It’s official. The St. Pete Marathon, the flagship event produced by United Sports Association, will host the 2027 USATF Florida Association Marathon Open and Masters Championships at its inaugural race in December 2027.

What This Means

The USATF Florida Association designates one marathon as its championship stage for the state. In 2027, that stage is downtown St. Petersburg. The Open division brings together the fastest eligible marathoners in Florida, and the Masters division crowns champions among athletes age 40 and over. Both championships will be contested within the St. Pete Marathon itself, so every registered runner shares the same start line as the championship field.

A Championship Comes to a First Year Race

Hosting a state championship at an inaugural race says something about how this event was built. The course is flat and fast, running along the downtown St. Pete waterfront, and December in St. Petersburg delivers the kind of cool morning weather that racing rewards. Runners who join us in December 2027 will be part of the first running of the race and the first championship held on its course, all in the same morning.

What It Means for Our Community

For United Sports Association, this is bigger than one race. A statewide championship brings runners, families, and spectators to St. Petersburg, fills local hotels and restaurants on race weekend, and puts our city’s waterfront in front of the entire Florida running community. It is exactly the kind of event our nonprofit exists to bring to this community.

How to Be Part of It

A championship weekend takes a community to pull off. Volunteers staff the aid stations, the start and finish areas, and everything in between. If you want to be on the inside of the first St. Pete Marathon and its championship morning, see how to volunteer.

For local businesses, a state championship means more runners, more visitors, and more eyes on race weekend than a typical first year event would draw. Learn about sponsoring the St. Pete Marathon.

And if you want to run it, Ultra Early Bird registration is open now at stpetemarathon.com.