The Field Is Set - Who Is Running the 45th Bismarck Marathon

Updated August 31, 2026

The 45th Annual Bismarck Marathon is Saturday, September 19, 2026, and the field is set. As of August 31, 1,632 runners are registered across five events, coming from 338 cities, 45 states, and five countries.

Together they will travel roughly 305,000 miles to reach the start line at the North Dakota State Capitol grounds. Registration is still open, so the field will keep growing, but the shape of this year's race is already clear.

• 1,632Runners registered
• 45States
• 338Cities
• 305,000Miles traveled

North Dakota shows up, and so does everyone else

North Dakota accounts for 1,331 runners, about 82 percent of the field, spread across 116 communities in the state. Bismarck, Mandan and Lincoln together send 801 runners, just under half the entire race.

Mandan edges Fargo by five runners for the second-largest contingent, which is the kind of thing that gets argued about at packet pickup.

Outside North Dakota, Minnesota leads with 64 registered runners, followed by South Dakota with 25. Montana and Texas are tied at 20 apiece.

Someone is flying in from London

The longest trip to Bismarck this year belongs to a full marathoner traveling roughly 4,180 miles from London, England. The second longest is a half marathoner coming about 2,930 miles from Riohacha, Colombia.

Florida turns out to be the sleeper long-haul state, sending runners from Boynton Beach, Englewood, Venice and Winter Springs, each covering more than 1,600 miles.

In all, 175 registered runners are traveling 500 miles or more. Among out-of-state participants, the average trip is 779 miles.

The field runs from age 7 to age 85

The oldest runner registered this year is 85 and entered in the 10K. The youngest are a group of seven-year-olds, six of them running the 5K and one taking on the 10K.

Across the field, 121 runners are 60 or older, 36 are 70 or older and 146 are under 18. The average age is 35.6.

The full marathon has its own spread. Two 13-year-olds are running the entire 26.2 miles this year. So is a 77-year-old, on the same morning, on the same course.

The field is 57 percent women, and the shorter the race the more true that gets

Of the 1,632 runners registered, 929 are women and 703 are men. That split flips sharply by distance.

The 5K is nearly three-quarters women. The full marathon runs the other direction at 31 percent. The relay figure counts 252 individual runners spread across 53 teams.

The 10K is the oldest field on average at 37.8 years, while the 5K is the youngest at 31.4.

Miller and Michael take the name titles

Miller is the most common last name in this year's race with 10 runners, followed by Johnson with nine and Olson with eight. Nelson, Smith, Thompson and Weigel are tied at seven apiece.

Michael leads the first names with 17, then Katie with 16 and Sarah with 15. Matthew, Andrew and Ryan are tied at 14, though Matt appears separately another nine times, so counted together the Matthews take it outright with 23.

There are 1,170 different last names in the field and 887 of them belong to exactly one person. Roughly three of every four surnames on the course are unique. And 100 runners have alliterative names, first and last starting with the same letter.

Ten people are spending their birthday on the course

Ten registered runners were born on September 19 and will be racing on their birthday. For the record, the most common birthday in the field is not race day. August 20 and December 27 are tied at 11 runners each.

One more household note: five members of the same family are registered from a single Bismarck-area address, including a seven-year-old in the 5K. It is the largest single household in this year's race.

Why Run the Bismarck Marathon?

• North Dakota's longest-running marathon: 2026 marks 45 consecutive years on a scenic, USATF-certified course.
• A certified Boston qualifier: the full marathon course is certified and qualifying-eligible.
• Five ways to run it: full marathon, half marathon, marathon relay, 10K and 5K, plus the Kids Mini Marathon, BisBark and Pub Crawl.
• Run for a cause: a portion of every registration goes back to local charities that benefit youth, health and wellness.

Join them

The full marathon has reached capacity and is now taking a waitlist. The half marathon, 10K, 5K and marathon relay are still open.

Register for the 2026 Bismarck Marathon

Registration figures reflect a snapshot taken August 31, 2026 and will change as registration continues. Age and demographic figures come from information entered by participants at registration.