Bayshore races sell out, 8,000 runners expected in Traverse City
The Bayshore races sold out, putting about 8,000 runners on Traverse City roads and into local hotels, shops and neighborhoods this Memorial Day weekend.
About 8,000 runners will crowd Traverse City streets, shoreline roads and neighborhood blocks this weekend for a sold-out Bayshore Marathon, half-marathon and 10K, turning one of Grand Traverse County’s biggest spring races into a major traffic and tourism event.
That means residents near the course should expect changes around the waterfront, the peninsula and the city’s west side as runners head out from the grounds of Northwestern Michigan College and onto the route along the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay. The marathon course runs through about a mile of residential neighborhoods before following Birchwood Drive, East Shore Road, Center Road, also known as M-37, and Bluff Road. Bayshore describes the route as 100% paved, flat, fast and shaded along much of the way, but the same course that attracts serious competitors also creates a tight window for road access, parking and neighborhood movement.
Parking pressure is already part of the story. The Bayshore site says the half-marathon begins at 7:30 a.m., and the parking pass for that start is sold out. With the races filling the field and the weekend schedule expanding beyond race day, drivers and neighbors around the start and finish areas should plan for congestion, limited access and heavier foot traffic throughout the event.
For downtown businesses, Bayshore is the kind of weekend that can bring a surge in breakfast sales, coffee runs, hotel stays and restaurant traffic. Organizers say the event has grown through word of mouth since it was founded in 1983 by local running enthusiasts who wanted to share the beauty of the Grand Traverse Region and the Old Mission Peninsula. The race now draws athletes from beyond northern Michigan, and more than 20% of the field typically qualifies for the Boston Marathon, giving it a prestige that reaches well past a local road race.
The 2025 field topped 2,000 runners in the 10K, 3,400 in the half-marathon and 2,000 in the full marathon, so this year’s sold-out turnout marks another step up for an event that has become a Memorial Day weekend tradition. The calendar also stretches beyond the main races with a shakeout run, yoga in the park and a kids’ marathon, while volunteers from Playmakers to the course and finish line help keep the event moving and raise thousands for local nonprofits each year.
Bayshore’s appeal rests on more than numbers. It is one of the Boston Marathon qualifying races recognized by the Boston Athletic Association, and local reporting says the 2026 race was also sanctioned as an Olympic Trials qualifying event. For Grand Traverse County, that puts a hometown tradition squarely in the national running conversation while bringing a concentrated burst of activity to Traverse City just as the busy season begins.
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