Grand Rapids Marathon, Half Marathon & Relay
October 19, 2025
Grand Rapids
Road
1,000-10,000
Challenging
Urban
High: 57°
/ Low: 38°
Overview
Thanks to its gentle, forgiving fast and flat course, this race is considered an excellent choice for first-time marathoners and half marathoners, with a route that begins at about 610 feet above sea level and never rises higher than about 660 feet. Welcome to the Grand Rapids Marathon and Half Marathon.
The attractiveness of the course combined with its relative ease has quickly made it a popular race, as past years’ races have seen as many as 3,000 to 4,000 runners cross the finish line in both races combined — including nearly 2,000 finishers in the half marathon alone.
Course Description
From the starting line near the corner of Winter Street and Blumrich, the out-and-back course for the Foster Swift Grand Rapids Half Marathon follows a mostly southwestern direction toward the park, which also connects the area’s four major cities together — Wyoming, Grandville and Walker with Grand Rapids. While the race’s first half takes runners along the park’s northern edge along Butterworth Street, the second half features ample views for several miles of the Grand River, through the center of town.
