The city known as the “gateway to the west” sees about 25,000 runners and walkers in all four races combined each year at the springtime GO! St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend, which features a full marathon, half marathon and a marathon relay, all of which feature point-to-point courses and finish downtown.
GO! St. Louis Great Halloween Race Half Marathon 10k & 5k
October 19, 2025
St. Louis
Road
Ready to sign up?
500-1000
Fast & Flat
Urban
High: 61°
/ Low: 45°
All the races start just off Carr Street near the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge and stay together for the first four miles of the race, which takes runners across the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge into Illinois next door, on a loop along then back into Missouri and downtown St. Louis across the Eads Bridge.
From there, the course takes runners along a route made up entirely of paved city streets, through the city’s downtown areas along the Mississippi River, toward and within great view of the famed Gateway Arch that marks St. Louis as the “gateway to the west,” as well as sights like the Cardinals’ Busch Stadium and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.
The course will take runners across two bridges and into two states (previous years’ races have featured no bridge crossings for the half marathon). There’s even a “race within a race,” a 3 1/2-mile Bridge Challenge that runners can sign up for.
The elevation of the course ranges from about 400 to 550 feet above sea level throughout the overall race, and the changes in elevation are largely gradual inclines and declines, which can tempt you to run at a faster pace earlier in the race.
Past participants say to stick with your planned pace, however, as you can easily exhaust yourself, especially if conditions are unexpectedly warm. Probably the most significant hills occur around the third mile and the sixth mile markers, and the last few miles into the finish line are mostly downhill.
The course time limit for the half marathon is 3 hours, 15 minutes, which means runners will need to keep a pace of at least 14:52 per mile or faster. (Runners in the full marathon will have a course time limit of 6 hours, 30 minutes.)
Overview
The city known as the “gateway to the west” sees about 25,000 runners and walkers in all four races combined each year at the springtime GO! St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend, which features a full marathon, half marathon and a marathon relay, all of which feature point-to-point courses and finish downtown.
Course Description
All the races start just off Carr Street near the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge and stay together for the first four miles of the race, which takes runners across the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge into Illinois next door, on a loop along then back into Missouri and downtown St. Louis across the Eads Bridge.
From there, the course takes runners along a route made up entirely of paved city streets, through the city’s downtown areas along the Mississippi River, toward and within great view of the famed Gateway Arch that marks St. Louis as the “gateway to the west,” as well as sights like the Cardinals’ Busch Stadium and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.
The course will take runners across two bridges and into two states (previous years’ races have featured no bridge crossings for the half marathon). There’s even a “race within a race,” a 3 1/2-mile Bridge Challenge that runners can sign up for.
The elevation of the course ranges from about 400 to 550 feet above sea level throughout the overall race, and the changes in elevation are largely gradual inclines and declines, which can tempt you to run at a faster pace earlier in the race.
Past participants say to stick with your planned pace, however, as you can easily exhaust yourself, especially if conditions are unexpectedly warm. Probably the most significant hills occur around the third mile and the sixth mile markers, and the last few miles into the finish line are mostly downhill.
The course time limit for the half marathon is 3 hours, 15 minutes, which means runners will need to keep a pace of at least 14:52 per mile or faster. (Runners in the full marathon will have a course time limit of 6 hours, 30 minutes.)
