Salina Crossroads Marathon
Salina, KS
- Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay, 10K, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Small Place. Big Race. Salina Crossroads Marathon is a Boston Qualifier, featuring a flat, fast and scenic route that takes you through the sights of Salina, KS. Registration will be available Friday afternoon, followed by live music and a race bib raffle. On “Race Day” Saturday:– There will be an … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Nov 07):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 70 | 60 | 75 | 60 | 76 |
| L (°F) | 40 | 44 | 43 | 40 | 49 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Highly recommend!
I signed up for this race and I think I only paid five dollars to run it! I was coming from Maryland as part of my 50 state journey, bundling … MORE
I signed up for this race and I think I only paid five dollars to run it! I was coming from Maryland as part of my 50 state journey, bundling it with Nebraska the same weekend. I’ve heard really good things from other runners the year before, so I was excited to go. Honestly, it was a great race! It’s a really small town feels a lot like where I come from it was well organized, and I got a PR! You can’t ask for more than that! I would absolutely consider coming back to Kansas to run this in the future.
Great race for Kansas
Registration was $20, so that was a huge motivator for me to come run this race. The town is a small Kansas town with small-town midwestern charm. The course is … MORE
Registration was $20, so that was a huge motivator for me to come run this race. The town is a small Kansas town with small-town midwestern charm. The course is two 13.1 mile loops with views of the local college and the Kansas State Trooper Police Academy. There are a couple hills, and the back half of the course had the worst wind I’ve experienced on a mainland course. There are a few aid stations that are well-stocked with pickle juice, coke, bananas and gels. The finish line had pizza, beer and pie 🙂
The medal was small, but adequate. The finisher’s t-shirt was very basic. BUT for $20 registration, I wasn’t expecting a high quality long sleeve tech shirt or a belt buckle sized medal.
The expo was small and in a local hotel, but did have some local vendors. I flew into Wichita and drove an hour in to Salina. Hotels were not over priced or expensive. The locals I met in town were all very nice and said, “Are you in town for the marathon?” and were genuinely interested in where I was from and what other marathons I’ve run.
Overall, a solid choice for Kansas and a good race. I would run it again if I’m in Kansas again.
Great surprise, especially for the price
Did this race as part of a back-to-back weekend with the Good Life Halfsy in Nebraska. Some downsides: Packet pickup was tiny with just a few vendors, so if you … MORE
Did this race as part of a back-to-back weekend with the Good Life Halfsy in Nebraska. Some downsides: Packet pickup was tiny with just a few vendors, so if you traveled and forget things you might be out of luck. I didn’t love the shirt I paid for as an add on to registration and they were out of most common sizes for the other merch by the time I got to packet pickup. I did order from an online store afterwards. Hotel situation was awful, so beware. I made a reservation in April for this November race…was called the at 6pm the night of checkin to be told that the suite with two beds I reserved was no longer available. I could have a double bed studio or nothing. We got to the hotel and just got the runaround and shrugs. Thankfully my friend managed to find us the last room at the Hampton Inn – an accessible room with a king bed. Hampton also gave us a 3pm checkout so we did not have to rush out…could take a shower, quick hot tub, etc. They also had a little breakfast grab-and-go display for runners. All that said, **go to the Hampton Inn Salina!** From the facebook group for the race, I was not the only one who had hotel issues.
Now, the many plusses: start line was easy parking. High energy DJs made the wait fun. It didn’t take too long to get across the start line. I am a back-of-the-pack person so once the fast folks thinned out, it was pleasant and peaceful. It’s a double loop so all aid stations were well stocked as we came through. I LOVED the self-service aid station tables…always some pretzels, chocolate, flat coke, and basic medical like band aids and vaseline. This was AWESOME! It turned out to be a windy day so they did have to spread aid stations out a bit. Course had a few hills (which they celebrate with pride!) It was a good finish. Not many people cheering on the course, but I was running with a friend so that was helpful. Might have gotten bored by myself.
Post race food was awesome! I had the chocolate pie, slices of breakfast pizza, and sliders from a local historic restaurant. We were there at a point where they were encouraging us to take what we wanted. I was happy and satisfied as I walked to the car. There was a good band at the finish line too. Beautiful heavy medal in the shape of Kansas which is great for a 50-state person like me. Was pleasantly surprised by this race! Would welcome the chance to do it again.
