Donna Marathon week 2024: What you need to know about the race course at the Beaches

Donna Marathon week is here.

For the 17th year, runners from Northeast Florida and all across the nation gather at the Beaches and take to the roads for the annual race to raise funds for breast cancer research and support.

After the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, race organizers are expecting their largest participation count since pre-coronavirus editions.

For those planning to lace up their shoes to join the race this weekend, here's what you need to know.

Where are the start and finish lines for the Donna Marathon in 2024?

As in 2023, the marathon and half marathon begin and end near SeaWalk Pavilion in Jacksonville Beach, just a few blocks north of Beach Boulevard near the Atlantic Ocean.

When is the Donna Marathon start time for 2024?

The marathon and half marathon begin at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 4.

What is the Donna Marathon course for 2024?

This year's race route is unchanged since the 2023 adoption of the double-loop format.

Race director Amanda Napolitano described the runner feedback from the 2023 route as "so positive."

In this year's course, runners take off from SeaWalk Pavilion and race northward, heading through Neptune Beach and the neighborhoods of Atlantic Beach before completing the 13.1-mile loop at the finish line, also at SeaWalk Pavilion.

Runners in the full marathon will race that loop for a second time, completing the full 26.2 miles at the same finish.

Before 2023, the race had followed several different courses. In some years ending at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Beach and also included Ponte Vedra Beach, and in early years runners spent part of the race on the beach itself. Organizers removed the sand portion of the marathon before the 2016 event.

What is the course for the Donna 5K in 2024?

The Donna 5K goes through downtown Jacksonville and the sports complex, beginning and finishing at the Jacksonville Jaguars' home at EverBank Stadium.

Runners will begin at the stadium, race westward along Bay Street to the Main Street Bridge, andreturn to the start-finish section along the same route.

When is the Donna 5K start time for 2024?

The Donna 5K begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Donna Marathon 2024: Course information for Jacksonville Beach race