Half Marathon Start Line

2024 Bus Information Coming Soon!

The 2023 Bayshore Half Marathon starts at 7:30AM. Buses for the Half Marathon start will be loading from the Traverse City Central High School Parking lot between the Gym entrance and the tennis courts. The parking lot is located off of Eastern Ave. Buses will begin loading at 5:00 a.m. with a continuous shuttle until 6:20 a.m. It is a 30 minute ride to the drop area and a short walk to the start.  Runners should plan accordingly to allow themselves plenty of time for warm-up, bagging clothing, and last-minute bathroom breaks at the start area.  We have 3,700 runners so please arrive early to load the buses. Only registered runners in the Half Marathon will be allowed to board the buses (see below for spectator buses). Runners must show their Half Marathon bibs before they will be allowed to board. Please have your bib visible or handy for the bus loading crew.

Those who have purchased Half Marathon Start Area Parking Passes must arrive at the Half Marathon start before 6:45am on race day. There will be return shuttle buses provided to take runners back to the parking area at Devils’ Dive. Return buses will run on a revolving route from Central High School beginning at 9:00 am and ending at 1PM.

Spectator Course Viewing

We have shuttle buses available for the Blue Water Rd. and Grey Rd spectator viewing areas. Buses will load from Traverse City Central High School.

Blue Water Rd. (Miles 11.8 & 14.3 for Full Marathon)

The Blue Water route begins at 7am from Traverse City Central High School and will make multiple trips to Blue Water Rd. until 9:30am. The last trip back to the high school will be at 10am.

Grey Rd. (Mile 6 for Half Marathon, Miles 7.4 & 18.7 for Full Marathon)

The Grey Rd. route begins at 6:45am from Traverse City Central High School and will make mulitple trips to Grey Road until 9:30am. The last trip back to the high school will be at 10:30am.

Hotel Shuttles

BATA Bayline Route - Many local hotels including State Park.

We are partnering with Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) and their Bayline Bus Route to get participants and spectators to Traverse City Central High School from many local hotels in the area*. This special route will begin as early as 4:45am starting at Woodland Creek on the East and Meijer on the West. We highly recommend half marathon participants take the earlier buses to make their connection at Central High School. Please exit at the E. Front @ Milliken/Fair (Stop #9330/#9340) for the Bayshore Events. This service will pickup every 15-20 minutes from 4:45am - 9am. Starting at 9am the Bayline will run its normal schedule with pickups every 30 minutes. All bus stops besides Woodland Creek (East Side) and Meijer (West Side) are on the road, on the same side of the direction of traffic. Bayline buses will not enter any of the hotel parking lots.

Please view the BATA Bus Tracker and select the Bayline Route for a live map and bus stop locations.

*Shuttles for the Grand Traverse Resort, Holiday Inn Express - Acme, Sleep Inn - Acme (East Side), Baymont, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Tru by Hilton, and Great Wolf Lodge (West Side) will not be available for 2024. Please use the two BATA Bayline Park & Ride Options.