Door County Half Marathon & Nicolet Bay 5k

Like the 5K race, the half marathon starts and finishes at Nicolet Beach, which overlooks the waters of Nicolet Bay on the park’s northeastern corner. From there, runners follow a winding loop route that heads first westward and then southward along the park’s northern edge, along Shore Road. Just after passing the mile 2 marker, runners then turn onto Bluff Road and head back along the shoreline, and turn again onto the road that leads to the Blossomburg Cemetery. The race organizers describe the park’s hills as “challenging,” and it’s here that runners will begin to encounter the first big rise in elevation, as they pass the cemetery and turn left onto Middle Road, as they’re passing through mile markers 4 and 5. The next few miles take runners into the park’s interior and remain hilly, with stretches along Skyline Road, Hemlock Road and Highland Road before heading back toward the shoreline for the return route back to the finish line. After the field passes the mile 10 marker, the course then features big downhill to the 11th mile, after which runners then head back along the route they ran in the early part of the race to the finish.