About the 2026 JTARF

Join us in this gorgeous mountain town for one of the most beautiful runs in the Northeast! The full marathon is a point-to-point BOSTON QUALIFIER with a steady 0.5-1% downgrade nearly the entire way!!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Saturday: 7-miler (train leaves @ 7:30 am) & Half Marathon @ 8 am
Sunday: Full Marathon with two starting times @ 7:15 am & 8:00 am. (train leaves @6:30 am and riders start the marathon in the 8:00 am wave)

Half Marathon (Sat. 4/25) 8 am:
The 2026 half marathon will be run on the same gorgeous, out-and-back course as 2024. Participants will start in the parking lot at the Jim Thorpe Train Station and run the FLAT, FAST rail-trail into Lehigh Gorge State Park. The route runs parallel to and even crosses over the Lehigh River and into breathtaking scenery of Lehigh Gorge.

7-Miler With Scenic Train Ride to the Start (Sat. 4/25): (train leaves at 7:30 am)

Attention! This year the 7-miler moves to Saturday and has ITS OWN DEDICATED TRAIN! The race runs on the final 7-miles of our gorgeous marathon course! All 7-Mile runners must take the train that leaves Jim Thorpe Station at 7:30 am.

Boston Qualifying Full Marathon (two start corrals: 7:15 am and 8 am): (Sun. 4/26)

**RUNNERS WHO SIGN UP FOR THE 7:15 AM start may begin the race any time between 7:15 and 8:00 AM. Parking shuttles will run from the park-and-ride to the starting line until 7:45 AM. We allow this because the train ride to the 8:00 AM start tends to sell out by early January.

The full marathon is an ABSOLUTE DREAM for runners a spectators alike, a POINT-TO-POINT BOSTON QUALIFIER with a SLIGHT, STEADY 0.5% to 1% DOWNGRADE nearly the ENTIRE WAY. 7:15 am runners can get dropped off or park near the start and take a free shuttle bus back to their cars after the race. 8 am runners can take the scenic train from Jim Thorpe to White Haven (train leaves at 6:30 am).

Parking:

Half Marathon, 7-Mile, and Marathon with Train Runners have two options for parking:
1. Premium Parking in the Jim Thorpe Train Station Lot next to the finish line. This is the BEST option, but spots are limited and MUST be pre-purchased from the Carbon County Parking Website BY CLICKING HERE. (Once on the site, click "VIEW PERMITS" and select the correct day). *NOTE: Carbon County has raised their weekend parking rate to $25. This has nothing to do with the festival and we have no say over the price.

2. Free, Off-site Parking will be available at the Jim Thorpe Area High School. A 7-minute shuttle bus will take you to and from the start/finish area next to the Jim Thorpe Train Station.

Non-Train Marathon Runners will Park at the Route 940 Park and Ride in White Haven. (Yes, you can be dropped off at the start and your friends or family can park in the County Lot to wait for you by the finish line)

Post-Race Whistlestop Tour!
After the races on both Saturday and Sunday, join us for food and drink specials on our post-race whistlestop tour! The 2025 whistlestops include:
The Broadway Grill and Pub @ 24 Broadway
Ouros @ 70 Broadway (21+)
Mugglets Mug @ 79 Broadway

Spectator Train Tickets for 2026
Family and friends can accompany 7-Mile and 8 am marathon runners on the scenic train! Spectators will take a round-trip on THE FAMOUS READING & NORTHERN RAILWAY from Jim Thorpe to the starting lines. A VERY LIMITED number of spectator tickets is available for 2026.

Swag!
2026 JTARF tee-shirt (register by 4/1).
Unique 2026 JTARF finisher's medal (different for each event).
FREE downloadable professional photographs with bib-tags
Customized event bib (register by 4/1)

Awards
Top 3 Overall M/F in all three events
Top 3 Overall Masters (40+) in the half and full marathons
Top 3 M/F for all events in the following age groups: 19&U, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+

Bib Pickup
THERE IS NO DAY-OF PACKET PICKUP! Those who cannot pick up their bibs in person MUST elect to have them mailed before the race.
All runners can pick up bibs on Friday April 24th from noon to 6 pm at Muggles' Mug Coffee Shoppe (79 Broadway, Jim Thorpe).
Marathon and 7-Mile runners can pick up their bibs on Saturday April 25th from 10am to 2pm in front of the Jim Thorpe Train Station.
A friend may pick up your bib with a copy of your ID. A picture on a phone will suffice.

If you're wondering whether or not you selected bib pickup when you registered, you can check by logging into Run Signup, clicking on "my profile," and then clicking on "Manage Registration" next to the Jim Thorpe Area Running Festival. If you opted for packing mailing, you will see the line: "Add-ons: packet mailing (1)"

If you did not opt for packet mailing but need to do so, this link will explain how to complete that add-on: Add-On Management : RunSignup Helpdesk

If you miss the packet-mailing deadline but won't be able to get to packet pickup, you will be able to add emergency day-of packet pickup up until the day of the event.

