Kenai River Marathon, Half Marathon & 5k

From the starting line near the office of the Kenai Convention & Visitors Bureau on Overland Avenue, the half marathon (like the full marathon and relay) starts runners and walkers off with a quick stretch through the downtown city streets, with turns on Mission Avenue, Main Street, Broad Street and Frontage Road before turning left and heading north along Willow Street. The route then turns right and heads south along Airport Highway and Walker Lane to Beaver Loop Road, which those running the half marathon then follow as its heads southward and then curves around northward back up toward Spur Highway, where it meets the Unity Trail. A more than 20-mile-long trail for cyclists, runners, walkers, joggers and inline skaters that connects Kenai with Soldotna, the Unity Trail serves as the path for much of the full marathon, and those running the half follow it for the next four miles of the race, as the course takes them back into downtown Kenai for the finish line back at the Convention and Visitors Bureau office. While the half marathon doesn’t cross it, runners and walkers will get a chance to see the Kenai River off in the distance as well as the mountains that surround the local area. By most larger-race standards, the Kenai River Marathon, Half Marathon & Relay is definitely a smaller event, drawing usually a couple to a few hundred runners and walkers each year.