Octoberfest Half Marathon 10k & 5k

The race is timed to coincide with the peak viewing season for fall foliage in Upstate New York, and runners can expect to see every shade of red, gold and yellow on the apple trees and woodlands along the race route, which follows an out-and-back course that starts and finishes at the Peru Fire Department headquarters on Bearswamp Road.

From there, runners head out on what is roughly a clockwise loop route around the edges of the town and into the farm fields just beyond downtown.

Runners can expect plenty of rolling hills along paved country roads, though the elevation changes are mostly gradual — the course rises from a low point of about 200 feet above sea level just past the mile 2 marker to a peak elevation of about 480 feet between the mile 5 and mile 6 markers.

After that, the course begins a long, gradual descent (with a few uphills in between) all the way back in to the finish line at the fire department.

Proceeds from the race will go to benefit the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, which is dedicated to providing support to those living with this degenerative lung disease, which can cause great difficulty in breathing and can interfere with the lungs’ ability to deliver oxygen to the rest of the body.

These proceeds will go toward the foundation’s efforts in research to finding better treatments and hopefully a cure someday. Roughly half a million Americans are estimated to be living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis today, and the disease kills an estimated 40,000 people in the U.S. each year.