A cannon stands sentry at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pa. (Photo by Dreamstime)
Sometimes, you really do get to run through history.
Past where Abraham Lincoln lived, past where Civil War soldiers bled and died, past where thousands of workers toiled for years to build one of humankind’s greatest monuments, just to name a few.
You get to do exactly these and more — like run through the real Hatfield-McCoy feud country, for one — at these races, which will stimulate the mind as well as the body. And give you the chance to visit the ghosts of centuries past when the race is over.
1) Gettysburg Blue-Gray Half Marathon • Gettysburg, PA
Runners split up into “North” and “South” teams at this race just miles from the historic Civil War battlefield where the Union turned the tide against the South in 1863, and run the course in opposite directions during this late fall event.
November • More race info here »
2) Hatfield-McCoy Half Marathons • Goody, KY
The hills and hollows of rural eastern Kentucky beckon at this early summer race, which offers two halfs through the real “Hatfield-McCoy” feud country, where the actual Hatfields and McCoys fought each other across the Big Sandy River between 1863 and 1891.
June • More race info here »
3) Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon • Sleepy Hollow, NY
Fans of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horsemen from the famed “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” will love this race, which features stretches along the Hudson River as well as through the quaint residential neighborhoods of this historic village.
March • More race info here »
4) Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon • Springfield, IL
One of the nation’s oldest 13.1-mile races, this event is more than 50 years old and takes runners past the Lincoln Home National Historic Site — the only home the 16th president ever owned — and past the tomb where he lies today.
April • More race info here »
5) Chickamauga Battlefield Half Marathon • Fort Oglethorpe, GA
Georgia’s Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park hosts this race each fall, which runs past some 1,400 memorials, cannons and monuments that commemorate the bloodiest two-day battle of the Civil War, which claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Confederate and Union soldiers in September 1863.
November • More race info here »
6) Wicked Half Marathon • Salem, MA
Runners make their way through the streets of this Massachusetts city known as “the Witch City” for the infamous witch trials that took place here back in the early 1690s, largely along the waterfront of Beverly Harbor, Salem Sound and Marblehead.
September • More race info here »
7) Hoover Dam Half Marathon • Boulder City, NV
The desert landscape of Southern Nevada — combined with majestic views of one of the most awe-inspiring man-made structures anywhere in the world, the Hoover Dam — are both on display at this race, which runs in the shadow of the Hoover Dam, built between 1931 and 1936 in the depths of the Great Depression.
December • More race info here »
8) 18.12 Challenge & Half Marathon • Watertown, NY
This late summer race commemorates the War of 1812, in which the U.S. suffered massive defeats in the North (the loss of Fort Detroit), and the burning of the White House and the Capitol. Runners can participate in the 18.12-mile challenge or the half marathon, both of which finish on the actual historic 1812 battleground overlooking Lake Ontario.
August • More race info here »
