Gary Brown Memorial C&O Canal Five Mile Run
About this race
*NEW DATE in 2026! Run with us on JUNE 6th!
The 45th Annual Gary Brown Memorial C&O Canal Five Mile Run event will be held on the C&O Canal Towpath in Williamsport, MD. This event is geared towards all levels from beginners to advanced runners.
The Legacy of Gary Brown
In the 1960's, Gary Brown was a star distance runner for Martinsburg High School, Shepherd College and the Cumberland Valley Athletic Club.
Gary went into high school teaching and coaching after graduating from Shepherd College. He developed one of the nation’s top distance programs. In the mid-1970's his Handley High School Boys Cross Country Team was the number one ranked High School Cross Country Team in the United States.
Sadly, Gary passed way from cancer in the winter of 1981-82, prior to his 35th birthday.
The C&O Canal Five Mile Run —which dates back to 1970– was re-named in Gary’s honor in 1982. Gary’s high school runners would use the late-August-held C&O Canal Five Mile Run as an “End-of-Summer-Training Fitness Test.” His teenage boys would routinely take six-to-eight of the top-ten places —running against collegiate and post-collegiate standouts.
Mike Spinnler GBM 5-Mile Director 1996-2023
GBM 5-Mile Winner 1985
• Well Organized and Professional Event
• Race Technical T-Shirt (Must register by July 11th to guarantee shirt and/or size)
• Custom Awards for Podium Winners
• Music • Bib Chip-Timed with Instant Results provided by Racine Timing
• Satisfaction of Finishing a Race!
Parking for race participants:
All participants will be required to park either in the Cushwa Basin parking lot, the lock house 44 parking lot, legal street parking on N Commerce St or W Salisbury St. We ask that, unless you arrive before 7:00 am, you not drive across the wooden bridge looking for a place to park on race morning.
Pick your distance
Running
Gary Brown Memorial 5 Mile Run
Gary Brown Memorial 5 Mile Run- STUDENT
Typical race-day weather
Based on 1 year of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Williamsport, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 5:43 AM and sets at 8:39 PM local time (EDT) in Williamsport on June 12, 2027 — 14h 56m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
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Results — Gary Brown Memorial C&O Canal Five Mile Run
Other races near Williamsport
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
Boulder Dash at Pinesburg Quarry
Tie Dye Run
Spring Mills Rotary Ready, Set, Glow 5K Fun Run and Tot Trot
Steps Towards Healing for Mental Health Awareness 5K
🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Williamsport
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Williamsport 5K Races 3 races
- Williamsport Running Calendar 2026 5 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 5 Williamsport events
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