The Jim Thorpe Area Running Festival presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network

The 2026 Jim Thorpe Area Running Festival will Take Place on April 25 & 26! The 7-Miler will now take place on Saturday and has ITS OWN SCENIC TRAIN RIDE!

Join us in this gorgeous mountain town for one of the most beautiful runs in the Northeast! The full marathon is a point-to-point BOSTON QUALIFIER with a steady 0.5-1% downgrade nearly the entire way!! It is one of the fastest Boston Qualifiers on the East Coast!

Saturday: Half Marathon @ 8 am

Saturday: 7-miler (train leaves @ 7:30 am)

Sunday: Full Marathon with two starting times @ 7:15 am & 8:00 am. (train leaves @6:30 am and riders start at 8:00 am)

Half Marathon (Sat. 4/25) 8 am:

The 2025 half marathon will be run on the same gorgeous, out-and-back course as 2024. Participants will start in the parking lot at the Jim Thorpe Train Station and run the FLAT, FAST rail-trail into Lehigh Gorge State Park. The route runs parallel to and even crosses over the Lehigh River and into breathtaking scenery of Lehigh Gorge.

7-Miler With Scenic Train Rides to the Start (Sat. 4/25): (train leaves at 7:30 am)

The final 7-miles of our gorgeous marathon course! All 7-Mile runners must take the train that leaves Jim Thorpe Station at 7:30 am.

Boston Qualifying Full Marathon (two start corrals: 7:15 am and 8 am): (Sun. 4/26)

The full marathon is an ABSOLUTE DREAM for runners a spectators alike, a POINT-TO-POINT BOSTON QUALIFIER with a SLIGHT, STEADY 0.5% to 1% DOWNGRADE nearly the ENTIRE WAY. The 700-foot net-downhill means that it does NOT incur a BQ time penalty.

7:15 am runners can get dropped off or park near the start and take a free shuttle bus back to their cars after the race. 8 am runners can take the scenic train from Jim Thorpe to White Haven (train leaves at 6:30 am).

**RUNNERS WHO SIGN UP FOR THE 7:15 AM start may begin the race any time between 7:15 and 8:00 AM. Parking shuttles will run from the park-and-ride to the starting line until 7:45 AM. We allow this because the train ride to the 8:00 AM start tends to sell out by early January.

Volunteer at JTARF!

Volunteering at JTARF is fun and easy! All volunteers receive a JTARF volunteer T-shirt and, if you're part of a charitable organization, we will happily make a donation to that charity: $25 per volunteer on Saturday and $35 per volunteer on Sunday.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

If you're part of an organization and would like more information on the volunteer donation, please email us at [email protected]

Post-Race Whistlestop Tour!

After the races on both Saturday and Sunday, join us for food and drink specials on our post-race whistlestop tour! The 2026 whistlestops include:

The Broadway Grill and Pub @ 24 Broadway

Ouros @ 70 Broadway (21+)

Mugglets Mug @ 79 Broadway

PACERS

Beast Pacing will return for 2026. Pacer times will be added to the half marathon and marathon as we get closer to the event.

PARKING: Half Marathon, 7-Mile, and Marathon with Train Runners have two options for parking

1. Premium Parking in the Jim Thorpe Train Station Lot next to the finish line. This is the BEST option, but spots are limited and MUST be pre-purchased from the Carbon County Parking Website BY CLICKING HERE. (Once on the site, click "VIEW PERMITS" and select the correct day--It may also say "FALL FOLIAGE PARKING RESERVATIONS" depending on how CC updates their site). Note Carbon County has raised their weekend parking rates to $25/day. This has nothing to do with the festival and we have no say over pricing.

2. Free, Off-site Parking will be available at the Jim Thorpe Area High School. A 7-minute shuttle bus will take you to and from the start/finish area next to the Jim Thorpe Train Station.

Non-Train Marathon Runners will Park at the Route 940 Park and Ride in White Haven.

Spectator Train Tickets

Family and friends can accompany runners on both the 7-Mile and marathon scenic train rides! Spectators will take a round-trip on THE FAMOUS READING & NORTHERN RAILWAY from Jim Thorpe. A VERY LIMITED number of spectator tickets is available.

Swag!

2026 JTARF tee-shirt while supplies last.

Unique 2026 JTARF finisher's medal (different for each event).

FREE downloadable professional photographs with bib-tags

Customized event bib (register by 4/5)

Awards

Top 3 Overall M/F in all three events

Top 3 Overall Masters (40+) in the half and full marathons

Top 3 M/F for all events in the following age groups: 19&U, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+

Bib Pickup

THERE IS NO DAY-OF PACKET PICKUP! Those who cannot pick up their bibs in person MUST elect to have them mailed before the race.

All runners can pick up bibs on Friday April 24th from noon to 6 pm at Muggles' Mug Coffee Shoppe (79 Broadway, Jim Thorpe).

Marathon runners can pick up their bibs on Saturday April 25th from 10am to 1pm in front of the Jim Thorpe Train Station.

A friend may pick up your bib with a copy of your ID. A picture on a phone will suffice.