Huge race, awesome community
The course itself is pretty easy, and this year it was all paved. I love the sense of community and all the spectators who make it special! After the race, … MORE
The course itself is pretty easy, and this year it was all paved. I love the sense of community and all the spectators who make it special! After the race, there’s pie, burgers from the famous Cozy Burgers, and breakfast pizza.
Excellent small town race with a big hea
This race is a hidden gem; if you need KS for your 50 state goal, come to Salinas. This was my 4th time running in KS but my first time … MORE
This race is a hidden gem; if you need KS for your 50 state goal, come to Salinas. This was my 4th time running in KS but my first time in Salinas. The small town has a lot of art / murals downtown to explore and the town does an amazing job putting this race on. I am so glad I came to pace this race. I was the 5:00 pacer and I found the course to be well marked. It was a two loop course. The only con is that they had a crazy windy day but we can’t control the weather. There were so many extra touches that went into this race, pacers for one, complementary race photos are such a nice touch, free dinner/devotional the night before the race, and post race massages, truly so many little extras, you can tell it is a race put on for runners by runners, great job guys. I would recommend it highly to anyone looking for a small town race in KS.
Best bang for your buck
Registration varied between $0-20 in 2025. Best afterparty I've had. Beer, pizza, sliders, cheesecake, massage. Easy deferral process. Lots of email communication. Tons of volunteers. Hills and 20mph wind made … MORE
Registration varied between $0-20 in 2025. Best afterparty I’ve had. Beer, pizza, sliders, cheesecake, massage. Easy deferral process. Lots of email communication. Tons of volunteers. Hills and 20mph wind made it more difficult than a flat race, but I still PR’d. My pacer was a global pacer with tons of energy, helpful tips, and let us know the game plan of starting slow 5k, then picking it up, and using feel for the windy and hilly sections.
Great Marathon if You are on a budget!
The aid stations were great and packet pickup was wonderful! The cost for me to sign up was only $15.00, so that really is what drove me to sign up … MORE
The aid stations were great and packet pickup was wonderful! The cost for me to sign up was only $15.00, so that really is what drove me to sign up for this race. The biggest disappointment for me was that there was no live tracking. Every race I have been involved in has had live tracking and with the number of participants, I feel like this is a must have.
The only other thing that I realized after the fact: I don’t really recall seeing anyone along the course designated as medical assistance. I saw a couple of ambulances, but other than that, I didn’t see any other designated medical personnel around the course.
No place like Kansas (surprisingly)
In its 4th year of existence, the Salina Crossroads Half marathon is definitely working to become a standout race. The city support is commendable, aid stations include the extras, the … MORE
In its 4th year of existence, the Salina Crossroads Half marathon is definitely working to become a standout race. The city support is commendable, aid stations include the extras, the course itself is scenic enough to not get bored and the finish line is an assortment of goodies. Aside from the long lines as the same-day packet pickup, the Salinas Crossroads half marathon is one to keep an eye on.
Through various grants and corporate sponsorships in an obvious effort to boast tourism, extremely low race fees have made this a fast-growing race. On the early 3-hour drive to the race, I questioned how the race would be given the low race fees. I was amazed at the easy drive in, plentiful street parking (we admittedly scooped up a prime spot as another car was leaving) and well-organized structure. Salinas offers same-day packet pick-up and registration, but I will not be surprised if it goes away as the race grows. If it remains, I highly suggest more volunteers. Lines stretched across the community center’s gym floor as volunteers assigned individual bibs.
The long lines, not my tendency to be tardy, caused us to rush to the start corrals and scramble a bit to get in place. Thanks to the spacious 4-lane street, it was easy to weave through the crowd and find our spot. Full marathon, half marathons and 10k runners all started at the same time. Although we found our pace group, or close enough, not all runners did. Normally this would cause issues, but since the course is spacious, there was not a lot of bobbing and weaving at the start. My running partner and I stuck to the left curb and stayed steady.
Due to high winds, Salina announced online that they had to adjust the location of the aid stations for volunteer safety. As such, the stations were not the typical every two miles, which threw me off a bit. Let my mistake of not checking all race announcements serve as your warning: read the website announcements. Now, what are the aid station extras? EVERY aid station had pickle juice (the GOOD kind), pretzels and gel. They are probably geared for the full marathoner’s second lap but were available to all. I greatly appreciated the pickle juice.
