El Paso Marathon takes runners on sightseeing tour of historic Borderland missions

EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso Marathon is back on course. This year more than 370 runners participating in the full marathon will be taking in historic gems across El Paso County.

The marathon will start in San Elizario and stop at each mission in San Elizario, Socorro, and Ysleta, going up the Playa Drain trail, looping around Ascarate Park, and finishing at the El Paso County Coliseum.

"We've got some of the oldest missions in the United States and a lot of people are not aware of that. So we thought, what an opportunity," said Mike Coulter, race director of the marathon.

Last year's race was anything but normal with snow fall and Covid-19 restrictions. Coulter said this course has been in the works for 2 years. He added that is has been challenging working with three different municipalities, but is excited to show runners coming from across the globe what El Paso has to offer.

“There's just so much to see and just the history and the culture that is unique to our area," Coulter said. "That's what we want them to walk away with is that there's just a lot more to this metropolitan city than meets the eye.”

There are hundreds more running both the half marathon and 5K. Half marathon runners will will start at the Coliseum, loop through Ascarate to Riverside High School a end at the Coliseum. The 5k will also start at the coliseum with runners heading down Delta Drive and back.

You can still register for the 5K and half-marathon at the Health and Wellness Expo presented by the El Paso Sports Commission. That will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Coliseum.

 The Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon, TFCU half marathon and Viba Transportation 5K kicks off Sunday at 7 a.m. with the 5K starting at 7:30 a.m. 

ABC-7 is a proud partner of the marathon. You can expect complete coverage all weekend long.

To learn more about the races, click here.