As of 2025, the Heartland Marathon is now the Omaha Marathon. Running is personal. It’s about you. You setting a goal. You making it happen. You running your best event. As Omaha’s premier running organization, the Omaha Running Club is here for you. We work year-round to support our community …
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As of 2025, the Heartland Marathon is now the Omaha Marathon.
Running is personal. It’s about you. You setting a goal. You making it happen. You running your best event.
As Omaha’s premier running organization, the Omaha Running Club is here for you. We work year-round to support our community and our runners; a tradition we have upheld for more than 50 years.
A lot has changed over the past five decades. Events have come and gone, but our Club and commitment to the Midwest stands.
We believe race events should be about the runners – and created the Heartland Marathon to do just that.
The Heartland Marathon is a two-lap course that starts on the Riverfront Trail in Omaha, Nebraska at Miller’s Landing and heads south. The route then crosses the Missouri River to Iowa via the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge and travels south along the Missouri River. Runners then head easterly to the Western Historic Trails Center and continue easterly past the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex. Runners then cross 24th Street at Richard Downing Ave and proceed southerly on the 24th Street trail to Veterans Memorial Highway and then continue east on the trail to Indian Creek at Indian Creek Runners turn around and return back. Runners complete two laps for the marathon.
The Omaha Running Club has been supporting the Omaha running and walking communities since the early 1970’s. We are a non-profit community service organization with vast variety of race events, free fun-runs, training programs and community service opportunities.
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Well Organized Race
This marathon is organized by the Omaha Running Club and you can tell they know what they are doing. Very organized and they provide all of the supports runners expect/need. … MORE
This marathon is organized by the Omaha Running Club and you can tell they know what they are doing. Very organized and they provide all of the supports runners expect/need.
Logistics for this event are easy. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which was less than a 1/4 mile walk to the start/finish line. It was also walkable to the expo and downtown Omaha. There is plenty of free parking at the race start/finish area in a park. Plenty of port a pots as well.
The expo was just a bib/t-shirt pick up, easy and organized. They also gave out arm warmers which is something I had not received before. An additional nice feature was the running club was giving away past years t-shirts and awards. I was able to score a nice t-shirt, coffee cup and steel water bottle.
The marathon course was two loops on a mostly flat bicycle trail. It was well marked. The part I did not like was 98% of the course was on concrete. My feet and ankles felt sore after the race. There were plenty of water stops that also had Gu. It should be noted with the exception of brief section near Old Market, the course goes entirely through Iowa in Council Bluff. I would have preferred to run more in Omaha and see the city.
The race ends in a park and the food included pizza and donuts along with other snacks! The medal was nice and race staff were quick to give out times and awards.
I enjoyed this race and would recommend it. Omaha was a nice city to visit, very walkable and safe. I would recommend seeing Old Market and the Hollywood Candy Store. For meals I had a Runza ( A Nebraska tradition) and an Omaha steak. Best carb load was at the Spaghetti Works, $12.95 got you all you can eat pasta, a salad bar and garlic bread!
Excellent Job by the Running Club
Registration went so quickly and smooth, offered free tech shirts from years past as well as a great long sleeve shirt with no advertising. As far as the race it … MORE
Registration went so quickly and smooth, offered free tech shirts from years past as well as a great long sleeve shirt with no advertising. As far as the race it too was organized, perfect cloudy weather with a little wind. Nice course over the pedestrian bridge. Only negative was 95% of race was concrete not asphalt
Flat, bike trail race, nice people
Well run race, great organizers and volunteers. 272 marathoners in 2024, not too big, not too small. Weather was perfect, luckily, 60s, but it was about 30 degrees warmer the … MORE
Well run race, great organizers and volunteers. 272 marathoners in 2024, not too big, not too small. Weather was perfect, luckily, 60s, but it was about 30 degrees warmer the day before, so I would say this is an iffy time of year for running in
Omaha. Out and back 2x means you see the same scenery 4x. I liked the flatness, I liked that it was mostly bike trails(all paved) you weren’t dealing with car traffic.
