Great Bay 5K | Race for a Healthy Estuary

Great Bay 5K | Race for a Healthy Estuary is set for October 24, 2026 in Stratham, New Hampshire, with the 5K starting at 9:00 a.m. The race belongs to the Seacoast Road Race Series and follows a scenic, mostly downhill course near Great Bay. Wheelchair racers are welcome under specific guidelines. Entry includes a long-sleeve shirt, and your bib gets you complimentary drinks at participating spots afterward. Shirt availability depends on which registration deadline you meet, and all proceeds go to the Great Bay Stewards, the nonprofit behind conservation and education work on the Great Bay estuary.

A net-downhill road 5K is one of the friendlier places to chase a personal best, so if you have been sitting on a stale time, this is a reasonable day to attack it. Six weeks of short, sharp work — one interval session and one tempo run a week, easy miles around them — is usually enough to sharpen for the distance. Newer runners can walk-run it just as happily and treat the finish itself as the goal.