A scenic trail race that’s designed to be friendly to both runners and walkers, the Park to Park Half Marathon shows off some of the most beautiful off-road trails of northeastern Iowa’s Cedar Valley area, taking runners from the starting line at George Wyth State Park through four different parks along the trail.
Though it will take place along wooded park trails, the race will feature music along the 13.1-mile course for participants in the half-marathon, which share the same starting line but different starting times.
After 3 1/2 hours, the trail course will be closed and the finish line will start to be taken down, so runners and walkers will need to complete the race by 10:30 AM in order to cross the “official” finish line. The race features a combination of paved and natural surfaces along the out-and-back trail.
The best spots for spectators to view their friends and family in the race, organizers add, lie at Island Park just off Center Street, near the banks of the Cedar River. Runners will reach mile 3.75 and 8.6 at this point, so you’ll get a chance to see your runners pass through twice here.
Other good spots around the course include downtown Cedar Falls and the Black Hawk Park Campground, which is the race’s turnaround point.
As they run along the course, runners (and walkers) will be running along an 80-mile system of trails developed for the Cedar Falls and Waterloo area, with miles of hiking, biking, walking and in-line skating trails as well as several miles grassland trails within George Wyth State Park alone.
Most of the trails are paved, and have become increasingly popular as recreational trails for locals and visitors in recent years.