A view from the back of the pack
This is a very quality event. Flew in from Houston to get my Nebraska run. All of the people were very friendly, and the organization was very good. I don’t … MORE
This is a very quality event. Flew in from Houston to get my Nebraska run. All of the people were very friendly, and the organization was very good. I don’t really enjoy out in back courses, but this one seemed to fit the bill. An added bonus is that the airport is maybe 10 minutes away from most of the lodging. The facility is five minutes away from most of the lodging. Probably won’t do this event again, but can highly recommend it to those that live in the area or need a Nebraska run.
Well Organized
This was a well organized event. The course is fairly easy only one hill, which is the bridge. It could use one more water stop before the turn around point. … MORE
This was a well organized event. The course is fairly easy only one hill, which is the bridge. It could use one more water stop before the turn around point. The start and finish area was well done, and the volunteers were awesome.
Mutual of Omaha...are people, you can...
Chose the Heartland Marathon in Omaha as my Nebraska marathon mainly because it fit my schedule. Like many others have said, this event is put on by the local running … MORE
Chose the Heartland Marathon in Omaha as my Nebraska marathon mainly because it fit my schedule. Like many others have said, this event is put on by the local running club and you can tell because all details were taken care of. It’s a smallish event, which I’ve become fond of. No expo, which I don’t need anymore. Packet pickup was very organized. The start/finish is at a nice Park area with plenty of parking. The course itself is fairly flat besides the Bob Kerry bridge, which you go over 4 times because it’s a double out n back route. Aid stations were fully stocked with gatorade and water. A few had gels. Police were at every road crossing and volunteers were very friendly. I’m just not a fan of double out n back courses though. Several locals suggested that Lincoln is a better choice for Nebraska?
Down and back torture
The people who ran this race did a good job, and the volunteers were wonderful!! The reason I rated this race so low was because of the course itself. The … MORE
The people who ran this race did a good job, and the volunteers were wonderful!!
The reason I rated this race so low was because of the course itself. The mental struggle is already strong in a marathon, but having do go down and back TWICE was torture. This was my first race, and I would never recommend this race to first timers. Maybe if you’re a seasoned marathoner, you would be ok with going down and back two times; I was not ok as a first time marathoner on this course.
Overall smooth flat race
Pretty easy course. This was my first race since high school and my longest distance ever run. Enjoyed it very much and plan to run the full marathon next year. … MORE
Pretty easy course. This was my first race since high school and my longest distance ever run. Enjoyed it very much and plan to run the full marathon next year. Would highly recommend if your going for an easy flat course and trying to qualify for the big races
Very well-run race
Smaller race that was very well run. Expo is basically a packet pick up with friendly volunteers. Race course is through a lovely recreation area, the jewel of which is … MORE
Smaller race that was very well run. Expo is basically a packet pick up with friendly volunteers. Race course is through a lovely recreation area, the jewel of which is a unique pedestrian bridge over the river to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Excellent course support with plentiful bike support. Very well-marked course. Lots of food and drink at the end. I loved the long-sleeved tech shirt with a V-neck collar! If this was not 6.5 hours from my hone, I’d definitely do this event again.
Heartland Didn't Disappoint
Ran the Heartland Half Marathon in Omaha, NE. The course was mostly flat, but did include an over and back across the pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River. The race … MORE
Ran the Heartland Half Marathon in Omaha, NE. The course was mostly flat, but did include an over and back across the pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River. The race started and finished on the Nebraska side of the river, but the majority of the course was on the Iowa side. Custom race face masks were provided to all runners, which was a nice touch. Overall race organization was very professional. Race shirt was very nice, but the finisher medal was nothing special. Overall was happy I traveled from Ohio to run in the race and will likely return in the future,
An actual live race during 2020!
It was so great to run an actual live race again. I so missed the joy and anxiety and expectations at the starting line. This review, obviously, is for the … MORE
It was so great to run an actual live race again. I so missed the joy and anxiety and expectations at the starting line.
