Run history. Run beauty. For the Oregon Trail Run of Nebraska, we have combined a run on the route of the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Pony Express route with one of the most picturesque roads in Southern Nebraska. The first half of the Marathon will travel parallel to and …
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Run history. Run beauty. For the Oregon Trail Run of Nebraska, we have combined a run on the route of the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Pony Express route with one of the most picturesque roads in Southern Nebraska. The first half of the Marathon will travel parallel to and intersect with the route that settlers took as they crossed Nebraska on their way to points west. The first half of the route is mostly flat and offers a view that stretches for miles. You can imagine the trail of “prairie schooners” keeping to the hilltops as they headed west together.
The second half of the route drops down into the Little Blue River valley, the gravel road that follows the river takes you on gently rolling hills through the cottonwood, oak, locust and ash canopies, by beautiful and fading farmsteads and limestone cliffs. The trees should be in their peak fall color on race day and the surrounding landscape and abundant wildlife offer up photo opportunities around every bend.
The half marathon begins at the halfway point of the marathon, roughly where Hwy 53 and Thayer County’s River Road meet. When the first marathon runners cross the halfway point, the half marathon will begin and follow River Road back to Hebron for the finish.
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Full service marathon at a bargain price
I didn't have a lot of expectations for this race going in due to the small size and small-town location, but boy did they ever over-deliver. There were less than … MORE
I didn’t have a lot of expectations for this race going in due to the small size and small-town location, but boy did they ever over-deliver. There were less than 15 starters this year (but over 10 finishers to meet the 50 State Marathon Club requirement) and everyone finished. Race organization and amenities were second to none. They had a packet pickup the day before at the Hebron Community Center and had a complementary spaghetti dinner for participants. There was also an option to pick up your bib and swag at the shuttle pickup the morning of the race. There was a short shuttle ride to the start, which was at a turnaround at a historical marker for the Oregon Trail. We had a shotgun start, and ran around the turnaround before heading east parallel to the actual route of the Oregon Trail. There was a 10-15 mph headwind for the first 9-10 miles, but then we had the wind to our backs for the rest of the race. The route was very well marked with mile markers and signs at the turns, but they still had volunteers at each turn to make sure we stayed on course. Aid stations were every three miles, so if you need a lot of hydration, I’d recommend carrying a bottle, but it wasn’t really necessary with the cool temperatures. There was another short shuttle after the finish back to the Community Center where they had some light snack food and water. Swag consisted of a technical running shirt and a small, but nice medal. I was kind of disappointed with the number of runners, because I felt that the humble and hard working race organizers deserved better.