Fall Foliage Half Marathon & 5K

Sunday, October 8, 2023 • Rhinebeck, NY • Course Map

Timed to start just weeks before — and serve as the perfect tune-up run for — the famed New York City Marathon just a couple of hours down the highway in early November, Rhinebeck’s Fall Foliage Half Marathon makes its 12th annual running this fall along the streets and country roads of this small village that lies along the Hudson River.

Both the half marathon and the 5K race follow out-and-back courses that are set to start and finish near the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, which lies just off Mulberry Street and Platt Avenue.

As the weather is likely to be somewhat chilly on the morning of the race — the average high temperature on race day is in the high 50s/low 60s — runners in the half marathon and 5K will start their race later in the morning, with a 10:00 AM start for the half marathoners.

From there, the 13.1-mile race route will follow what is mostly a counter-clockwise loop route from the center of the town out into the rural farm fields that lie just north of the village of Rhinebeck, which is home to just over 3,000 residents.

The first 3 1/2 miles of the course are really the flattest of the race, as runners start out by heading east along Rhinecliff Road, right on Mill Street and then right on Mill Road, which starts the stretch that takes runners south from the village and into the countryside.

The changing colors of the leaves and the trees will make the early and middle parts of the course some of the race’s most scenic, as runners head south along Mill Road and then turn left around the mile 3 marker onto South Mill Road.

Between miles 4 and 5, runners experience the race’s first real hills, the first of a number of mostly gently rolling hills they’ll encounter over the next few miles. After about a mile and a half along Hook Road, runners then turn right onto Cove Road, where they begin a loop that will take them near the shoreline of Vanderburgh Cove.

When South Mill Road meets back up with Morton Road — just as runners are making their way between mile markers 7 and 8 — runners then start the stretch that takes them closest to the banks of the Hudson River.

The stretch along Rhinecliff Road leads into the village of Rhinecliff and a brief loop along the town streets there, passing by the Amtrak station that looks out onto the water. A couple of quick turns in Rhinecliff put runners onto Ryan Road, for a mile-long out-and-back stretch back into the countryside.

The final, home stretch of the race takes shape once runners make it back to Rhinecliff Road, where they turn left and then head east along Rhinecliff Road, all the way back to the library for the race finish line. Proceeds promote the efforts of the race’s beneficiaries, Team Fox and the Northern Dutchess Hospital Foundation.

Race Weather & Climate

Located in the state’s southeastern corner along the banks of the Hudson River, roughly 95 miles north of New York City, Rhinebeck typically sees mild to cool and occasionally quite chilly weather in October, which has brought record temperatures here as low as 18°F (in 1988) and as high as 88°F (in 1963).

On the day of the race (Oct. 8), the average low is 38°F and the average high is 62°F.

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Fall Foliage Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

  • 10:00 AM – half marathon
  • 10:15 AM – 5K

Fees

  • $65 – $80 for the half marathon
  • $30 – $36 for the 5K

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2023 running of Rhinebeck’s Fall Foliage Half Marathon or 5K race, register online at MarathonGuide.com.

Official Race Website

www.fallfoliagehalf.com

Comments

Ever run in the Fall Foliage Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments box below.

See more races in: October, New York

1 comment… add one
  • Susan Thompson October 17, 2017, 12:16 pm

    Not impressed with the obligatory nature of the awards ceremony, guy didn’t even get the crowds attention and just started calling off names. We were near the finish line and didn’t know where to go as no crowd was gathered. People were looking around for someone with a mike…I missed my 2nd overall female announcement as a result and had to go up and ask for my plaque… Also, registration says Cash awards and overall and age-group prizes. The only cash prizes (this year, 2017) were 1st male and female…2nd and 3rd got the same plaque as all of the age-group winners. Post race food consisted of fly-covered cookies and bagels torn into two pieces (yes torn) with nothing to put on them…oh and water. Dry bread and water. Hate to sound spoiled, but I’ve never attended a high entry fee race that treated their winners and participants in such a low-budget manner…that’s my opinion…Also, they kept sending e-mails saying that they were going to cap the races at 1200 (5K and Half?), and that there were only 200 entries left, but on race day they said there were 550 half entrants, and then the results show only 406 finishers. I wouldn’t go back…very disappointing. I tried to reach the company that hosts the race, Running Away Inc. Left a message, then phone started going directly to voice mail, no return call. No return on my e-mail either…

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