HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Around 1,300 people laced up their running shoes for the Harrisburg Marathon on Sunday.

Marathoners ran 26.2 miles by completing a 13.1-mile course twice.

City Island was the focal point and the race served as a Boston Marathon qualifier, and the YMCA says that made it a huge deal for a city like Harrisburg but organizers say there were also a lot of beginners.

Rosie Turner, Vice President of Marketing for the Harrisburg Area YMCA said, “This marathon specifically invites a lot of different runner abilities. we get folks who are just trying to do it for the first time, all the way up to people who say I love Harrisburg, I love a flat course so I say we get first-time marathoners all the way up to ultra-marathoners who really love this race.”

This was the 51st year of the Harrisburg Marathon