It’s looking like a great weekend of running coming up. On Sunday as the Flying Pirate Half Marathon takes off on Saturday morning in Kill Devil Hills. Sponsored by Outer Banks Sporting Events, the same local nonprofit that is responsible for the Outer Banks Marathon, the weekend includes a 5K and Fun Run.
The Flying Pirate is a great course. The starting gun—well, it’s a horn—sounds at 7:00 a.m. behind First Flight Middle School and ends at the Wight Brothers Monument.
The course takes runners to some of the most beautiful places on the Outer Banks, but places a lot of people never experience. A good portion of the race is through Nags Head Woods, a beautiful maritime forest that has runners on a hard paced dirt road.
A section of the course parallels Kitty Hawk Bay, following one of the oldest roads on the Outer Banks. The road, Bay Shore Drive, was at one time the same route the Wright Brothers would have taken to get from Kitty Hawk to their camp at the base Big Kill Devil Hill.
And that is where the Flying Pirate ends—at the Wright Brothers Memorial, a truly picturesque way to end a 13.1 mile run.
For a less challenging run, check out the 5K on Saturday. That starts at 7:30 in the morning. The day also includes a Fun Run and a one mile walk with staff from the Outer Bank Hospital. The Outer Banks Hospital is one of the primary sponsors of the event.
The weekend weather forecast has been steadily improving and it looks like a dry, cool day for the race.
OBSE is the same organization that brings the Outer Banks Marathon to the area in November.
So much happening on the Outer Banks from Corolla to Hatteras Village and Brindley Beach Vacations has the perfect home for any visit to the Outer Banks.