five loops (5.2 miles each) on lightly traveled roads of this private community

Includes about 0.4 miles of paved bike path on each loop. (no vehicles allowed)
Less than 100' of elevation change from highest point to lowest point. The only hill is coming out of the dip on the bike path at mile 3 of the loop. On the 5th lap (mile 24), it will seem like "Heartbreak Hill"

The course is NOT closed to traffic. However, the roads are lightly traveled by the residents of the community. You'll likely see numerous golf carts and bicyclists on the course.

Run facing traffic on the left side of the road at all times. Even though there are several small "S" turns on the loop, please do not cross the center line. Be courteous to our hosts, and please don't litter.

Course has been measured for USATF Certification. Certificate pending.
If obtained prior to race day, times will be submitted to the BAA for purposes of upgrading your qualifying time for the 2021 BAA Marathon and possibly qualifying for the 2022 event. (Window of qualification has not been announced yet by the BAA).

CREW / SPECTATORS
We must require a maximum of TWO spectators / crew members per entrant.
Must keep socially distant in all staging area from other spectators / crew members
Masks required by all crew members and spectators.

No vehicular traffic by spectators or "crew members"
Bicycles are permitted, but no extended pacing or interfering with community traffic.
A good place to set up is in the shaded area of the bike path where we'll have a water station, music and more.

HYDRATION AND RESTROOMS
Restrooms behind Duke and Lola's concession stand in parking lot of Community Center
Portable restroom near the dam in parking lot just before entering bike trail (Mile 2.8 of each loop)
Water Station on the bike trail of each loop at mile 3 (+/-)
Water Station at the end of each loop as you pass by the Community Center
Water bottles will be provided at the finish.
Trash cans located about 50 yards after each water station.
Please do not litter.

MASKS
Your entry fee includes a custom printed reusable mask as a unique souvenir.
Masks must be worn prior to the start of the race and after crossing the finish line.
Masks may be removed while running, eating and/or drinking
Do not discard masks on the course.
Tech shirts to all registered runners.

STARTING LINE PROCEDURES:
We anticipate a single mass start. Please maintain social distancing prior to the start.
Additional details to be announced.

All registrants will receive a souvenir mask and a tech t-shirt.
All finishers receive a laser engraved wooden coaster

Top 3 male and top 3 female finishers;
Top Masters male and female finishers
No age group awards.

Timing and Scoring by Runner's High
RaceResult Timing Technology
Timing Chip is attached to the back of the race bib. (Do not remove or damage.)
Wear race number on the front. Must be visible at all times.

We anticipate electronic timing points at each mile of the loop (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.25)
We hope to be the first marathon in the country to provide mile splits at each of these locations for every loop.

Timing will cease at 5:00:00.
After 4:00:00, no one will be permitted to start an remaining laps.
Results posted at: runhigh.com

You will be asked for the marathon time that you used to qualify for the 2020 Boston Marathon. We will be curious how your qualifying time compares to the time you run on our course.

Refreshments will be provided at the finish line.
No formal awards ceremony.
Please maintain social distancing.

A food truck will be set up in the parking lot after 9 am.
The concession stand (Duke & Lola's) also features hand dipped ice cream.

A variety of lodging facilities are located at the Grove City exit of I-79 (Mile Marker 113), adjacent to the Premium Outlets.

CANDLEWOOD SUITES is the OFFICIAL HOST HOTEL.
$99.00 (per room, per night, plus 11% tax).
Extended stay hotel with a full kitchen in every room.
Pet friendly. No breakfast.
Free Shuttle Service within 10 miles.
Late check out 2:00pm, if requested at check-in.
Call Direct: 724-748-6900. Ask for the " NOTSOB Marathon" Rate
Must book rooms by 8/21/20 to guarantee rates and availability
Race packets for guests, including shirts, bibs, etc, will be delivered to Hotel on Sat afternoon. No need to check in at the race on Sun am.

Easy Booking Link: NOTSOB Marathon Room Block

Note: once you enter the dates and choose your room type, the code for our rate (NBM) will automatically pop up.

Other nearby Hotels
Holiday Inn Express 724 748-5514
Best Western Hotel 724 748-5836
Town Place Suites 724 748-6322
Hampton Inn 724 748-5744


Numerous restaurants are located in the same area
My Brothers Place
Primanti Brothers
Timber Creek Grill
Black Out Burger
Hoss's Steakhouse

Others within a 10 minute drive of the Outlets
Rachel's Roadhouse
Iron Bridge Inn

No one knows what the future of road racing holds. Security at mass events changed with 911 and with the Boston Bombing incident in 2013. We have learned to deal with and respect that. We anticipate that road racing will not return to Pre 2020 standards for quite some time. This too, must be dealt with and respected.

We aim to provide an enjoyable, healthy and safe event. However, when dealing with people, it can be challenging. Anyone registering for and attending this event must realize that he or she must be held accountable for his or her actions and reactions. We must be responsible and abide by restrictions set by our staff, community and government.

If you feel that the health risk of attending this race is greater than the anticipated benefit, we request that you do not register for this event. If state mandated guidelines change before race day to the extent that the event must be cancelled, your entry fee will not be refunded for any reason. We have significant expenses coming into the event, and runners must realize that it is a risk that they must take when registering. The entry limit is expected to fill in a relatively short period of time, so don’t gamble too long in delaying to register.

Please be cognizant that some things just may be out of our control.

This marathon will count as my 41st Boston Marathon in a row. I’m currently 10th on the active Boston Marathon streakers list, and less than 25 have ever run more Bostons than I have. While I don’t expect to run the pace that I would in the actual Boston Marathon, I hope to run around 3:45. I’m excited to have others join me on this venture, and if I can help others by providing a venue to get their Boston Marathon finish in the books, we all win.

For event-related questions, please click on the Contact the Organizers button on the left-hand side of this page.