Ridgefield Half Marathon & 7 Miler
Ridgefield, CT
Oct 20, 2024
- Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay, 7 Miler
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Ridgefield Half Marathon, 7-Miler is a beautiful race featuring classic fall New England scenery. The race is beginner-friendly, and contains some of the prettiest roads in Fairfield County! The race starts on East Ridge Road, just above The Boys and Girls Club of Ridgefield, with a few gradual climbs … MORE
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Small Town Gem
The weather this year was perfect, the race shirts are cozy as heck, and they had vegetarian hot dogs at the finish. What more can a girl ask for? Early … MORE
The weather this year was perfect, the race shirts are cozy as heck, and they had vegetarian hot dogs at the finish. What more can a girl ask for? Early start to be reinstated. For whatever reason they got rid of early start this year, and started everyone at the early start time with the course being open for the same amount of time. So I don’t understand why early start got nixed this year. I ran most of the race by myself with maybe one other person in sight. This both took a little away from my race experience and was unsafe in my opinion since most roads are open (even though there’s very little traffic in Ridgefield, CT early on a Sunday morning).
Couldn't have asked for better weather
I had to drop down to the 7 mile from the half marathon because I had COVID in August and it totally threw off my training plan. It was such … MORE
I had to drop down to the 7 mile from the half marathon because I had COVID in August and it totally threw off my training plan. It was such a perfect day I was a little bummed I was only running 7, but as a slower runner it was nice to have a bunch of people to run with and finish with as the speedier half marathoners were keeping me company. I felt a little bad for the slower half marathoners this year as there was no early start (still a course time of 3:15) as they would’ve been pretty alone in those later miles.
The hooded long sleeve was once again the shirt and it’s a little longer this year and oh so cozy. The medals this year were wood which is pretty cool and were pretty locally made in S. Salem, NY. Non traditional medals are always spiffy in my book.
The course itself is nice as you run in charming suburban areas and the Halloween decorations were pretty fun to see as well. A little hilly, but I’d say it’s more challenging than outright difficult. The roads are open, but runners have cones to run within in the busier sections and the rest is pretty sleepy on an early Sunday morning. Police and volunteers are at all the key places and I can’t say I ever felt unsafe on the course.
The post race food is mostly hot dogs and hamburgers, but they also had pretzels and bagels. As a vegetarian I would’ve liked to see a veggie burger/hot dog option, but at least I had options for post race food. Race parking is easy and all options are within .25 miles from the start/finish and free which is always a plus. I consider this one to be a staple local yearly race. I wouldn’t say it’s a destination race, but if you’re in the area it’s definitely worth doing and is one of the better organized small local races I’ve run.
Good local race
I ran this one for the second time this year. I had my packet mailed to me, though there is pre-race and race day pick up. Parking is easy as … MORE
I ran this one for the second time this year. I had my packet mailed to me, though there is pre-race and race day pick up. Parking is easy as there is a shopping center right near the race start/finish.
This year’s swag was another hooded long sleeve shirt and the medal was locally made from locally sourced birch, which was nice and unique.
The course is open to traffic, but there isn’t much in the way of traffic early on a Sunday morning in Ridgefield. Intersections are covered by police and volunteers.
The course isn’t flat, but rolling hills is an accurate description. This year’s course was slightly different from 2019, but not noticeably and the race is also a 7 mile.
My only complaint is that, despite the race offering a 15 minute early start, by the time I finished all there was in the way of food was the BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs. Great for omnivores, not so great for vegetarians like myself. Not even a piece of fruit in sight.
Beautiful community race
This is a race that I will definitely run again. Ridgefield is a very doable drive from the NYC area, about 25-30 minutes from me in lower Westchester. There are … MORE
This is a race that I will definitely run again.
Ridgefield is a very doable drive from the NYC area, about 25-30 minutes from me in lower Westchester. There are a few lots you can park in for free within 0.25 miles of the start. I parked right up the hill from the start/finish.
This race’s shirt is my new favorite being a super comfy hooded long sleeve (and it’s purple!). Race morning packet pickup was super easy. The race offers an early start for the slower among us (like myself) starting 30 mins before the rest of the field.
The roads aren’t all closed, but they’re either residential back roads or runners have a shoulder to run in and there are police directing traffic on side roads and crossings. The course itself is basically out to a local scenic neighborhood (2 loops of it) then back to the finish. It’s not flat, but as CT hills go it’s not too hilly either and passes the iconic town fountain on the way to the finish. The medal was pretty nice for a local race and the ribbon is purple to go along with the shirt.
The post race spread included water, bagels, and your choice of a slider or hot dog…unfortunately bagels being the only option for those of us who don’t eat meat which is always disappointing, but hardly out of the ordinary. They ran out of water when I finished, but quickly brought more in and, since the staging area is at the Boys and Girls Club, they opened the doors so runners could use the water fountains in the meantime.
Oh and race photos are free!