Bend Marathon

Bend Marathon (branded Bend Marathon & Half) is a small, community-run marathon held each spring in Bend, Oregon, alongside a half marathon, 10K, and 5K on the same day. The looped course starts and finishes near the Old Mill District and winds through West Bend neighborhoods, ponderosa pine forest, and along the Deschutes River before a lively downtown-area finish with a post-race party. Elevation is balanced rather than net downhill — about 1,164 feet (354 meters) of gain and the same amount of loss — with rolling hills and occasional high-desert wind, and the course is a certified Boston qualifier. Fields stay small, with roughly 400 marathon finishers in recent years, giving the race an intimate, small-town feel compared with major-city marathons. Race day falls in April, when Bend's weather is cool and changeable: average highs near 62°F (16°C), lows near 31°F (0°C), and a real chance of rain or overcast skies. The event has run for more than a decade with support from local sponsors including Hydro Flask, FootZone, and Cascade Lakes Brewing. The most recent edition, the 10th, ran on April 12, 2026; organizers have announced that registration for the 11th edition, in 2027, opens in summer 2026, though an exact 2027 race date has not yet been published.