Saturday, September 19, 2015 • Marshall, MI • Course Map
As many as 1,500 runners, cyclists, walkers and relay team members cross the finish line every year at the Baker’s Dozen Beer Run, which bills itself as this small Michigan town’s only half marathon and a race you get to “start with a donut, and finish with a beer and barbecue.”
That means you won’t go round the course hungry here in this town of just over 7,000, which the National Register of Historic Places has described as a “virtual textbook of 19th-Century American architecture” thanks to its National Landmark Historic District that features more than 800 buildings, one of the largest of any city in the nation.
Runners start the out-and-back course for the race at Dark Horse Brewing Company, a family-owned craft brewery located on Kalamazoo Avenue and just north of the North Branch of the Kalamazoo River. From there, participants make a clockwise loop around the outskirts of town, heading gradually uphill from the start to the mid-way point of the race (although the course is marked by numerous rolling hills throughout).
It’s when you’re in the second half that the course begins gradually heading downhill again, and after you pass the mile 11 marker that’s really the end of the hills — the course slopes downhill and flattens out in the final mile, which takes you to the finish line back at the Dark Horse brewery.
There, every finisher will be greeted with a beer and barbecue, and for those who want to keep the party going long after the race is done, you’ll be able enjoy $3 beers from Dark Horse all day at the finish line festivities.
As the organizers note, “our event is not a timed, traditional, official, serious race. For heaven’s sake, we are giving you a donut at the start line!”
Race Weather & Climate
Nestled along the north branch of the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan, about 12 miles southeast of Battle Creek and roughly 105 miles west of Detroit, Marshall typically sees its second-rainiest month of the year in September, which has brought record temperatures here as low as 25ºF (in 1991) and as high as 99ºF (in 1953).
On race day (Sept. 19), the average low is 49ºF and the average high is 72ºF.
Course Map
See the race route map for the Baker’s Dozen Beer Run Half Marathon here.
Starting Time
- 9:00 AM – runners
- 10:30 AM – bikers
Fees
See race website
Registration
To reserve your spot in the 2015 running of Marshall’s Baker’s Dozen Beer Run Half Marathon, visit the event website here.
Official Race Website
bakersdozenbeerrun.com • Facebook page
Facebook Conversations
Ever run in the Baker’s Dozen Beer Run? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.
[fbcomments]
