Run Bentonville Half Marathon
Bentonville, AR
- Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Eat. Sleep. RunBentonville. We are the ones up at 5:30am. The ones doing hill repeats in 30 degrees. We are the ones who finish our day off with an easy 5 miles. We are the ones out there running off stress, running with friends, running for a new self, and … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Apr 04):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 71 | 53 | 61 | 79 | 61 |
| L (°F) | 49 | 49 | 36 | 70 | 53 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Great Race!
Abt 4400 people this year from race results! Additions this year were new corral start, tracking system, screen at finish to watch runners, new expo location - again this year … MORE
Abt 4400 people this year from race results! Additions this year were new corral start, tracking system, screen at finish to watch runners, new expo location – again this year was the epic swag bag, the hill, and the support!
Course: Decent hill around mile 2 and save some energy for the last couple of miles that are gently sloped uphill plus a big hill and another decent hill in the last mile- my miles were pretty even for mile 1-10 and then my pace slowed until the finish
Scenery: Start in the cute downtown square (fountain, restaurants and shops- don’t miss Spark for ice cream, Onyx for coffee or Ozark Bagel for a …. Bagel), run through neighborhoods, downtown housing, part of their Greenway trail next to some streams and up the Flyover hill near Crystal Bridges to finish back at the square
Production: Good amount of water/gatorade tables, bathroom stops, traffic support and neighborhood support; this year they had a jumbo screen in the square near the finish that showed runners one mile out and at the finish line which was cool; Expo is great and organized & Swag bag is full (snacks, runner tape, headband, coupons), 3 corral start this year, finish line to get medal is a little packed bc of the small space, at the end was medal, water, chocolate milk, pizza and Chic-fil-a biscuits
Swag: Medal was cool this year – big with a star spinner showing all of the landmarks we ran though, running t-shirt and running long sleeve with hoodie at finish, didn’t love the design this year but that’s preference
Other things to do in town: Crystal Bridges Art Museum (outdoor trails, free), Meld Sandwich Shop, Wrights BBQ, Coler Bike Trail w Coffee Shop, shop around downtown Bentonville/Rogers, visit WalMart Campus for restaurants and trail, etc!
Not easy, but worth it!
Bentonville is a darling little town, probably best known for being headquarters of Wal-Mart (one of the sponsors). The race expo was held on a rainy Friday and while we … MORE
Bentonville is a darling little town, probably best known for being headquarters of Wal-Mart (one of the sponsors). The race expo was held on a rainy Friday and while we were waiting in line for our bibs, it was announced that the race would be postponed from Saturday to Sunday, due to severe weather expected. We scrambled to adjust our hotel and flights to be able to stay an additional day. The expo had soooo much free stuff. We had to be selective due to luggage space. Stocked up on the free Honey Stinger gels and waffles, though.
Separately, being from Southern California, it was exciting for us to watch all of the lightning and heavy rain while we holed up in our hotel room on Saturday, watching reruns of “Friends” and ordering pasta from DoorDash. We just don’t get that kind of weather here.
When race day came, we arrived super-early in order to secure a parking spot in a garage near the start. As it was in the high 20’s/low 30’s, we opted to wait in our rental car until just 15 min. before the start. The race went off without a hitch. Enjoyed running past Crystal Bridges (art museum–a must see), which we had visited after the expo on Friday, the newly-constructed School of Medicine (beautiful architecture), and then through the scenic park. It rained off and on through the race, but not to the drenching point. It was just really cold. The last part of the race is pretty much all uphill. My cousin, who lives in the area, later shared that one of the race directors who she knows personally, likes to design his race courses with a big hill at the end. Interesting to note that along the way up this last part of the course are wood/cardboard cut-outs of said director dressed as the devil staring and mocking you as your legs are begging for mercy–that this hill please end and put you out of your misery. The medal was crazy huge (see pic next to my size 10 foot) and the finisher hoodie super-cute. We didn’t stay for the after-party because we just wanted to get warm.
Recommend!
Great expo & swag bag (included a Junk headband, pen, lots of snacks and sample products). The race had to be moved to Sun this year bc of weather; however … MORE
Great expo & swag bag (included a Junk headband, pen, lots of snacks and sample products). The race had to be moved to Sun this year bc of weather; however race day weather turned out to be great. Several support stations and supporters out on the course and bathrooms. Course starts off in Downtown, goes through some neighborhoods, down a trail with a small waterfall and ends going through the paved trail by Crystal Bridges. Save some juice for the end bc there are a couple of big hills before the end! The medal for the 15th anniversary was huge and there was a t-shirt & a finisher hoodie + pizza at the end. Lots of great restaurants and things to see in Bentonville so would make a great weekend trip.
Leave some for the end.
This is a great small-town run with a lot of participants. We were supposed to have 6,000 runners this year, but rain forced the race to be moved from Saturday … MORE
This is a great small-town run with a lot of participants. We were supposed to have 6,000 runners this year, but rain forced the race to be moved from Saturday to Sunday. I believe this cut both runner participation and crowd support by about half. However, the production was excellent—especially given the circumstances—and didn’t seem to miss a beat. I’m really impressed with how the production team moved the race to Sunday on such short notice. To be fair, this race might have ranked even higher if it had gone as planned, but even with plan B, it earned a high ranking in my book.
There are 3½ uphills on this course. The hill at miles 2-3 isn’t light, but it’s not bad. Miles 11-12 are the worst in my opinion, and I call this “the half hill.” You don’t realize you’re gaining elevation just by looking at it, but you gain the same amount of elevation in one mile as you do at the beginning of mile 12 (the flyover). This is the worst part mentally because you don’t understand why you feel like you’re going so slow, and then you go right into the flyover hill.
