Marathoners begin by heading north from the Virginia Beach resort area through welcoming neighborhoods. The course then traverses tree-lined Shore Drive as it winds along First Landing State Park on its way to Joint Expeditionary Base, Ft. Story. In Ft. Story participants will pass by the site where John Smith, Christopher Newport, John Rolfe and the other Jamestown colonists first landed in America in 1607, and by Cape Henry Lighthouse–the oldest standing lighthouse in the United States. The course then heads south into the resort area, across Rudee Inlet–the gateway to the Atlantic Ocean–and through stately neighborhoods and the Camp Pendleton military base. Participants return north before finishing on the world famous Virginia Beach Boardwalk.  The finish line awaits you just past the majestic figure of King Neptune with the beautiful Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop.