About the Sleeping Bear Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K
The courses run through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, so the surroundings are genuine, not incidental. The longer routes head out and back past Little Glen Lake and through Glen Arbor, with views toward the Manitou Islands along the way. The half marathon uses the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail and the hills there are real. The race falls during peak fall color, and the tree cover makes that matter.
All distances finish in Empire, near the beach. The longer races start at the Dune Climb, so plan for point-to-point logistics rather than a loop back to your car.
Free race emails
Get the Weekly RunSesh
Get races near Empire in your inbox. Every Monday we send the races coming up, and every Thursday we send the ones happening that weekend.
Two helpful emails per week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sleeping Bear Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K 2026 Results
Going by the 2026 results, this is a decent-sized field, with a competitive front end and a big recreational middle.
Half Marathon Results · 2026
763finishers
1:29:39winner
2:16:06median
4:04:20cutoff
Top 3: Dave Ortiz (1:29:39) · Tim McMahon (1:32:28) · Daniel Hanson (1:33:39)
5K Results · 2026
564finishers
17:46winner
37:58median
2:36:55cutoff
Top 3: Zane Bannink (17:46) · Nathan Howard (18:37) · Zach Loyd (20:06)
Marathon Results · 2026
248finishers
2:57:44winner
4:40:41median
7:12:15cutoff
Top 3: Brian Lishawa (2:57:44) · Todd Richter (3:02:15) · Jack Tultz (3:02:16)
The Sleeping Bear Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K has been held every year since at least 2015. That is as far back as RunSignup's records for this race go, so it may well be older.
How we calculate these stats: RunSesh calculates these figures from the most recent published results of past editions, sourced from RunSignup. We show aggregates only: field size, winning and median times, and the cutoff. We never publish individual finisher tables. Last updated Nov 12, 2026.
Distances & Start Times
26.2 Miles10/2/2027 07:30$90
13.1 Miles10/2/2027 08:00$80
3.1 Miles10/2/2027 08:20$40
Going for a Time?
Set a goal and get a pace band: every mile split on a card sized for your phone lock screen, so race morning needs no math.
Not sure what to aim for? The marathon pace chart lists the pace for every finish time.
Where to Stay
Traveling for this race? The map shows hotels and rentals in and around Empire — pan or zoom to compare what's nearby.
The map is provided by Stay22. If you book through it, RunSesh may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — it never affects the races we list.
