Record set for earliest sellout of William A. Irvin 5K

The kickoff event to Grandma’s Marathon weekend, the William A. Irvin 5K is full. According to race officials, more than 2,600 participants signed up for the race, closing the entries on Friday. It’s a goal reached almost five months ahead of last year’s pace.

“It’s wonderful to see this kind of interest in our 5K distance because we feel, for a lot of the people signed up, it’s a building block,” Marketing & Public Relations Director Zach Schneider said in a press release. “Not everyone feels they can complete a marathon or half marathon, but we encourage those people to try our shorter distance events because oftentimes it can build their confidence to a place where those other races don’t feel so scary.”

In both 2018 and 2019, the event reached its sellout status in mid-December, which were the earliest dates on record at the time.

The 2023 William A. Irvin 5K, which was also the 30th annual, had a registered field of more than 2,700 and ended up as the largest in the event’s history with 2,153 finishers.

Grandma’s Marathon officials say the 2024 registration for Grandma’s Marathon remains open with currently fewer than 2,500 entries available and is on a pace two months ahead of last year. The Garry Bjorkland Half Marathon reached its sellout in less than 100 hours, its fastest since 2018.

Each year, 1,200 of the entries available into the William A. Irvin 5K come through the Great Grandma’s Challenge, which allows participants to complete both the 5K and either the half or full marathon in the same weekend. Race officials say the 5K-half marathon combo is currently sold out with 700 total entries. There are still 75 spots available for the 5K-full marathon combo.

Participants still interested in signing up for the 2024 William A. Irvin 5K can join the Charity Partners. Register with one of the 2024 Charity Partners and reach the fundraising goal, you will receive a free entry into the 2024 event of your choice.

For more information or to register for one of the 2024 events, please visit grandmasmarathon.com.