DEFERRALS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS
Those who deferred from a previous year MUST CLAIM THEIR DEFERRAL BY February 1st, 2026.
To claim your deferral, follow the instructions on THIS PAGE (click here).

Charity Partners
We donate $10,000 plus 100% of any donation you make to our charitable partners. Our charitable partners include:
Together With Veterans
The Carbon County Community Foundation
The Jim Thorpe Community Watch
The White Haven Police Department
Hickory Run State Park
and the White Haven Library.

REMOTE COURSE!
Cell phones will not work on the trail. For the marathon, bikers will be monitoring miles 12-26. Flag them down if you have an issue and need to be picked up. They will alert our ATV team or the closest stationed EMS team.

Marathon Bag Drop For Train Riders
When you exit the train, place a small bag marked with your name in the front row of the train car. It will be taken back to the finish area. We ask that you shed any clothing when you run past the starting line again at mile 2. Those items will be collected and brought back to the finish area as well. These drops are a courtesy for our runners and we cannot guarantee the safety of any items. We strongly advise against leaving anything of value in your bag.

Course Elevation Maps
The up-and-down elevation profiles on the MapMyRun links below are misleading. The trail is an old railroad bed, so it absolutely does not go up and down like that. It runs through a gorge and the MapMyRun lines don’t follow the trail perfectly, so it makes it look like the elevation goes up and down. It does not and is a smooth, slight, barely noticeable downhill the majority of the full marathon (and slightly up and then slightly down for the out-and-back half).

Parking:

Half Marathon, 7-Mile, and Marathon with Train Runners have two options for parking:
1. Premium Parking in the Jim Thorpe Train Station Lot next to the finish line. This is the BEST option, but spots are limited and MUST be pre-purchased from the Carbon County Parking Website BY CLICKING HERE. (Once on the site, click "VIEW PERMITS" and select the correct day). *NOTE: Carbon County has raised their weekend parking rate to $25. This has nothing to do with the festival and we have no say over the price.
2. Free, Off-site Parking will be available at the Jim Thorpe Area High School. A 7-minute shuttle bus will take you to and from the start/finish area next to the Jim Thorpe Train Station.

PORTABLE TOILETS
The Lehigh Gorge Trail is a remote trail through the beautiful wilderness. Restrooms will be limited. For the half marathon, they will be located at the start/finish and at miles 2 and 11.

For the marathon, they will be located at the start/finish areas and (roughly) miles 4, 12, and 24.
For the 7-miler, they will be located at the finish area and mile 6.

SPECTATING SPOTS
For the half marathon, spectators can safely watch runners pass through the Glen Onoko parking area at Lehigh Gorge State Park in Jim Thorpe (miles 2 and 11) and at the start/finish area.

For the full marathon, spectators who do not take the train can drive to the Rockport Road trailhead in Lehigh Township and watch runners pass at roughly mile 12. They can also watch runners pass through the Glen Onoko parking area at Lehigh Gorge State Park in Jim Thorpe (mile 24) and at the start/finish area.

For the 7-miler, spectators can watch runners pass through the Glen Onoko parking area at Lehigh Gorge State Park in Jim Thorpe (mile 5) and at the start/finish area.

TIME LIMITS
Half Marathon: 3 hours, 30 minutes (finish by 11:30 am)
Marathon: 6 hours, 30 minutes (if you start at 8 am, finish by 2:30 pm)

RUNNING SURFACE
The Full Marathon will take you down the D&L and Lehigh Gorge rail trails. These wide, smooth trails are hard-packed earth and gravel and, because they are former railroad lines, maintain a steady downgrade of 0.5% to 1% nearly the entire length of the marathon. One of our RUNegades’ ultra runners ran the course and says trail shoes are not necessary, but runners may want to wear gaiters to prevent small pebbles from entering their shoes.

Half Marathon and 7-Miler will take you through the last portion of the Full Marathon course, on the wide, smooth, hard-packed Lehigh Gorge Trail.

VOLUNTEERING
Volunteering at JTARF is fun and easy! All volunteers receive a JTARF volunteer T-shirt and, if you're part of a charitable organization, we will happily make a donation to that charity: $25 per volunteer on Saturday and $35 per volunteer on Sunday.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!
If you're part of an organization and would like more information on the volunteer donation, please email Trish at Trish@runegades.com

MAPS
Please see note above on the elevation profiles. The elevation profiles on these maps are inaccurate.
Map for the full marathon (the last 7 miles are the 7-miler): https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2627845921
Map for the half marathon: https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/4027008553