The Great Race: Complete Guide

Every year on the last Sunday of September, ten thousand runners line up in Squirrel Hill for Pennsylvania's largest 10K. The Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race isn't just a road race — it's the unofficial championship of Pittsburgh running, a downhill sprint through five decades of city history. Here's everything you need to know before you toe the line.

The history: a mayor's fun run that became an institution

The Great Race began in 1977, when Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri established it as a community "fun run." The first edition was timed with numbered popsicle sticks handed out at the finish. From those humble beginnings the race exploded — by 1981 it was drawing 10,000 runners from 25 states, and today nearly half a million people have crossed its finish line. After Caliguiri's death in office, the race was renamed in his honor, and it remains organized by the City of Pittsburgh itself, a rarity among major American road races. The event was canceled only once, in 2003 during the city's fiscal crisis, and came roaring back the following year.

The course: downhill, fast, and deceptively tricky

The 10K starts in Squirrel Hill at the edge of Frick Park on Beechwood Boulevard and runs predominantly downhill to a finish in Point State Park, following Forbes Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and the Boulevard of the Allies. Along the way you'll pass the campuses of Carnegie Mellon, Pitt, and Duquesne, then drop through Uptown into Downtown with the skyline pulling you in. The 5K starts at Fifth and Atwood in Oakland and follows the same finishing stretch.

The net downhill makes this the fastest 10K most Pittsburgh runners will ever race — the course records (27:09 for men, set in 1995, and 31:02 for women, set in 1994) have stood for three decades. But "downhill" doesn't mean "easy." There are rollers in the first two miles through Squirrel Hill, and the long descent on the Boulevard of the Allies punishes quads that haven't practiced downhill running. If your training happens on flat river trails, add a few downhill strides on Beechwood Boulevard in the month before race day.

Race strategy for a Great Race PR

The classic mistake is banking the downhill too early. Run the rolling first two miles at goal effort, not goal pace — you'll give back a few seconds on the climbs and recover them tenfold on the descent. From mile 3 on, open your stride, lean slightly from the ankles, and let gravity do the work. Keep your turnover quick on the Boulevard descent rather than braking with your heels; braking is what shreds your quads for the final flat half-mile to the Point.

Use our pace calculators to set a realistic goal, then subtract 30–60 seconds from your flat-course 10K time — that's a typical Great Race adjustment for a trained runner.

Logistics: what veterans know

The race is point-to-point, so plan your morning around the shuttle and parking situation — most runners park Downtown near the finish and shuttle to the start. Arrive early; Squirrel Hill's streets fill fast. September in Pittsburgh usually means cool starts and warm finishes, so dress for the finish temperature, not the start. And register early: the 10K has capped in past years, and this race sells out its shirts and corrals well before race week.

Registration runs through RunGreatRace.com, and you'll find the date each year on our Pittsburgh race calendar. Kids can run the Junior Great Race the same weekend, and there's a 5K walk division if you're bringing family who'd rather stroll it.

Why it matters

Ask any longtime Pittsburgh runner about their racing history and the Great Race shows up. It's where high schoolers race their parents, where club teams settle bragging rights, and where thousands of Pittsburghers run their first race ever. If you run one Pittsburgh road race this year, make it this one — then come back and tell us how the Boulevard treated your quads via our contact page.

Training for the Great Race: an 8-week sketch

Most runners target the Great Race off a summer base, which makes August the launch point. Weeks 1–4: build to three or four runs weekly, with one longer run reaching 6–7 miles so the 10K distance holds no mystery. Weeks 5–6: add a weekly workout — either 4–6 × 3 minutes at 5K effort on flat ground, or hill repeats followed by downhill strides, which is the more course-specific choice. Week 7: a dress rehearsal — 4 miles with the middle 2 at goal effort, ideally on a route that descends, to rehearse the quad loading. Week 8: cut volume in half, keep two short runs with strides, and arrive fresh. The downhill strides matter more than any single interval session; eccentric quad conditioning is the difference between floating down the Boulevard and surviving it.

Great Race weekend, hour by hour

Saturday: packet pickup and the race expo — get it done early and stay off your feet. Sunday: shuttles and street parking fill by 7:00, so treat 6:45 as your Downtown arrival deadline. The start area in Squirrel Hill has limited shelter, so bring a throwaway layer for the wait; late September mornings regularly start in the 40s and finish in the 60s. Corrals are seeded — line up honestly, because the narrow early miles punish weaving. Afterward, the Point State Park finish festival is one of the city's best race-day scenes: raffle, food, and ten thousand runners comparing splits with the fountain as backdrop. Budget an hour to soak it in before the walk back to your car.

Common Great Race mistakes

Three errors repeat every September. Going out with the drop: the first miles roll before the course tips downhill, and runners who sprint the opening mile to "get ahead of the crowd" hit the descent already taxed. Braking on the Boulevard: locking your quads to control speed downhill is exponentially more fatiguing than letting cadence absorb it — practice beforehand. And overdressing: the point-to-point format tempts runners into keeping layers they'll carry for five miles; commit to racing cold for the first mile and comfortable for the rest.