The flyover is the biggest hill on the course and is almost a quarter mile long. Three-quarters of the hill is up a suspended bridge, and the end of the bridge feels like a false summit. Then the toughest part starts after the bridge—two switchbacks that are the steepest section of the hill. After that, you get about half a mile of mostly flat terrain with some rolling sections until you reach the final hill.
The final hill is the toughest for many runners because they don’t know it’s there. It’s smaller than the flyover and has two tiers. It’s not terrible, but if the flyover took all your gas, you’ll hate the final hill. After that, it’s a quarter mile to the finish on flat terrain.
The expo is the best I’ve been to out of all my races so far. The shirts were fine, but you got two—one long sleeve and one short sleeve. Probably because it’s my hometown, but I reach for these shirts every time I run. The medal is the best I’ve gotten so far. It might only be because it was the 15th anniversary year, but it was very large—almost as large as Little Rock’s medal, if not the same size (which is Little Rock’s claim to fame).
My biggest complaint is that I didn’t see many—if any—porta-potties near the start/finish. This is probably because it’s in the town square and there isn’t much room. They might have been on a separate street, but I didn’t see them.
The finish was fine but might be the weakest of all the races I’ve done. My biggest complaint was that I desperately needed a bathroom right after finishing, but they funneled all runners through a very long corral. I joked that I felt like I was at Disney World. It took at least 10 minutes—maybe longer—to get through the corral just to reach a bathroom.
I plan to run this again this year and will be interested to see if it’s even better when they don’t have to move the race day.
This is a great half, granted its only my second half but thinks it worth doing. I don’t love the first half of it because it basically loops on it self and you are basically back to the beginning by mile 6, though you may not know that if you aren’t a local or you aren’t familiar with the course. The first 6 miles has the worst scenery but the last 7 has really good scenery, especially the last 3 miles. Mile 9 to 10, you go down a huge hill, then the real race begins from mile 10 (dog part) to the finish. I will do it again if wife wants to and I still live here. So far this is the best half I have done.
One of my all time favorite races!
I love everything about this race! Race shirts are outstanding and high quality. Medals are out of this world with originality and design. Expo is fun! Course is nothing to … MORE
I love everything about this race! Race shirts are outstanding and high quality. Medals are out of this world with originality and design. Expo is fun! Course is nothing to write home about except THAT LAST HILL! I’ve run this race from the very beginning and it’s getting bigger every year, that’s my only complaint – but when you run a race this good and the swag is this good you have to expect others will want to run it too!
Good course but save for the finish
Make sure to pay attention to the course map elevation. Mile 12 is a steep paved trail through a nature area that stalls momentum. Great downtown area and very pedestrian … MORE
Make sure to pay attention to the course map elevation. Mile 12 is a steep paved trail through a nature area that stalls momentum. Great downtown area and very pedestrian friendly community.
Great swag bag full of goodies.
It was fun.
Make sure you train hills and for cold. It often drops 20 or 30 degrees a day or two before the race. Or it rains. And it's got some tough … MORE
Make sure you train hills and for cold. It often drops 20 or 30 degrees a day or two before the race. Or it rains. And it’s got some tough hills. But cool medals!
Enthusiastic, supportive and exciting
This was a well put together race, the Friday pick up was wonderful lots of vendors at the expo. And lots of fun stuff for families to do at the … MORE
This was a well put together race, the Friday pick up was wonderful lots of vendors at the expo. And lots of fun stuff for families to do at the square. The race was so wonderful, course, Swag, volunteers, and supporters was amazing. I loved how the whole 13.1 was full of water stations. Supporters cheers, music, so much intertainment on the whole course. It’s a must run if you have not. I definitely plan to run this one next year! When I finished the races I felt so happy and proud to be part of such a great race. Thank you all for a amazing race!
Challenging last 3 miles, beautiful cour
I honestly picked this race because it was an easy drive from KC area. I did this race solo, not knowing a single soul. The race was very well supported!!! … MORE
I honestly picked this race because it was an easy drive from KC area. I did this race solo, not knowing a single soul. The race was very well supported!!! every 1 to 2 miles an aid station.. then after mile 8, every mile there was an aid station. oh Mile 10. I knew this was where the incline started… it was very gradual on a paved walking/bike path. Very scenic and beautiful.. the entire time. Mile 11.5 it got steadily steeper.. It got even more steeper. but at mile 12, i took the long stepping strides, head down,just too get thru. Mile 12.95.. done.. back on road and you could hear the finish. Definitely will do this race again!! Swag bag was loaded!! And you get a finisher hoodie along with finishers medal.
Power and swag
Great organization all throughout. Right from teasers for admission dates to post finish stations. There are good number of aid and water stations we barely felt any cause for concern … MORE
Great organization all throughout. Right from teasers for admission dates to post finish stations. There are good number of aid and water stations we barely felt any cause for concern during 25F temperature winter storm run. The entire run is so motivating with the crowd and their cheering and the funny posters all along the run. Definitely recommended and must run!!
Best Half Marathon Hands Down
Swag, crowd support and race organization is hands down the best you’ll encounter. The course is beautiful and challenging. That last hill will send test those legs - but it’s … MORE
Swag, crowd support and race organization is hands down the best you’ll encounter. The course is beautiful and challenging. That last hill will send test those legs – but it’s the best!
Beautiful showcase of the town's parks
Easy packet pickup, central location for the start/finish, lots of food at the end for the runners. Mostly flat course, with one steep hill right before the end. Surprisingly consistent … MORE
Easy packet pickup, central location for the start/finish, lots of food at the end for the runners. Mostly flat course, with one steep hill right before the end. Surprisingly consistent fans cheering from the side.