About the Great Island 5K
The Great Island 5K starts and finishes in the spectacular Great Island Common. It runs through the historic streets of New Castle, New Hampshire and along the banks of the Piscataqua River and Atlantic Ocean. We are a family friendly race with 3 fun runs and a playground for the kids. Our food, hospitality and raffle are legendary!
Charitable Mission
We are a 5K 501c3 non-profit organization with 100% of our proceeds going to charitable causes in the Seacoast and beyond. In 28 years, we have awarded well over $300,000 to charity. Among our many contributions, each year we award 2 Janet Parkinson and 2 Thomas W. Quinn memorial scholarships to deserving college bound high school seniors totaling $8,000. We also provide significant yearly support to the Portsmouth High Track and Cross Country Booster organization as well as support to the MHT Elementary School skating program and track team.
Why The Great Island 5K?
Beautiful Course
Starts and finishes at the the mouth of the Piscataqua River and winds through historic New Castle.
Family Friendly
3 kids fun runs and strollers welcome. Enjoy our great playground.
For A Cause
100% of our proceeds go to charity!
Wonderful Volunteers
Lots of support for the local community to help with everything from parking to the kids fun runs.
Fantastic Food
An extensive selection of homemade back goods and soups, fruit yogurts etc.
Extensive Awards
Cash to the top 3 Open and Age Graded Master finishers. Certificates or merchandise to the top 3 in 14 age groups including 5 year increments for age 60 through 90.
Huge Raffle
Legendary raffle free to all 5K participants.
Photo Gallery
FAQ
The 5K is Sunday, October 13, 2024, at 10:00 AM.
Both the registration center and the start of the race are at the Great Island Common in New Castle, NH. The start and finish are less than 200 meters from the registration center. The Great Island Common is located at 301 Wentworth Road (Route 1B), New Castle, NH 03854.
Click here to register! We look forward to seeing you!
To see a map of the course, click here.
In our first 29 years, the Great Island 5K has awarded over $300,000 for causes throughout the Seacoast. Each year we award 2 Jannet Parkinson and 2 Thomas W. Quinn memorial scholarships to deserving college bound high school seniors totaling $8,000. We also provide significant yearly support to the Portsmouth High Track and Cross Country Booster organization as well as support to the MHT Elementary School skating program and track team. We have installed the Great Island Common playground, contributed to the installation of the Maude H. Trefethen Elementary School playground, and have installed and maintained the Great Island Common skating rink now located at the Elementary School. We have also installed a safety fence at the Great Island playground, contributed to the building of the Macomber reading room at the New Castle Library, and contributed to buying a conservation easement on the Back Channel islands.
The on-line entry fee for the race is $40.00 plus a processing fee. The day before and day of in-person entry fee is $45.00. The cost for online entry into the fun run is $10.00 (plus a processing fee) and the entry fee the day before and day of is also $10.00.
5K runners may register or pick up their numbers and hats (if already registered) at the following days/times:
On the Saturday before the race from 5:30 — 6:30 PM at the Great Island Common Recreation Building.
On race day from 8:15 – 9:45 AM at the Great Island Common Recreation Building.
For those looking to register in person, we accept cash, check, or Venmo.
The first 700 entrants will receive a hat.
There are open, age-grade masters, age-group, race walking, New Castle resident, and team awards.
There is also a $400 bonus for setting a new course record. The current course records are 14:41 for males – set by Joseph Ekuom in 2008 – and 16:37 for females – set by Claudia Camargo in 2006.
The open male and female awards are as follows:
1st Place - $200
2nd Place - $125
3rd Place
- $75
The male and female age-grade masters awards are as follows:
1st Place - $125
2nd Place - $75
3rd Place
- $50
Age Group awards are Gift Certificates or Merchandise to the top 3 finishers in the following age groups:
14 & under, 15 – 19, 20 – 29, 30 – 39, 40 – 49, 50 – 59, 60 – 64, 65 – 69, 70 – 74, 75 – 79, 80 – 84, 85 – 89, 90 & over
Race Walking Awards are as follows:
The top male and female Race Walkers will receive gift certificates or merchandise (you must walk the entire way to be eligible).
The first and second male and female New Castle residents will receive an award.
Walking is a great way to take in the beauty of our course. We encourage those interested in walking to join the fun!
The GI5K course is scenic but has many corners. In addition, we have over 1000 runners and walkers. For these reasons, we allow only non-competitive strollers. People with strollers are asked to start at the back of the pack and be considerate of the walkers and runners around them. Please come with your child or children but take your time and soak up the full GI5K experience.
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