SNICKERS Marathon in downtown Albany seeing record registration for March 5 run

ALBANY — After a year in which the race was delayed and runners were given a virtual participation option, enthusiasm for the 2022 SNICKERS Marathon seems to be at a fever pitch.

The marathon and half-marathon, usually held in early March and in conjunction with a downtown street festival, was postponed until April in 2021 due to concerns about COVID-19.

As of Friday, 861 people had registered for the 2022 full marathon course of 26.2 miles and another 741 for the half marathon, which would make it the biggest race in the marathon’s history, Race Director Rashelle Minix said at a news conference Friday.

So far there are runners registered from 34 states and about a half-dozen countries, including Brazil, Canada and Kenya, for the March 5 race.

The downtown festival will coincide with the run and has partnered with the Flint River Entertainment Complex, which manages the Albany Civic Center, to hold the event at Veterans Park, another venue managed by the company. Minix, also executive director of the Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that organization would partner with the Artesian Alliance and the CVB to organize the marathon and festival.

The 2022 version will feature some major changes, including rerouting the course, she said during the news conference center at Veterans Park.

“The original route has been altered in anticipation of the Oglethorpe Bridge replacement so as not to conflict,” she said. “The route now extends over more of the Albany State University West Campus and circles the Willson Hospice House, which is the benefactor of all race proceeds.

“We’ll go back over the Oglethorpe bridge once work is completed.”

While there will be some traffic delays for motorists, those should be minor, she said.

“We don’t close the roads,” she said. “We close lanes and portions of lanes.”

The SNICKERS Marathon is one of the top qualifiers for the Boston Marathon in the country, Minix said.

The race has an estimated $600,000 economic impact, and when all of the business activity is taken into account, including spending on food, lodging and gasoline, that number increases to more than $1 million.

The Downtown Albany Street Festival will kick off at noon and wrap up at 8 p.m. Admission is $5, with children 12 and under admitted at no cost. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com and at the Georgia’s Own Credit Union Box Office located at the Civic Center.

“We’re extremely excited about this opportunity to partner with the Artesian Alliance,” Josh Small, the Flint River Entertainment Complex general manager, said.

The festival will feature music, including Flintside Drive, Evan Barber and the Dead Gamblers, the Thomas Merritt Band, and Harry and Kayla Day.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]