Jailbreak Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k & 5k
September 28, 2024
Wautoma
Road
1-100
Fast & Flat
Urban
High: 65°
/ Low: 45°
Overview
More than 500 runners and walkers take to the streets of this small central Wisconsin town every year for the Waushara County Crime Stoppers Jailbreak Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K Run/Walk, to which organizers say they invite runners “of every stripe” to take part in this benefit for the Waushara County Crime Stoppers, a local nonprofit devoted to public safety and combating crime.
Known for its friendly, small-town comforts, Wautoma is home to about 2,000 residents and is a popular regional destination for its crystal clear streams, rivers and forests — which reportedly offer ample fishing and hunting in the warm weather — and its hills and trails, which draw cross-country skiers and snowmobilers in the winter.
Like the full marathon and the 5K, the half marathon starts at the city’s Waushara County Fair Grounds on South Fair Street. From there, runners follow what is roughly a clockwise loop route through areas south of town, with some moderate hills in the 13.1-mile course’s first three miles and a mostly flat course thereafter, with only mild rolling hills during the rest of the race.
Course Description
Runners leave the starting line for the half marathon and first head north along Fair Street to Division Street, where they turn right and head eastward until they reach Sandcrest Avenue, where they turn right and head south.
These first couple of miles take runners through the town’s streets around and past the fairgrounds, and then head out into the rural areas south of Wautoma, where runners can expect to see wide-open green farm fields along the tree-lined country roads.
The next few miles take runners along Cottonville Lane, 19th Avenue and then onto White River Road, where runners start the second half of the race alongside the winding waters of the White River.
The course here starts its march northward through the second half of the race back toward town, including a stretch past the Wautoma Municipal Airport before taking runners back to the fairgrounds for the finish.
