NorthShore Inline Marathon & Skate Fest

The NorthShore Inline Marathon is North America’s largest inline marathon, and its course — 26.2 miles of closed pavement running point-to-point from Two Harbors along the North Shore Drive to downtown Duluth, beside Lake Superior the entire way — represents a combination of logistical precision and landscape generosity that the sport’s international circuit has consistently cited as one of its finest venues. The 2026 edition runs September 18 and 19, now in its 28th year, drawing 3,500 participants from across the United States and internationally to a race weekend that includes the full marathon, a combined 39.3-mile skate, a half marathon, the City of Duluth Tunnel 10K, and associated roller ski and running divisions — plus a prize pool of $15,000 in the PremiumClass competition division that has historically attracted Olympic speed skaters, professional inline competitors, and NHL players alongside the accomplished amateur field.

The Course: Two Harbors to the William A. Irvin

The marathon’s physical character is best understood through its two signature moments. The opening miles leave Two Harbors on a course that holds Lake Superior in view across the tree line to the east, the water’s surface shifting between grey and blue depending on the morning light, while the North Shore’s birch and aspen stands begin their earliest September color change in the hills above the route. The closing miles bring skaters into Duluth through the I-35 corridor on fully closed interstate, including the passage through the Duluth tunnels — an experience that has no parallel in road marathon formats, the enclosed sound of thousands of skates and the tunnel’s architecture producing a genuinely disorienting sonic and visual experience before the daylight returns and the finish line beside the historic William A. Irvin freighter comes into view. The Irvin, a 611-foot Great Lakes ore carrier moored permanently as a museum ship on the Duluth waterfront, serves as the backdrop for the finish celebration that closes each race distance.

The Skate Expo, the Kids Sprints, and the Full Weekend Program

Friday, September 18, is the event’s social and preparatory day. The Rollerblade Health Expo at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center opens at 3:00 PM and runs until 9:00 PM with more than 70 vendor and exhibitor stations covering skating equipment, training resources, health and fitness products, and race logistics support. Packet pickup for the half marathon and 10K distances is available through the Expo. Free children’s inline sprints run throughout the afternoon, making the Friday Expo an accessible starting point for families who want structured children’s participation without committing to a competitive race distance on Saturday. The Friday Night Social Skate through Duluth’s Canal Park district begins at 6:45 PM — a relaxed, group format that gives first-time Duluth visitors the best possible introduction to the city’s lakefront geography before race day. Saturday’s main races conclude with the Skate Jam evening at 7:00 PM, featuring live music that provides the weekend’s social closing note.

Duluth Beyond Race Day

The North Shore of Lake Superior is among the most scenically distinctive stretches of freshwater coastline in the world, and September gives it particular quality — the autumn color in the inland forests is beginning, the air carries the cold-water character of a lake whose surface temperature has fallen from its August peak, and the crowds of midsummer have retreated. The Great Lakes Aquarium on the Duluth waterfront, adjacent to the race finish area, is the only all-freshwater aquarium in the United States; its lake sturgeon tank and harbor seal exhibit make it the most practically accessible natural history institution in the city for families. Enger Park and Tower, three miles from the finish line along Skyline Parkway, provides a 360-degree view over the Duluth harbor, the St. Louis Bay, and the Lake Superior shoreline that functions as the city’s finest viewpoint without hiking effort. For dinner, Duluth Grill on West Superior Street maintains a farm-to-table diner format that serves the athlete recovery meal with notable effectiveness — the walleye fish cakes with roasted potato and the house-made biscuits with wild rice and mushroom gravy are the two preparations most specifically rooted in the Great Lakes landscape the race runs beside. For a more elevated post-race dinner, Va Bene Caffe on East Superior Street produces Northern Italian cooking in a relaxed Canal Park setting; the housemade tagliatelle with wild mushroom cream and the seared Lake Superior trout are the two menu pillars most directly connected to the surrounding northern Minnesota landscape.

Practical Notes

Race start is in Two Harbors, Minnesota, approximately twenty-five miles north of Duluth on Highway 61. Shuttle buses transport athletes from Duluth to the start in the pre-dawn hours; confirm logistics at northshoreinline.com. September 18–19 in Duluth averages between 45 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit — considerably cooler than what most participants will be training in during the summer months preceding the race. Bring layering for the start and a warm finish change of clothing.

Lake Superior North Shore Stays on Lake.com

The Minnesota North Shore from Duluth to Grand Marais holds one of the most distinctive waterfront rental markets in the American Midwest — cabins with Lake Superior frontage that combine the scale of the world’s largest lake with the intimacy of a birch-forested ridge view. Search Duluth and the Minnesota North Shore on Lake.com for September availability.