“Rise to the challenge, to live your own life. Success is not something that can be measured or worn on a watch or hung on a wall… [It] is the certain knowledge that you have become yourself, the person you were meant to be from all time.” — George Sheehan
1) Urban Bourbon Half Marathon • Louisville, KY
The banks of the Ohio River and this Kentucky city’s downtown streets and parks are the setting for this race, which finishes in front of the Evan Willliams Bourbon Experience, where you can tour a distillery and enjoy bourbon tastings in the post-race lounge.
Saturday, Oct. 22 • Race info & signup »
2) Hamptons Half Marathon • Southampton, NY
Tree-lined roads and historic beach towns along the scenic southern shore of New York’s Long Island are on display for runners at this autumn race, named by Runner’s World magazine as one of the country’s “Top 10 Races to Run” back in 2008.
Saturday, Oct. 1 • Race info & signup »
3) Napa Half Marathon • Napa, CA
Thirteen miles through the Northern California wine country await runners at this race, which is sure to become a fall bucket list event for many a runner thanks to its gorgeous views of the surrounding vineyards and the complimentary bottle of wine included in each race packet.
Sunday, Oct. 2 • Race info & signup »
4) Wineglass Half Marathon • Corning, NY
Run through the wine country of the New York Finger Lakes region, largely along the winding Chemung River, this race takes runners on a downhill point-to-point course that finishes across the Centerway Bridge, and runs past the famed Corning Museum of Glass.
Sunday, Oct. 2 • Race info & signup »
5) Under the Oaks Half Marathon • Jekyll Island, GA
You’ll take an out-and-back tour of one of Georgia’s most beautiful “Golden Isles” at this race, where moss-draped oak trees tower over grassy lawns and 65 percent of the island is kept in its natural, undeveloped state.
Saturday, Oct. 8 • Race info & signup »
6) Southernmost Half Marathon • Key West, FL
Here runners make their way through Key West’s Old Town, where most of the island’s tourist attractions and signature architecture can be found, everything from restored wooden homes with lush tropical trees to the Ernest Hemingway House, where the legendary author lived in the 1930s.
Saturday, Oct. 8 • Race info & signup »
7) City to the Sea Half Marathon • San Luis Obispo, CA
More than 2,000 runners and walkers come out each year for this race, which quite literally unfolds from the city to the ocean, taking runners from the streets of San Luis Obispo all the way to the coastline overlooking the Pacific Ocean, at Pismo Beach.
Sunday, Oct. 9 • Race info & signup »
8) Run For Pompey Half Marathon • George Town, Bahamas
Set for its second annual running this fall in the largest city on this chain of more than 380 islands in the Bahamas, this race commemorates the memory of a man whose actions led to the emancipation of the slaves on this Atlantic island nation.
Sunday, Oct. 9 • Race info & signup »
9) Waddell & Reed Kansas City Half Marathon • Kansas City, MO
Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the hilly and sometimes difficult course at this race is an abundance of majestic, scenic fountains, like those found in European capitals and tourist meccas like London and Rome.
Saturday, Oct. 15 • Race info & signup »
10) Run For the Hills Half Marathon • McHenry, IL
Filled with wildflowers, plentiful birds and other wildlife, lakes, ponds, creeks and trails, the 2,200-acre Moraine Hills State Park offers a gorgeous trail run along a course that’s within a short drive of one of the nation’s busiest and densest urban metropolitan areas (Chicago).
Saturday, Oct. 1 • Race info & signup »
11) Mount Desert Island Half Marathon • Bar Harbor, ME
Voted the 2015 race of the year by New England Runner magazine, this race earned that title not just by running through one of the most beautiful parks in the nation, but also thanks to its a tight-knit community and location along the only true fjord on the Atlantic coast.
Sunday, Oct. 16 • Race info & signup »
12) Runner’s World Half + Festival • Bethlehem, PA
The bible of running hosts this annual fall race at which runners in recent years have had the chance to meet and hear talks from many of its biggest names, including Amby Burfoot and Bart Yasso, and to meet famous athletes like Dean Karnazes, the author of “Ultramarathon Man.”
Sunday, Oct. 16 • Race info & signup »
13) Iron Horse Half Marathon • Midway, KY
Nestled in the heart of Kentucky’s bluegrass country, this race unfolds along a route that shows off the rolling green hills of its thoroughbred horse farms and rural countryside, and features an overall elevation change of just 100 feet.
Sunday, Oct. 16 • Race info & signup »
13.1) Cape Cod Half Marathon • Falmouth, MA
Often called one of the country’s most scenic marathons, thanks to its course that unfolds along the shoreline of southern Cape Cod, this race features views of an 1876-era lighthouse and a stretch past the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on the way back into Falmouth.
