After the Coast Guard Marathon: Edenton and the Outer Banks
The Route: Elizabeth City → Edenton → Kill Devil Hills → Norfolk International Airport (ORF) Logistics: Car for every leg. About 35 minutes from Elizabeth City to Edenton, then a longer drive to Kill Devil Hills that should be checked on the day. No public transport has been listed. Marathon Month: April Duration: 4 nights
Elizabeth City ──(about 35 mins by car)──> Edenton ──(drive, check time)──> Kill Devil Hills
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Norfolk International (ORF) ◄──(drive, check time)────────┘
The Coast Guard Marathon finishes on Water Street on a Sunday in April, which sets the order of this route. Edenton's guided tours run Tuesday to Saturday, and the Wright Brothers National Memorial is open every day, so Edenton comes first and the tours land on the Tuesday. The Outer Banks follow for the last two nights. Four nights suits a runner who wants to stay on the move without a single long day, and a hire car from Norfolk International Airport carries the whole route.
April in Edenton and the Outer Banks: Edenton Bay cruises run from May to October, so there is no boat in April. The Atlantic is cold, and in most years the Outer Banks beach is for walking rather than swimming, though conditions vary. Elizabeth City's April averages run from a daily low of 9.7°C to a daytime high of 21.6°C, and a light waterproof is worth carrying in the car.
Nights One and Two: Edenton
Sunday night in Edenton is for sitting down. The Penelope Barker House Welcome Center, at 505 South Broad Street, is free and open on Sunday from 11:00 to 14:00. It is also open on Monday from 10:00 to 16:00 and closed on Tuesdays, and its porches overlook Edenton Bay. Colonial Waterfront Park is on the same water. Street numbers on Broad Street run from 108 North to 505 South, so the main sites sit along one road, and the walking is on town sidewalks. Drive between them if the legs object.
Monday is for the gardens and the outside of things. The Cupola House, built in 1758 at 408 South Broad Street, has gardens open daily from 09:00 to 16:30. The visitor centre at 108 North Broad Street is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 09:00 to 17:00, and admission is free. That makes Tuesday the day for tours. The All-Sites Tour leaves at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00 and costs $5 (approximately £4) for adults. Individual site tours run from 10:00 to 16:00 at $2.50 (approximately £2). The 1767 Chowan County Courthouse at 117 East King Street is a National Historic Landmark and the oldest government building in North Carolina, and the state Supreme Court still hears two cases there each year. The James Iredell House tour is at 14:00. The trolley tour leaves from the Barker House, takes about 50 minutes and costs $12.50 (approximately £10), so check that it is running in April.
Where to stay: the Inner Banks Inn is just steps from the historic waterfront and offers rooms in the main house, private cottages and suites, with The Table restaurant on site serving breakfast and limited dinner service. The Captain's Quarters Inn has eight rooms next to the Granville Queen Inn, with a homemade breakfast each morning. Both have reopened under new management, so confirm the details when booking.
Where to eat: Waterman's Grill serves seafood at dinner only, in the historic Tynch & Toppin Fish Market building. Check which days it opens. Broad Street Diner serves breakfast and lunch six days a week, is closed on Wednesdays and runs a Sunday brunch from 08:00 to 14:00. Edenton Coffee House & Bakery is the breakfast option for muffins, pastries and breakfast sandwiches.
Nights Three and Four: Kill Devil Hills
Leave Edenton on Tuesday afternoon, after the tours, for Kill Devil Hills. The drive from Edenton has not been published, so check the time on the day. Wednesday is for the Wright Brothers National Memorial at 1401 National Park Drive, which is open from 09:00 to 17:00 every day except 25 December. The entrance fee was $10 per person aged 16 and over when the state tourism office last published it (approximately £8), valid for seven days. The paved walk to the monument on Kill Devil Hill is about a mile (1.6 km) round trip from the visitor centre and takes about an hour. The hill is 90 feet (27 m) high and there is no elevator or escalator. By Wednesday, four days after the marathon, the climb is a reasonable test of the legs, and the visitor centre exhibits stay open for anyone who skips it.
Where to stay: the Days Inn by Wyndham Kill Devil Hills Oceanfront Wilbur, at 201 North Virginia Dare Trail, is 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the memorial and includes a free continental breakfast. The hotel at 107 South Virginia Dare Trail is listed as both Wingate by Wyndham Kill Devil Hills and Best Western Ocean Reef Suites, has five floors, and serves a free breakfast buffet. Confirm that both are open in April, and the current brand of the second, when booking.
Where to eat: Henry's Restaurant, at 3396 North Croatan Highway, is open year round and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with seafood omelets, biscuits and gravy and hot cakes at breakfast. Hours change by season, so call ahead. Bob's Grill, at 1219 South Croatan Highway, has been listed as open daily from 07:00 to 14:00.
Getting to Norfolk International Airport (ORF)
Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is the airport the organiser lists for the race. The drive from Kill Devil Hills has not been published here, so check it on the day and leave a generous margin before the flight. Rental desks are in the arrivals terminal and cars are collected from Garage A.