Heroes of America Marathon
Columbus, GA
- Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Heroes of America Marathon and Half Marathon starts and finishes in front of the Iron Works Convention and Trade Center, runs through parts of Ft Benning and on the beautiful Columbus RiverWalk. The course is reasonably flat with one hill and a few short inclines. Because of the width … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Mar 21):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 83 | 67 | 79 | 65 | 76 |
| L (°F) | 49 | 37 | 45 | 31 | 41 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Do another race, any race.
Dont waste your time on this race. The poor marketing is a direct reflection of the race organization. This is definitely a local race and has little to no volunteer … MORE
Dont waste your time on this race. The poor marketing is a direct reflection of the race organization. This is definitely a local race and has little to no volunteer support. The water stations were un manned so people on the course and folks just out and about could partake in the water. The signs/markings were minimal and i almost ended up doing a full smh. They ran out of medals! We all have our reasons for racing and the medals are a big draw for me not to mention this was my first half marathon. Super disappointed, a volunteer said they would mail us a medal citing they could track who didn’t get one by our time. I have yet to receive mine as of the date of this review. Only good thing about the race was exploring columbus. Dont waste your time or money!
Way Down Yonder on the Chattahuchee
Very small and low-key race. Little communication and pickup was before race morning. Easy parking. Basic shirt and medal. Course was out and back through Ft Benning. Not well marked … MORE
Very small and low-key race. Little communication and pickup was before race morning. Easy parking. Basic shirt and medal. Course was out and back through Ft Benning. Not well marked and most of us missed an add-on of almost a mile so had to make it up before finishing. Needed more aid stations, especially since it was a warm day. Water and a banana at the finish.
Beautiful, fast course!
Beautiful course, mainly flat, along the Chattahoochee River. Perfect time of year for running. Well organized. Great choice for first half or full, great choice for PR. Easy logistics. Will … MORE
Beautiful course, mainly flat, along the Chattahoochee River. Perfect time of year for running. Well organized. Great choice for first half or full, great choice for PR. Easy logistics. Will run this one again. The free photos were a big bonus too!
Skip this race
Race stated it was the same course as the Soldiers Marathon. It was not. A different start location, which was a big deal to me. After the split from the … MORE
Race stated it was the same course as the Soldiers Marathon. It was not. A different start location, which was a big deal to me. After the split from the half marathoners, the course was very poorly marked (if marked at all). I had to ask other runners and even law enforcement which way to go. At one point, even the pacer ahead of me was going off course!
I went to pick up my packet on Friday. When I got there, location had changed. FB notification went out a few hours before about the location change. Race packet was minimal. Finishing metal was a small round disk, like a challenge coin. Disappointing, I was expecting a metal.
Positive things I can say about this race. Part of the course is run on the Riverwalk, which offers a nice scenery. It is a small race and you get free race photos.
I doubt I would run this race again since it lacks what I want in a race.
Don't do it
I try to find some light in every race but the only thing I liked was that there were Doritos on course and there was a can of Pepsi at … MORE
I try to find some light in every race but the only thing I liked was that there were Doritos on course and there was a can of Pepsi at the finish line. (they had other pop, too, but I like Pepsi)
• The race website doesn’t give a lot of detail about what you get from it, where exactly the proceeds go, or the elevation profile. There was a note that it was the 10th running of this race (it had been under other names before but – 10 years running…. Wow.)
• no medals for either distance. I thought it may have been because we were pacers but no one got one. I got a plastic disc which some people suggested was a military challenge coin but (1) I’ve seen those before and they are usually metal (2) at a footrace, they are usually something you buy at packet pickup. you still get your medal at the finish line. (At the time I registered, registration was $135. As a pacer, my fee was waived but if I paid $135 and didn’t get a medal, I would be upset.)
• I highly doubt that this thing was USTAF certified as it stated and doubt even further that it is a Boston Qualifier. If you expect to BQ, you should get proof of that certification before you sign up.
• there are no timing mats along the course to record splits or to ensure that people are not cutting the course. There was nothing at the half-marathon turn-around. There was a mat for the marathoners at about 14.75 (volunteers called it “half way”, the course markers had it labeled as 15)
• I was a pacer. Ineligible for awards (I have had that before) but my results are not listed on the results page, either. It’s as though I didn’t participate at all. The result I have listed is from my Garmin.
• As a pacer – I rely on mile markers to ensure that my GPS (and therefore pace) matches what the course should be. Mile markers are usually a little off but these had such swings that we were picking up and slowing down constantly to hit the marks.
• As a pacer, your pacees sort of rely on you to know the course. They told us at the start of the race , “when in doubt, follow the cones.” There were no cones and we went straight at one of the forks when someone said “what are those cones?” across a field to the right. Since there was no penalty, one of our pacees cut across the field to get to those cones. We ran up to the road and turned around. The 3:50 pacers ended up doing an extra mile (thankfully, they had no runners with them.)
• water stations were every 2 miles. There is nothing wrong with this. Be prepared to grab from the table as there are not enough volunteers to hand it out. Have patience and kindness for volunteers. We are lucky to have them.
• some people don’t care about this but they didn’t sing the national anthem…on a military base. I thought that was odd.
Sorry, fellas. You really missed the mark on this.