Rocket City Marathon

Rocket City Marathon is a two-day race weekend in Huntsville, Alabama, on December 12–13, 2026, put on by the Huntsville Track Club. Saturday holds the 10K at 7 a.m., the 5K at 9 a.m. and a one-mile family run/walk at 10:15 a.m. Sunday closes the weekend with the marathon (26.2 miles) at 7 a.m. and the half marathon (13.1 miles) at 9 a.m., on routes that show off the city and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

Everyone gets a race shirt, a finisher medal and a post-race meal, with extra awards for marathon and half finishers and for runners who complete more than one event. That doubling option is worth thinking about: a Saturday 5K costs you little, while racing the 10K hard will show up in your legs on Sunday morning. For the marathon itself, count back sixteen to eighteen weeks and build the long run toward 20 miles; the half asks for a shorter block and a later alarm.