Marathon Compass
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Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, VA · Sun, March 21, 2027 · 07:00

Marathon
BQ course
Pacers
open

Prime BQ course · forgiving course · low friction

Best forPrime BQ course10.0/10

Boston-qualifying course; see the BQ Finder for the effective application effect.

Course difficultyForgiving10.0/10

Flat, cool race morning.

Planning frictionLow friction8.7/10

Open registration · ~$740 all-in from South Florida.

Data confidenceVerified

Date verified at the official source; course and climate data on file.

Legacy Green Score 9.2/10 · method

Difficulty profile

Race-day climate (30-year normal)

At the start line and start hour · NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals

Temp
48°F
Dew point
38°F
Precip
Elev gain
15 m
Field
3,000

Can you qualify here?

Projected at race day for M 18-34, from your 4:00:00 marathon + training runway.

Training plans for this race

Cost & registration

Entry
$140
Travel cost (est.)
~$600
All-in
~$740
Register →

Flat beachfront course, cool spring weather.

About the Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach

The Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach is a marathon held in Virginia Beach, VA on March 21, 2027. With a Green Score of 9.2/10, it's one of the easier, more beginner-friendly US races. The course is flat (~2 ft of gain per mile). Typical race-day weather is a cool 48°F, dew point ~38°F (10-year normal). It is a Boston-qualifying course. Entry is around $140. Marathon Compass rates every race across terrain, climate, logistics, travel, and field size so you can find the one that fits you — and build a training plan tuned to your fitness.

Race-morning weather, quantified

Typical start-line conditions (30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020)): 48°F with a dew point of 38°F. On the temperature-plus-dew-point scale used by our pace engine, that's 86 — a 0% pace penalty. Heat should not be a factor at the Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach in a typical year — race your fitness.

100
130
150
86 — typical race morning at the Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach on the temp+dew scale (100 = no penalty · 130 = +2% · 150 = +4.5%)

Method: temp°F + dew°F lookup from the heat-adjustment chart our training plans use daily. Sign in to see this adjustment applied to your own projected finish.

What the Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach really costs

First marathons cost more than the entry fee — budget the whole weekend before you commit.

Entry fee
$140
Travel + 3 hotel nightsestimated from South Florida; your cost varies by home airport
~$600
All-in estimate
~$740

Registration for the Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach

Boston qualification status

Penalty-free Boston qualifierPenalty-free

Net descent of ~0 ft is well under the BAA's 1,500 ft adjustment threshold. Your clock time is your application time.

Computed under the BAA's downhill rules for the 2027 qualifying window (announced Sept 2025; verified July 2026): net start-to-finish descent of 1,500–2,999 ft adds 5:00, 3,000–5,999 ft adds 10:00, and 6,000 ft or more is not accepted. Net descent here is derived from our course elevation data — the BAA's official course designation controls. Sign in to see your projected finish graded against your age-group standard and the realistic acceptance cutoff.

See how every BQ course ranks in the BQ Course Finder →

Entry strategy

Entry is open — register before it sells out and the decision is made.

  1. Race dayMarch 21, 2027

Where to stay

Stay within walking distance of the start corrals — a 6am rideshare on race morning is a gamble. Book a refundable rate now and forget about it; inventory tightens in the final month. The links below are pre-filled for race weekend (March 19, 2027 March 22, 2027).

Plan the day itself

When to wake up, when the corral closes, and the exact clock time Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach spectators should be at each split for your goal pace — plus a link you can send to whoever's coming to watch.

Build your race-day timeline →

Compare head-to-head

Race and date verified against the official race source on 2026-07-17. Race-morning climate from Open-Meteo — 10-year history at the start line and start hour. Race fees, dates, and rules change often — report incorrect information.