Race to Robie Creek Half Marathon

Saturday, April 20, 2024 • Boise, ID • Course Map

Described by race organizers as “the toughest half marathon in the Northwest,” the Race to Robie Creek Half Marathon lives up to its reputation with a steadily climbing rise in elevation from the first mile all the way to the 8.5-mile point in the race, by which point runners should feel completely exhausted (and for which they need to be sufficiently trained and prepared).

The race marks its 45th annual running this spring, and usually draws between 2,000 and 3,000 runners reach year to make the trek up the summit. (In a sign of how the race has grown over the years, its inaugural running in August 1975 saw 24 runners reach the finish line at Adalpe Summit.)

From the starting line in Fort Boise Park, the race takes runners over a combination of paved roads through the first eight miles of the race, after which the race then switches over to dirt roads as the course winds through the mountains on its way to Boise’s Adalpe Summit.

For miles 9 through the finish, the course then makes its way downhill, featuring a nasty hairpin turn at mile 9 that “haunts your dreams,” the race organizers say.

While slow and steady, the rise in elevation throughout the race is also significant — the starting line is at just above 2,500 feet above sea level, and runners reach an elevation of about 4,700 feet above sea level at the highest point in the race, as participants trek through the sagebrush-covered hills area known as Rocky Canyon.

Due to the popularity of the race in the three decades since it first began, organizers urge runners thinking of registering for the race to do so on time — the race usually fills up in a matter of minutes on the day registration opens.

They also add that this is not “your normal half marathon,” and that prospective entrants be sure they can finish the race within 5 hours — some runners have taken as long as 6 hours to complete the course in past years.

Race Weather & Climate

Located in the southwestern part of the state, just over 40 miles east of the Idaho-Oregon state line, Boise typically sees cool to mild weather in April, a month that has brought record temperatures as low as 19 degrees (in 1968) and as high as 92 degrees (in 1987).

On race day (April 20), the average low is 40ºF and the average high is 62ºF.

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Race to Robie Creek Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

12:00 noon

Fees

$60 and up

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2024 running Boise’s Race to Robie Creek Half Marathon, register online at RunSignUp.com here.

Official Race Website

runsignup.com

Comments

Ever run in the Race to Robie Creek? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.

See more races in: April, Idaho

1 comment… add one
  • Katy Enger January 14, 2020, 10:54 am

    Hi! Do you have a beer garden or event after race? We’d love to be a part of it! We have a spiked seltzer and are distributed in Idaho!!! Only 85 calories and 0 sugar and 0 carbs

    Reply

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