Bay Bridge Run

The Bay Bridge Run is a 10K held every November across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge) between Annapolis and Kent Island, Maryland -- the only day of the year pedestrians are allowed to cross the span on foot. Organized by Corrigan Sports, the modern race traces back to an event first run in 2014; Ironman produced it from 2016 to 2018, then a bridge-maintenance closure and the COVID-19 pandemic forced a three-year hiatus before Corrigan Sports relaunched it in 2021. The course closes the bridge's eastbound lanes to traffic and sends runners and walkers 4.35 miles over open water, climbing to the bridge's high point before descending into Queen Anne's County; the full 10K starts near Sandy Point State Park in Anne Arundel County. Waves depart every 15 minutes from 7:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., and finishers land at a post-race party on Kent Island with a five-piece medal series depicting Chesapeake Bay wildlife. The event is genuinely large for a mid-distance race -- around 20,000 participants from dozens of states and several countries, drawn as much by the novelty of the closed bridge as by the finish-line festival -- and it has sold out every year since Corrigan Sports took over. There is no race-day packet pickup: bibs and shirts must be collected at a pre-race expo, or mailed for a $35 fee ahead of an October cutoff. Free shuttle buses run to the start from both Anne Arundel and Queen Anne's counties, and the Maryland Transportation Authority holds final say over whether the race proceeds in bad weather -- the 2025 edition was called off for forecasted storms, so registrants shouldn't assume the race runs rain or shine.