2026 Gulf Beach Half Marathon

THE COURSE

Run along the beautiful beaches of Milford featuring the Silver Sands State Park Boardwalk. This is a PR Course like no other. This race has sold out before.

The flattest and most beautiful Half Marathon in CT.

Gulf Street is closed for the start of the race but other roads are open to traffic. We have police or volunteers at most intersections along the course.

USATF Certified Course #CT19028JHP

Aid stations: miles 2.75, 4.75, 6.75, 8.75 & 10.75 stocked with Poland Spring Water & Gatorade Endurance.

Bathrooms & Porto-Lets at the Start / Finish as well as Miles 3, 4.5, 8.5 & 10.

This race starts at 7am to avoid the heat!

Half Marathon course including elevation on Strava

Venue: Gulf Beach & lot 635 Gulf St. Milford, CT. 06460
Plenty of parking in the beach lots and on-street. See map below.

THE ENTRANT STUFF

Men's and Women's cut Short Sleeve Tech T-Shirts for all entrants.

Custom Finisher medals for all Finishers. You'll have a choice 2 different Medal Options!

Poland Spring Water, Gatorade Endurance, fresh bagels and bananas at the finish line for Finishers.

Custom awards to the top 3 Men and Women overall and in every 5-year division (from 15 years old to 80+).

FREE downloadable Race Photos and Finisher Certificates by EliteFeats. 

Bibs and Shirts will ONLY be available during Friday and race day regustration. We do not keep or ship these.

TIMING AND RESULTS

Transponder Timing and Results for gun time and net time.

Results will be live streaming and texted and emailed to you once you finish.

CUTOFFS AND EARLY STARTS

Half Marathon Time cutoff is 3:30 (including starting early).

Those who plan to run a 2:30 to 3:30 Half Marathon MUST start at 6:30am. There will be an official start at 6:30am for you.

NOTE: Early starts are only for those who will do a 2:30-3:30 range half marathon. We can't have anyone else go early. You will be DQed if you start early and finish faster than 2:15. Some exceptions will be made.


WHAT IS A RACE SERIES STREAKER?

Since 2014 we have offered a challenge to all who would like to accept. Finish all 3 of our 2025 Half Marathons (The Savin Rock Marathon counts too) and we give you a FREE custom Shoreline Sharks Race Series Streaker Hoodie.

1. 3/28/2026 The Savin Rock Marathon or Half Marathon
2. 5/23/2026 The Hamden Hills Half Marathon
3. 9/12/2026 The Gulf Beach Half Marathon

You can register on-line or race-day, it does not matter. Finish all 3 and you’ve got it! We will be handing the Hoodies out at the Rail Trail 10K on 10/3/2026 or the Shoreline Turkey Trot 5K on 11/26/2026 or you can pick it up from us in North Haven. We do not ship them. Make sure to email [email protected] when you finish all 3 with your size and color (unisex S,M,L and XL)

THE HISTORY

2011: The inaugural race had a 5K as well.
2013: The 5K was moved to another date.
2019: The Half Marathon course was USATF certified.
2020: The State of CT cancels all races due to Covid19.
2021: The 5K made its last appearance with the Half Marathon

2023: The Race was the RRCA Half Marathon State Championship

2024: The race is the RRCA Eastern Region Championship

2025: The race is the RRCA State Championship again

We have had runners from all 50 States and a dozen other countries race. Many make this State #50 with us!

PRICING STRUCTURE

10/18/2025 - 12/31/2025 $75

1/1/2026 - 2/28/2026 $80

3/1/2026 - 9/9/2026 $85

9/11 and 9/12/2026: Friday and Race Day (possible but not guaranteed) $90 Cash, Checks made out to "CASH" and Venmo only. No cards on race day.

TRANSFER & DEFERRAL INFO

You may TRANSFER your registration to another athlete until 8/12/2026 for $25. *This is done by you on-line through Active* THIS IS A HARD DEADLINE. NO EXCEPTIONS.

You may DEFER your entry to the 2027 Race until 8/12/2026 for $25 by sending a Venmo to "Shorelinesharks" and emailing [email protected]. We will confirm via email. You will be manually removed from 2026 and manually entered into 2027. THIS IS A HARD DEADLINE. NO EXCEPTIONS.

NO REFUNDS /NO EXCEPTIONS.
We will not reply to emails asking for an exception to our NO REFUND, Transfer or Deferral Policy.

Active.com offers an insurance plan for a fee but we are not involved with that. They will refund you, not us.

Friday 9/11/2026: We are having it!

Bib and Shirt pickup as well as In Person Registration at the Race Venue
from 3pm-6pm. We leave at 6pm.

RACE DAY

Saturday 9/12/2026
Dawn: 6:07am, Sunrise: 6:29am
5:15am: Registration / Bib and Shirt Pickup Opens
6:30am: Early Starters Go
6:45am: Registration / Bib and Shirt Pickup Closes
7:00am: Half Marathon Starts
8:20am: First Finishers for the Half Marathon
10:00am: Final Finishers of the Half Marathon, Race Venue Closed

Gulf Beach (Goodie's)
635 Gulf St. Milford, CT. 06460

Bring photo ID

TRAVEL AND HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

Air Travel
Milford, Connecticut can be accessed easily from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT. (64 Miles away) as well as JFK International Airport (71 miles away) and LaGuardia International Airport, (65 miles away) both in Queens, NY.  Bradley will be MUCH easier to fly through and travel to and from the race venue, but the tickets may be more expensive. Recently Tweed Regional Airport has offered flights from various cities so check them out too. Tweed is less than 15 miles from the venue.

Hotels
The closest (2 miles from the venue) hotels to stay in for the Gulf Beach Half Marathon are:
Hilton Garden Inn 291 Old Gate Ln. Milford, CT. 06460 Phone (203) 783-9988

Hyatt Place
190 Old Gate Ln. Milford, CT. 06460
Phone (203) 877-9800