Road closures, foot traffic expected downtown for annual Rocket City Marathon

HUNTSVILLE — The sounds of thousands of footsteps will echo through the streets of Huntsville this weekend and Huntsville police are urging drivers to exercise caution and anticipate delays

A fixture in North Alabama for more than 45 years, the Rocket City Marathon steps off this weekend. The course runs through historic Huntsville, the Space & Rocket Center and the Botanical Garden before finishing inside the Von Braun Center.

HPD officers will be stationed along the race route to ensure the safety of runners and manage traffic flow.

• Saturday
  Events include a 10K, 5K and 1-mile run. Monroe Street from Clinton to Williams avenues will close for the duration of the events, from 7 a.m. to noon. Additional lane closures will occur on other roadways along the race route.

• Sunday
  Events will include the full and two half-marathons. Monroe Street from Clinton to Williams avenues will close from 5-8 a.m. The race begins at 6 a.m. and ends around 2 p.m. Several roadways along the route will either be reduced to one lane or temporarily closed to accommodate runners.

  The front-half marathon starts with the marathoners and run the first 13.1 miles of the course finishing at Campus 805.
  The back-half starts at UAH and runs the final stretch of the marathon through the Space & Rocket Center, Botanical Garden and finish inside the VBC.

To see a map of the route, click here.