VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Organizers of the Shamrock Marathon Weekend said they feel lucky it's back.
The race was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It returned to Virginia Beach, this year, though it's on a much smaller scale, compared to years past.
Bob Schniedwind is the race announcer and the event's designated leprechaun.
"It looks different than it normally looks but it's the running community back together doing what we all love doing and that's phenomenal," Schniedwind said.
Runner Michelle Shearon has run the event before, but this year it's a little more special.
"It feels normal, and it was great having all the runners around," she said. "And today's my birthday!"
Usually, nearly 30,000 people kick off the 8k, marathon, and half marathon. But this year, just over 5,000 people are running over three days at different times.
Maria Gorton did the race with her son and daughter, Jack and Maya.
"He's running his first half marathon, she's run this as a marathon. We're doing the half marathon today," she said. "So it's just our family thing!"
The group dressed up in green tutus and shamrock-printed socks to match their festive all-green outfit for the run.
Schniedwind said although some things may be different, the camaraderie and spirit of the event hasn't changed.
"We're just excited to be out here in any way we can; get the community back together," he said.
"There are people here from Arizona, from Texas, from all up and down the east coast. That's not only good for us as race organizers and the running community, but there's people staying in hotels and they're eating in restaurants."
All of the runners take off at staggered times, hitting the boardwalk anytime between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., over three days.
Other runners are competing virtually meaning, they're running the same distance but not at the oceanfront.
