Sunday, April 23, 2017 • Gambier, OH • Course Map
The home of Ohio’s Kenyon College, which sits on a beautifully scenic hilltop campus and is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts colleges, plays host in the spring to the Earth Day Challenge Half Marathon & 4-Mile Run, which takes runners on a winding route both through the Kenyon campus and along the Kokosing Gap Trail.
Runners will get to trek a long stretch of this 14-mile paved recreational trail, which was built on the former Pennsylvania Railroad that lies just south of the campus, just across the Kokosing River.
From the starting line at the Kenyon Athletic Center, runners start off the half marathon (and the full marathon) by running a four-mile winding loop through both the campus and the town of Gambier.
After runners leave the starting line, the first mile takes runners through campus along the Middle Path, the footpath and village green that runs through the heart of the college. Then it’s onto Chase Avenue and the portion of the first few miles that take runners around the northern edge of the campus.
Runners then head southward onto Woodside Drive and make their way around to Meadow Lane, which they follow southward to the Kokosing Gap Trail. Next they turn right on the trail and head west along the winding route of the Kokosing River for the next four-plus miles, which also features the flattest terrain of the race.
The course keeps runners on the trail all the way to the turnaround point near where the trail comes closest to Lower Gambier Road, and then runners turn around and head back along the trail in the opposite direction.
The course continues along the trail all the way back to the Kenyon campus, and turns left on Duff Road, where runners head north and then back up to the Kenyon Athletic Center for the finish. The race of course gets its name from Earth Day, which will mark its 45th anniversary this year.
Race Weather & Climate
Located in central Ohio, roughly 60 miles northeast of Columbus, the city of Gambier typically experiences mild to moderately cool and sometimes cold weather in the mid-spring season, and generally wetter weather in the spring and early summer than the rest of the year.
On race day (April 23), the average low is 36ºF and the average high is 63ºF.
Past Results
- 2014 Earth Day Challenge Half Marathon Results
- 2013 Earth Day Challenge Half Marathon Results
- 2012 Earth Day Challenge Half Marathon Results
Course Map
See the race route map for the Earth Day Challenge Half Marathon here.
Starting Time
7:00 AM
Fees
See race website
Registration
To reserve your spot in the 2017 running of Gambier’s Earth Day Challenge Half Marathon or 4-miler, register online at the event website here.
Official Race Website
earthdaychallengehalfmarathon.itsyourrace.com
Facebook Conversations
Ever run in the Earth Day Challenge Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.
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