As for the race course itself, the Chambersburg Half follows an out-and-back course that starts and finishes on the southeastern edge of the borough, near the intersection of McKinley Street and Memorial Drive.
From there, runners head southeast into the rural farm fields outside of town, running the first few miles along Stanley Avenue, Cider Press Road, Henry Lane and Springview Road — where, near the mile 3 marker, runners reach the race’s steepest hill.
Once runners make their way all the way south to Newcomer Road — in the form of what roughly looks like an upside-down lollipop — they make a loop around Newcomer and New Franklin Road, with a quick out-and-back stretch along Sollenberger Drive.
After turning back onto College Road, runners then head around the top part of the loop and then back onto Springview, where they run the route they ran earlier, in the opposite direction this time, back toward the finish line.
While they’re in town, participants as well as their friends and family have plenty of opportunities to take in museums and monuments to the history that’s taken place in Chambersburg, from the John Brown House (where the abolitionist leader stayed to plan his attack on Harpers Ferry, Va., in 1859) to sites commemorating the borough’s involvement in historical episodes ranging from the Whiskey Rebellion to the Civil War.
