Purdue Boilermaker Half Marathon & 5K

Saturday, October 21, 2023 • West Lafayette, IN • Course Map

Runners get the chance to run across the wide, scenic Wabash River twice along the course at West Lafayette’s Purdue Boilermaker Half Marathon & 5K, which runs at the home of Purdue University along an out-and-back loop course with a combination of hills and flat stretches both through the university campus as well as several city parks.

The starting line for the race lies on campus at Ross-Ade Stadium along John Wooden Drive, which is named of course for the legendary UCLA college basketball coach whose teams won an unprecedented 10 NCAA national championships in a dozen-year period, and who played for Purdue during his college days.

From there, the course heads south toward Tower Drive and Russell Street, beginning a stretch that takes runners past a number of the university’s athletic fields, including its intramural ball fields and the golf course.

Once on McCormick Road, the course starts a gradual uphill that lasts over the next few miles, past the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex and Happy Hollow Park for a long, clockwise loop around West Lafayette.

Around the mile 4 and 5 markers, the course starts heading downhill again as it brings runners into town, and then turns left onto Fowler Avenue for the stretch that brings them across the bridge that spans the Wabash River.

After they make their way over the bridge, runners make a second clockwise loop, this time around the city of Lafayette, starting with a long straightaway stretch down Union Street.

Much of the section of the race that runs around Lafayette is flat and takes runners mostly through residential neighborhood streets, though they’ll also run past Murdoch Park and through Columbian Park, which is home to the Columbian Park Zoo and the Columbian Trail, which runners will make their way along for the stretch of the race that runs through the park.

Next, runners follow a westward straightaway along Kossuth Street that’s followed by a pair of quick turns onto Wyandotte Avenue and Lingle Avenue, which brings them back north into downtown Lafayette.

There’s a second running over the bridge — which includes a downhill and uphill — and then runners head back onto the Purdue campus for the home stretch of the race, back toward the football stadium for the race finish.

The scheduled starting time for the half marathon is 8:00 AM, and runners in the half will need to finish the race within the 4 hour course limit.

Race Weather & Climate

Located in western Indiana, about 65 miles northwest of Indianapolis and roughly 120 miles southeast of Chicago, Ill., West Lafayette typically sees cool to mild weather in October, which has brought record temperatures here as low as 19°F (in 1981) and as high as 92°F (in 1983).

On race day (Oct. 21), the average low is 41ºF and the average high is 64ºF.

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Purdue Boilermaker Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

8:00 AM

Fees

  • $60 – $70 for the half marathon
  • $28 – $32 5K
  • Discounts available for Purdue students

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2023 running of the Purdue Boilermaker Half Marathon & 5K, register online at GetMeRegistered.com here.

Official Race Website

www.purduehalf.com

Comments

Ever run in the Purdue Boilermaker Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.

See more races in: October, Indiana

1 comment… add one
  • Shay October 1, 2017, 12:41 am

    Hello, is there a t-shirt and medal for this race? If so how do I view those items?

    Reply

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