Race to These After-Parties
From chocolate to burritos to bourbon, these races give you a good reason to finish.
Some runners are gluttons for punishment who love pushing their limits. Others are just straight-up gluttons who love nothing more than restocking carbs with an extravagant brunch and a celebratory beer (or two).
If your idea of the perfect postrace party involves mugs of craft beer, bowls of jambalaya, or steaming plates of just-flipped flapjacks, these food- and drink-themed half marathons are for you. Or if you prefer stuffing your face before the finish, we’ve got you covered there, too. So leave the supersnug compression tights at home and bring your appetite to the starting line of these tasty races.
Horsetooth Half Marathon
When 2,000 thirsty runners finish at New Belgium’s flagship brewery, there’s unlimited free beer on tap. “New Belgium knows how to throw a party,” says Nick Clark, the race director. Getting to the brewery, though, takes work, with a 500-foot elevation gain in the first 1.8 miles, plus some additional rolling hills.
April 23; Fort Collins, Colorado; horsetooth-half.com
Middlebury Maple Run Half Marathon
First, run through bucolic, rolling Middlebury, with views of the Adirondacks to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. Then celebrate the finish with three fluffy pancakes topped with the state’s most famous export—locally tapped and generously poured. Yes, you are allowed seconds.
May 7; Middlebury, Vermont; middleburymaplerun.com
Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon
There’s a time to chase a fast finish and a time to stop and smell the rose. This race is the latter, because of its sweeping views of Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson, and because of its 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Running through Dundee Hills, a prestigious subsection of Oregon’s wine country, the course primarily follows dirt vineyard paths. Organizers cap the race at 1,200 runners, which keeps traffic light; it also means you won’t have to wait in endless lines to try the 20 to 25 local wines at the after-party.
July 9; Dundee, Oregon; fueledbyfinewine.com
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Mud and Chocolate Half Marathon
Treats from Seattle Chocolates, a local, small-batch chocolatier, accompany tables of chocolate cupcakes, chocolate-chip cookies, brownies, muffins, and chocolate-covered pretzels at the postrace “chocolate bar”—and that’s in addition to the chocolate gels and cookies at aid stations along the course. While the event is small (about 100 runners per race), the moderately rolling and relatively smooth singletrack is well marked to encourage chocaholic trail newbies to give the terrain a try.
April 30 and November 5; Redmond, Washington; mudandchocolate.com
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You’ll spend the last few miles of this flat and fast course, near the headquarters of the cheese company Sargento, dreaming about the finish line feast, replete with cheese-curd-topped Caesar salad, smoked brisket with horseradish sauce, and cheesy nachos. Age-group prizes include free cheese, and overall winners get cheese-wedge-shaped hats.
August 19; Hilbert, Wisconsin; cheeseheadrun.com
Mountain Chile Cha Cha Half Marathon
The free postrace meat or bean breakfast burrito, stuffed with green chilies, doesn’t come easy. The challenging course over technical trails through private land on the Colorado-New Mexico border includes 1,800 feet of elevation change.
September 30; Pagosa Springs, Colorado; joingecko.org/events
Beer-N-Brats Half Marathon
Leaf-peep en route to your Oktoberfest feast as you race through this Boise suburb. You’ll spend 11 miles running along the Boise River on this flat and fast course. Follow your nose to the after-party, where you’ll find brats cooked in beer. Locally based Sockeye Brewing provides suds for runners—your first beer is on the house; after that, they’re just $1. With no time cuto and root beer for the under-21 crowd, this race is friendly to runners of all speeds and ages.
October 21; Eagle, Idaho; beernbratsrun.com
Urban Bourbon Half Marathon
Got prerace nerves? The (tiny!) bourbon samples at packet pickup will help. Organizers want the Urban Bourbon Half to be a weekend-long celebration of Kentucky’s whiskey history, though the biggest bourbon bash is (smartly) saved for the finish. You’ll start and finish in downtown Louisville, running by historic “Whiskey Row,” where distilleries have churned out the good stuff since the late 18th century. Though the “urban” in the race’s name is accurate—you’ll spend most of your time passing famous sites like the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory—the route also tours the Frederick Law Olmstead-designed Cherokee Park. The 3,500 finishers tend to stick around into the early afternoon, sipping spirits from 10 local distilleries and free craft beer while listening to music from a local band. Runners also get free pizza and Kentucky burgoo, the state’s play on chili.
October 21; Louisville, Kentucky; urbanbourbonhalf.com
D.C. Half and Half Half Marathon
Gird your guts for this out-and- back event: At the turnaround point, runners attempt to consume a handful of potato chips and a half-smoke (D.C.’s iconic quarter-pound smoked hot dog topped with chili, mustard, and onions). Ben’s Chili Bowl, a Washington institution, provides half-smokes for the 250 runners, plus meat-free weenies for vegetarians. In the five-year history of the race, no one has barfed, organizers say. Roll through wooded Rock Creek Park and past the National Zoo before touring the vibrant Adams Morgan neighborhood and stopping at Ben’s Chili Bowl. Be warned: There’s a steep uphill at mile 12.75, so if your chili-dog burps haven’t subsided by that point, it might be wise to walk it. It’s an untimed event, so there’s no penalty for taking it slow.
November 11; Washington, D.C.; halfandhalfmarathon.com
Baker’s Dozen Half Marathon
On a rolling 3.2-mile loop, you’ll pass the “Sugar Shack,” stocked with doughnuts, Twinkies, and other sweets. Eat at least one treat per lap to earn a medal. The winner isn’t the fastest in this untimed event; it’s the glutton who downs the most baked goods, dubbed the “Sugar Slayer” (last year’s ate 58 sweets).
December 9; Hurricane, Utah; bakersdozenhalfmarathon.com
Health & Injuries
Southerners know how to throw a party: Each runner gets a wristband good for six servings of Cajun grub from 24 local restaurants. Options include jambalaya, gumbo, duck confit, shrimp etou.ee, and pork-cheek sliders. There’s even a vegan village with choices for plant-based athletes. Earning your feast requires a fairly flat tour of Baton Rouge. You’ll run through neighborhoods lined with oak trees and plantation-style homes, the sprawling LSU campus, and cypress-shaded paths along the Mississippi. A crowd of 3,400 runners (plus another 2,000 marathoners who share the course) keeps things lively from start to finish.
January 14, 2018; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; thelouisianamarathon.com
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Literally. After a bus ride to the starting line outside downtown Bozeman, nearly 4,500 runners hurry to the finish line at Pub 317 on Main Street. The net-downhill course sports a St. Paddy’s Day theme (check out the pub’s clever name), so wear green, expect bagpipers along the route, and celebrate with a free beer at the postrace party.
March 17, 2018; Bozeman, Montana; runtothepub.com
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