A record year for the Martin Marietta City of Oaks Marathon

Dozens of Corporate and East Division team members helped facilitate another successful event late last year as the company again sponsored Raleigh’s hometown race, the Martin Marietta City of Oaks Marathon

Starting and ending in the heart of the city, the marathon is the city’s largest race event and allows runners to choose between four courses: a marathon, half-marathon, 10K, and 5K.

Debuting in 2024 was a significant course change: the marathon, half-marathon, and 10K paths all included additional sites in North Carolina’s capital city, including the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts.

Race organizers said the course change helped drive race participation. More than 7,600 runners signed up, an event record and a 27% increase from 2023.

On race day, thousands more cheered for their friends and family from the city streets.

“The turnout for this year’s race was simply extraordinary,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Don McCunniff. “People came from across The Triangle and beyond to challenge themselves in a meaningful and healthy way, and it was great for Martin Marietta to have a role in that. Dozens of our colleagues in the Corporate and East Division offices volunteered their time to ensure a successful event and their efforts reflected incredibly well on Martin Marietta.”

From the race start to the finish line, Martin Marietta’s logo was displayed throughout the course, including on the official race t-shirt, all finisher medals, and all mile markers, which featured a host of mining and rock-related puns.

Martin Marietta first partnered with the race in 2022. The following year, the company increased its support and took over naming rights; this level of sponsorship will remain in place through the 2026 event.

As the title sponsor, Martin Marietta had the opportunity to select a local charity to benefit from race fundraising efforts. Selected as the beneficiary of the 2024 through 2026 events was the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

The largest institution of its kind in the Southeastern United States and the oldest museum in North Carolina, the Museum of Natural Sciences is devoted to the educational pursuits of science and nature.

 

With a 300,000-square-foot campus in downtown Raleigh and satellite facilities throughout the state, the museum serves more than 1 million visitors annually. These facilities provide a variety of curriculum-focused classes for pre-kindergarten through graduate students.

In 2024, the institution opened its “Dueling Dinosaurs” exhibit. This major, permanent exhibition and laboratory is devoted to a significant paleontological discovery: the most complete fossils of a tyrannosaur and Triceratops ever found, locked together at the time of death.

The museum is taking a state-wide road trip with a pair of live, costumed tyrannosaur and Triceratops mascots to highlight the discovery. The dinosaurs spread awareness about the new exhibit and North Carolina’s ancient history, landscape, and notable sites. Several of the dinosaur mascots were present on race day.

Martin Marietta matched all donations made in advance of the 2024 race up to $15,000. Ultimately, $20,000 was raised for the museum.

The funding from the three-year partnership will support the placement of two specimens from a local Martin Marietta quarry at the museum’s Nature Research Center and the creation of geological educational resources to highlight the state’s quarries.

“The Martin Marietta City of Oaks Marathon is a wonderful way to bring the community together, and we’re thrilled to be part of it,” said Museum Director Dr. Denise Young. “Martin Marietta’s longstanding partnership with the Museum enables us to inspire curiosity and a love for science through hands-on education and the showcasing of North Carolina’s natural history. Together, we’re making science accessible and exciting for everyone!”

Though still celebrating a successful 2024 campaign, race organizers are already planning for the future.

The 2025 race registration is already open and accepting runners for the next Martin Marietta City of Oaks Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 2.