Timed to coincide with the week that commemorates Veterans Day and to honor all those who have served in the U.S. armed forces, Columbia City’s Veterans Marathon & Half Marathon will take runners on a tour of this city of just over 8,000 souls in northeastern Indiana, which lies between the state’s more well-known cities of Fort Wayne and South Bend, the home of the University of Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish.

The fall of 2022 marks the race’s 14th annual running and will start and finish near the center of Columbia City, with the starting line on Van Buren Street, just a block away from the finish line, which runners will cross in front of the Courthouse Square on Market Street.

Those running the half marathon will run the first loop of the full marathon course, making roughly an out-and-back loop from the streets of town out into the farmland areas south of town, through residential neighborhoods in the first few miles, and along roads that run past wide-open farm fields in the middle and later stretch of the route.

The brainchild of longtime local race director Gary Bird, the Veterans Marathon is also a USA Track & Field-certified course, which means that runners will be able to use it as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

Like the full, 26.2-mile race, the half marathon features rolling hills throughout the course, though no major changes in elevation. The lowest point in the half (just under 830 feet above sea level) occurs just after runners pass the mile 12 marker, while the highest point occurs near the mile 2 marker (just below 890 feet).

Both the half and the full marathons start at 8:00 AM, and those running the half are limited to four hours on the course (the half will close at 12 noon), while those running the full marathon have six hours to complete their race.

11-12-2022, 06:30 am - 02:30 pm