Buffalo Marathon Weekend

Buffalo Marathon Weekend anchors Memorial Day weekend in Western New York with a fast, flat route that takes you through downtown Buffalo and along the Lake Erie waterfront. Saturday opens with a 5K run and 5K walk plus community programming, then Sunday delivers the signature Half Marathon and Full Marathon, both Boston Marathon qualifying. You start and finish near the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, with the course threading past the Darwin D. Martin House, Forest Lawn Cemetery, and stretches of the city’s park system.

Expect a community-driven atmosphere with more than 5,000 participants and steady crowd support across residential streets and the waterfront. Logistics are straightforward: a shared start and finish within easy walking distance of major downtown hotels, plus a large indoor post-race celebration at the convention center. If you are spectating, the Lake Erie shoreline and Canalside give you clean sightlines and strong photo angles before runners head back downtown for the final push.

Key events are easy to plan around: Saturday at 8:00 AM is the 5K Run and 5K Walk, followed mid-day by the Kids Mini-Marathon and the Diaper Dash, plus the Ruffalo Stampede dog run. Sunday starts early with the Full Marathon and Half Marathon at 6:30 AM, finishing into the convention center for refreshments and live announcements. Time limits are six hours for the full and three hours for the half, and the weekend runs rain or shine, with delays only in extreme weather.

Register early if you want the best pricing, since full and half marathon fees typically rise as race day approaches; locking in by February often avoids the first major increase. Plan to arrive downtown 60 to 90 minutes before your start for road closures and bag check, and pack for late May swings: around 60 degrees at the start, with humidity building later. Parking is reliable at the Mohawk Ramp, but staying at host hotels such as the Hyatt or Embassy Suites keeps you closest to the start, while Elmwood Village and North Buffalo rentals offer a quieter reset after race morning.