This review, obviously, is for the race as it was held in 2020, during the ongoing COVID crisis. My understanding is that some things (including the course) were different this year. So, some of these points may not be valid for the future running of this race.
I do have to start with how well the organizers and volunteers did managing this race during a pandemic. Race swag did include a branded face mask and all runners were required to wear a mask in the starting area (most runners followed this rule). There were no high fives; water & Gatorade were in bottles instead of cups and you grabbed them yourself as opposed to the volunteer handing to you; volunteers wore masks. These precautions in no way diminished the enjoyment of the race. It felt safe at all times.
There was a 20 minute delay at the start due to lightning. Cause…2020…am I right? Luckily, we were able to run the race as scheduled once it started. I’m not sure I’ve ever rated “course difficulty” a “1 shoe” before because every marathon course feels hard in its own way! But, this course was one of the flattest ones I’ve run (there was one bridge that we had to cross multiple times) and there were no elevation issues. The rain/thunder/lightning kept the morning cooler and overcast, which was great.
I stayed at the host hotel. The bib pick-up (that’s all it was–no expo) was also there. This was a mile and a half from the start/finish. Per normal, I didn’t have a car, so I had to walk this. Felt good pre-race, liked it less post-race.
Swag: As mentioned above, there was a branded face mask. Race shirt was long sleeve tech shirt in purple. Medal was disappointing in that it was rubbery plastic.
For those runners looking to tick Nebraska off their list, I would highly recommend this race.
Great race considering covid times
Very well organized! Clever marathon mask in swag. Did well with safety measures. Had to adapt the course to 2 loops of out and backs but they did great with … MORE
Very well organized! Clever marathon mask in swag. Did well with safety measures. Had to adapt the course to 2 loops of out and backs but they did great with bottled water & Gatorade. Great local people supportive and just all around excited to actually hold a race!!!
Awesome race put on by great local club
The 2019 Heartland Half marathon was a little different than other years considering it was cancelled within the first 3 miles due to extreme weather conditions. I have raced dozens … MORE
The 2019 Heartland Half marathon was a little different than other years considering it was cancelled within the first 3 miles due to extreme weather conditions. I have raced dozens of races over the years and never experienced this type of situation especially with the flooding and storm that happened. It was pretty insane but the race management handled it so well. They tried their best in a crazy situation. The 5k that I did get to run of the course was fabulous despite the downpour. The run club putting it on was excellent and so kind! We stayed in a hotel right near the start and people could not have been nicer. Omaha is such a fun hidden gem of a town and we made an entire weekend out of it. Easy access from the airport via a tram and plenty to do! Definitely check this one off the list. It is a smaller race with all the good aspects!
Fun! I love Omaha!
I really enjoyed this race. There were not a lot of 10K runners so no need to weave and dodge other runners on the course. The sun was coming up … MORE
I really enjoyed this race. There were not a lot of 10K runners so no need to weave and dodge other runners on the course. The sun was coming up just as we crossed the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian bridge – very pretty. Weather was absolutely perfect. Race was well organized, friendly volunteers and the medal was nice. Thumbs up – I would do this one again if I’m in Omaha at the right time.
This race started mostly uphill.
It's a good race. Very well organized. Volunteers, Cyclists, and Staff do care about their runners. I was very impressed. First 4 miles are mostly uphill. After you reach mile … MORE
It’s a good race. Very well organized. Volunteers, Cyclists, and Staff do care about their runners. I was very impressed.
First 4 miles are mostly uphill. After you reach mile 2 it gets harder until mile 5.
After you are done in Nebraska. You go to Iowa. Very flat (mile 5-mile 12) mile 12 gets you back to Nebraska on the pedestrian bridge and you can see the finish line up top the bridge.
It wasn’t easy when it got to mile 9 because it was severely hot, yes in September.
But the medal when you finish and when you know you finished is a good feeling because it’s party time to celebrate the wonderful success.
Hosted by Omaha Running Club. A well organized group.