If you’ve ever seen the Matthew McConaughey-Matthew Fox film “We Are Marshall,” then you have an excellent picture of what the Marshall University Marathon & Half Marathon is like for the thundering herd of runners along its green, tree-lined campus and the surrounding city — a fast and largely flat run that race organizers say makes a “perfect” qualifying run for the Boston Marathon.
Marshall University Marathon Half Marathon & 5k
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Date
Nov 2, 2025
Starting Time
7:00 AM
Course
Road
Fees
$20+
Location
Huntington
Participants
500-1000
Terrain
Some Hills
Environment
Small Town
Temperature
High: 61°
/ Low: 38°
Overview
Course Description
Beginning at the university’s Cam Henderson Center on the edge of campus at 3rd Avenue and 20th Street, the 13.1-mile race course for the half-marathoners follows the full marathon; participants in the full marathon run the half marathon course twice.
Run entirely on paved city streets, the course takes runners across only a few gentle hills, in the early part of the course at 12th Street and around the 9-mile marker.
Along the way, runners and walkers — the race welcomes both runners and walkers in the half marathon and 5-mile races — will pass through some of downtown Huntington’s sights including Harris Riverfront Park and the Memorial Arch, near Ritter Park.
And as the course approaches the finish line back near the Cam Henderson Center, it takes participants straight through the Marshall University campus, and past the John Marshall Statue seen in the movie.
