La Crosse Marathon & Half Marathon
La Crosse, WI
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved), Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
The new La Crosse Full Marathon course winds along the scenic and remote River trails that embody the driftless region. Running from Sparta to La Crosse, passing through classic rural Wisconsin towns, and finishing at the beautiful Riverside Park in downtown La Crosse. The course consists of approximately 20 miles … MORE
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Pretty Spring Marathon
Flat course with nice scenery. Volunteers and aid stations were great. La Crosse does a nice marathon with a lot of support. Great midwest race! MORE
Flat course with nice scenery. Volunteers and aid stations were great. La Crosse does a nice marathon with a lot of support. Great midwest race!
Nice little Wisconsin town race
This was my 25th marathon in 16th state....about 10 days before the race there was flooding near the Mississippi River that affected the finishing area of the race...despite this, the … MORE
This was my 25th marathon in 16th state….about 10 days before the race there was flooding near the Mississippi River that affected the finishing area of the race…despite this, the race director was able to change the last 3 miles of the course to avoid this potential flooding…there were plenty of email/social media updates in the weeks prior to the race….this race occurred in La Crosse which is a college town near Minnesota and the Mississippi River….There was about 150 in the marathon and 400 or so in the half…This was a point to point along a rails to trails path that started in Sparta, Wi and ended near downtown La Crosse….there was enough busses from the finish to the start that meet at the convention center downtown…the last couple miles where on pavement in La Crosse…there was enough aid stations, enough porta potties at the start and finish….slight downhill course that was well marked….beer, brats, and some other snacks at the end….nice medal and t-shirt, but not alot of other swag…packet pickup was easy and apart of a small expo in the convention center…There where a lot of hotels, restaurants, and things to do near the finish….nice small race that is well ran, easy logistics
Nice trail, nice race
Race is mostly flat to down hill. I’ve always liked the hills of SW Wisconsin/SE MN, so the views were great from the trail. If you like smallish races, I … MORE
Race is mostly flat to down hill. I’ve always liked the hills of SW Wisconsin/SE MN, so the views were great from the trail. If you like smallish races, I highly recommend
Cute little race
All in all, I enjoyed this race. There were only 140 runners, so it was pretty small. A lot of running seemingly on your own. You start on a bike … MORE
All in all, I enjoyed this race. There were only 140 runners, so it was pretty small. A lot of running seemingly on your own. You start on a bike trail and run 20 miles back into town, so there were not a lot of spectators at all. The race production was pretty good. There was one or two turns or forks in the trail at the very end that were poorly (or not at all) marked but all in all this is a good race, and I would recommend it to a friend.
Early season WI half marathon
Starts atop Grandad Bluff and the first 1.5 mile is a steep descent. After the descent, the course if flat and finishes along the Mississippi River. Not suggested for first … MORE
Starts atop Grandad Bluff and the first 1.5 mile is a steep descent. After the descent, the course if flat and finishes along the Mississippi River. Not suggested for first time half marathoners; unless you’ve trained extensively on hills ascents and descents.
A Beautiful race with logistical kinks
Positive: Great course support and volunteers. -A mostly scenic run with some great views -Decent amount of people cheering along course -Nice shirt, easy packet pickup -Good post race food … MORE
Positive: Great course support and volunteers.
-A mostly scenic run with some great views
-Decent amount of people cheering along course
-Nice shirt, easy packet pickup
-Good post race food and even a free beer
Negatives:
-The shuttle to race start was kind of a mess. Race started late because of this.
-Too few port a potties at start line.
Some course notes
-Though beautiful the run down bluff can be hard on knees and other joints.
-Course though mostly beautiful has boring stretches in residential areas.