VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A staple of St. Patrick’s Day weekend is here — the Shamrock Marathon!
On Saturday, hundreds filled the Virginia Beach Oceanfront as they kicked off the festivities.
Everyone decked out in their best St. Patrick’s Day gear to kick off the holiday weekend.
"It’s been great! Everybody’s been so supportive out here," said Jason Cole.
The weekend kicked off with the 8K race, which Cole and Billy Dameron said they ran for the first time, in honor of Dameron’s mother who passed away last year.
"It went really well. A lot better than we thought it would! I actually passed people. I kept a good pace, and I thought I did pretty good with my hour of training," said Dameron.
Cynthia Hill, Rose Hendricks and Amanda Lumpkin all traveled from Northern Virginia after training for months.
"We pay to get up early and run races," laughed Lumpkin.
They ran the 8K on Saturday and plan to run the full marathon on Sunday.
"We feel good right now, we’re hoping we’re not gonna be sore for tomorrow, we took it easy today," Lumpkin said.
People partied in the post-race celebration tent with live music, food and drinks.
Spectators could not miss the adorable Leprechaun Dash! Kids ages one through five years old lined up at the start and gave it their all!
Dameron and Cole say they can’t wait to run again next year.
"Every time I thought ‘I’m done,’ I’d hear people screaming and applauding and then I would just dig deeper," said Dameron.
The party is not over yet-- the Shamrock Marathon course will be set tomorrow for the half and full marathons.
Both races begin at 7:30 a.m. between 40th and 42nd streets and the post-race celebrations on the beach run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.