Fox Cities Marathon, Half Marathon, Relay & 5K

Sunday, September 17, 2023 • Appleton, WI • Course Map

More than 4,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair competitors cross the finish line each year at Appleton’s Community First Fox Cities Marathon & Half Marathon Festival of Races, with more than 2,500 of those runners and walkers taking part in the half-marathon race alone.

Ranked year after year by The Ultimate Guide to Marathons book as one of the midwest’s best marathon and half marathon races, this event takes runners and walkers on a course that features a number of hills but also takes runners on an overall slightly downhill course — at the start, the elevation is roughly 810 feet above sea level and by the time participants reach the finish line, the course has dropped to an elevation of about 750 feet above sea level.

The race takes runners through Appleton, Wisconsin, a town of about 70,000 people that lies in the heart of the state’s Fox River Valley and is home to the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, where both the full and half marathons start.

From there, runners follow the half-marathon route along city streets including Midway Road, Telulah Avenue and Sylvan Ave, along the early part of the course that takes runners past green open spaces like Woodland Park.

After making the turn onto Olde Midway Rd, the course turns onto Lakeshore Dr, followed by a straightaway onto Tayco Rd leading runners to the Friendship Trail Bridge.

Runners continue to follow the trail until they take a turn onto N Lake St and head around Arrowhead park, before meeting up with E Columbian Ave and heading to the finish in Riverside Park.

Rather than a single-day event, the Fox Cities Marathon is actually a three-day series of running events, with half-mile and quarter-mile races for kids on Friday, followed by the 5K race on Saturday morning.

The full and half marathons take place on Sunday morning, with scheduled starting times of 7:00 AM for the full marathon and 7:30 AM for the half marathon (officially titled the ThedaCare Half Marathon).

All photos courtesy Fox Cities Marathon

Race Weather & Climate

Located in the eastern part of the state, about an hour’s drive west from Lake Michigan and nearly two hours north from Milwaukee, Appleton typically experiences mild to moderately cool weather conditions as the seasons are changing from late summer to early fall.

On race day (Sep. 17), the average low is 49ºF and the average high is 68ºF.

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Fox Cities Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

7:00 AM – full marathon
7:30 AM – half marathon

Fees

$65 and up for the half marathon
$75 and up for the full marathon
$200 and up for the marathon relay

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2023 running of the Community First Fox Cities Marathon, Half Marathon, Relay or 5K race, register online at GetMeRegistered.com here.

Official Race Website

foxcitiesmarathon.org

Comments

Ever run in the Fox Cities Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.

See more races in: September, Wisconsin

1 comment… add one

Ellie September 18, 2019, 2:14 pm

We want to be at the finish line for family members finishing the full marathon . . . where do we need to be?

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