If you're wondering whether or not you selected bib pickup when you registered, you can check by logging into Run Signup, clicking on "my profile," and then clicking on "Manage Registration" next to the Jim Thorpe Area Running Festival. If you opted for packing mailing, you will see the line: "Add-ons: packet mailing (1)"

If you did not opt for packet mailing but need to do so, this link will explain how to complete that add-on: Add-On Management : RunSignup Helpdesk

DEFERRALS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS

Those who deferred from a previous year MUST CLAIM THEIR DEFERRAL BY February 1st, 2026.

To claim your deferral, follow the instructions on THIS PAGE (click here).

Charity Partners

We donate $10,000 plus 100% of any donation you make to our charitable partners. Our charitable partners include:

Together With Veterans

The Carbon County Environmental Education Center

The Jim Thorpe Community Watch

The White Haven Police Department

Hickory Run State Park

and the White Haven Library.

REMOTE COURSE!

Cell phones will not work on the trail. For the marathon, bikers will be monitoring miles 12-26. Flag them down if you have an issue and need to be picked up. They will alert our ATV team or the closest stationed EMS team.

COURSE FUEL

We are pleased to announce that UCAN will be our exclusive sponsor for on-course hydration and fuel. For more information and an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT on UCAN's no-sugar, superstarch products, CLICK HERE.

For the half marathon, we will have water and UCAN hydrate roughly every 2 miles on course.

For the full marathon, we will have stations at miles 2, 4, 6.5, 9, 11.75, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24. Every station will have a first aid kit for basic needs and water. UCAN hydrate will be provided at every other station starting at mile 4. UCAN energy gel will be provided at miles 6.5 and 16.

For 7-Mile Runners: Same as the last 3 stations for the marathon.

Marathon Bag Drop For Train Riders

When you exit the train, place a small bag marked with your name in the front row of the train car. It will be taken back to the finish area. We ask that you shed any clothing when you run past the starting line again at mile 2. Those items will be collected and brought back to the finish area as well. These drops are a courtesy for our runners and we cannot guarantee the safety of any items. We strongly advise against leaving anything of value in your bag.

Course Elevation Maps

The up-and-down elevation profiles on the MapMyRun links below are misleading. The trail is an old railroad bed, so it absolutely does not go up and down like that. It runs through a gorge and the MapMyRun lines don’t follow the trail perfectly, so it makes it look like the elevation goes up and down. It does not and is a smooth, slight, barely noticeable downhill the majority of the full marathon (and slightly up and then slightly down for the out-and-back half).

PARKING FOR BOTH DAYS WILL BE IN THE MUNICIPAL LOT NEXT TO THE JIM THORPE TRAIN STATION (AND FINISH AREA).

To park in the train station lot next to the finish area (the most convenient place to park), runners MUST pre-pay for parking when they register. Free parking with a free shuttle ride will be available off-site.

On SATURDAY THE LOT WILL OPEN AT 6:00 am for the half marathon and 7-miler. The starting line of the half will open at 8am. Runners will be allowed to start at 8am. The race is chip timed, so your time will not start until you cross the starting mat.

On SUNDAY THE LOT WILL OPEN AT 5:30 am for the full marathon. We ask all runners to board the train by 6:30 am.

PORTABLE TOILETS

The Lehigh Gorge Trail is a remote trail through the beautiful wilderness. Restrooms will be limited. For the half marathon, they will be located at the start/finish and at miles 2 and 11.

For the marathon, they will be located at the start/finish areas and (roughly) miles 4, 12, and 24.

For the 7-miler, they will be located at the finish area and mile 6.

SPECTATING SPOTS

For the half marathon, spectators can safely watch runners pass through the Glen Onoko parking area at Lehigh Gorge State Park in Jim Thorpe (miles 2 and 11) and at the start/finish area.

For the 7-miler, spectators can watch runners pass through the Glen Onoko parking area at Lehigh Gorge State Park in Jim Thorpe (mile 5) and at the start/finish area.

For the full marathon, spectators who do not take the train can drive to the Rockport Road trailhead in Lehigh Township and watch runners pass at roughly mile 12. They can also watch runners pass through the Glen Onoko parking area at Lehigh Gorge State Park in Jim Thorpe (mile 24) and at the start/finish area.

TIME LIMITS

Half Marathon: 3 hours, 30 minutes (finish by 11:30 am)

Marathon: 6 hours, 30 minutes (if you start at 8am, finish by 2:30 pm)

RUNNING SURFACE

The Full Marathon will take you down the D&L and Lehigh Gorge rail trails. These wide, smooth trails are hard-packed earth and gravel and, because they are former railroad lines, maintain a steady downgrade of 0.5-1% nearly the entire length of the marathon. One of our RUNegades’ ultra runners ran the course and says trail shoes are not necessary, but runners may want to wear gaiters to prevent small pebbles from entering their shoes.

Half Marathon and 7-Miler will take you through the last portion of the Full Marathon course, on the wide, smooth, hard-packed Lehigh Gorge Trail.

VOLUNTEERING

Want to be a part of the fun but don't want to run?

Signup to volunteer HERE.

Contact Trish at [email protected] to sign on as a volunteer! All volunteers will get a unique race T-shirt and other race perks and goodies!

MAPS

Please see note above on the elevation profiles. The elevation profiles on these maps are inaccurate.

Map for the full marathon (the last 7 miles are the 7-miler): https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2627845921

Map for the half marathon: https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/4027008553

Create Routes or Search for a route from millions at MapMyRun