I’d have to check the elevation charts for the overall gain, but there were only two major hills. The start is a generous gradual downhill with occasional uphill, but nothing too complicated or strenuous. One of the hills goes on for a bit, but runners are rewarded with a peaceful view of overlooking the city with a bagpipe band to the right side. The strong winds were harder to contend with as we turned into the later miles. I should note that the course is mainly concrete. This was part of a back-to-back half weekend for me, so I can’t fully remember if there were patches of asphalt, but I did take advantage of those when possible.
I, miraculously, beat my running partner for 40 seconds. This was the first time I was able to go back for him, and I was so happy to do so, because he has done it so many times for me and others. As we exited the finish chute with our Kansas-shaped medals, we were able to celebrate with beer, mini-burgers, breakfast pizza, and pie slices with a live band on the small stage.
I am cautious to hype of this race up too much, for fear of misleading runners, as this recently happened to me (review: Good Life Halfsy). Yet, for only being in existence four years, Salina Crossroad is on the right track. They have the city’s support, local business sponsors, accommodating to runners, and a decent course. If I did not have a race the next day, I would have liked to explore this small quaint town a little more. Looks like I will have to sign-up again in the future.
Very well organized
If you are looking for a really good Kansas marathon, here it is. A mostly flat, a few hills, double loop around the City of Salina. One of the best … MORE
If you are looking for a really good Kansas marathon, here it is. A mostly flat, a few hills, double loop around the City of Salina. One of the best run marathons i have run. Plenty of aid stations, fully stocked with water, Gatorade, GU, bananas. Plenty of very happy volunteers. Met 2 of the race directors, who could not have been more welcoming and motivated to run a great event! Local residents were out cheering the runners. There are a few farm only areas, so music and headphones recommended. A nice after party with live music, free pizza, sliders, cheesecake, chocolate cake, and beer. Plenty of good local restaurants to eat at during your visit. Only negative for me was the wind, race day it was 24-30 mph.
Great fun to be had all day long!
The fall colors all throughout the course was magnificent! It was lovely running through the town and parks...always something to catch your eye. That pie at the finish...muah! Delish! … MORE
The fall colors all throughout the course was magnificent! It was lovely running through the town and parks…always something to catch your eye. That pie at the finish…muah! Delish!
Still punches above its weight class
This is a great little "small town" race. Salina is around 50k people but it has a nice cozy vibe to it that almost contradicts the great variety of food … MORE
This is a great little “small town” race. Salina is around 50k people but it has a nice cozy vibe to it that almost contradicts the great variety of food available. The racecourse takes you quite a bit of a ways out from “downtown” but the finish line festivities give you a view of quite a number of places to explore. Speaking of finish line festivities, lots of food options from local vendors from pizza to sliders to pies, beer, craft cocktails and wine.
The half marathon is one loop, the full is two, and the 5 and 10k are out and backs along the first part of the course. For a detailed look at the course beyond “pretty much flat except for one steep hill and one long one”, check my prior year’s review. It is a fast course though, despite all the concrete, and if I hadn’t been dealing with an overuse injury (big surprise to nobody who knows me) then the nicer weather than last year might have made it PR-able. Crowd support was great at the aid stations, and while there’s not a lot of fans along the course, the locals you meet passing by were all generous with their cheers. Several times cars honked in support driving by us.
The swag was a nice tech shirt and a really heavy medal that was nicely designed with the state outline and race logo in a super shiny bold. It looks worthy of an anniversary year medal even though I know it wasn’t. The DJ at the start kept the energy high, which is something I’ve seen lacking a lot lately, so I do want to point that out.
I wish I’d had more time at the end to hang out and enjoy the festivities but unfortunately there was a long trip to the next day’s race. Looking forward to doing this one again soon.
Not my Best...Not My Worst
Being from Central Kansas, we don’t exactly have an abundance of hills—unless you count overpasses and driveway slopes. So tackling the never-ending hill of doom was already an adventure. Getting … MORE
Being from Central Kansas, we don’t exactly have an abundance of hills—unless you count overpasses and driveway slopes. So tackling the never-ending hill of doom was already an adventure. Getting passed halfway up by a guy in a dinosaur costume? That was the comedic relief I didn’t know I needed.
All jokes aside, this race was incredibly well organized and had amazing community support. I’d absolutely do it again—preferably after a little more hill training (and maybe with my own dinosaur costume for moral support)! 🦖🏃♀️
Well organized
Double loop, which I normally don’t like but I was fine with this one. This is my 20th marathon but 19th state. For a small city they had ample volunteers … MORE
Double loop, which I normally don’t like but I was fine with this one. This is my 20th marathon but 19th state. For a small city they had ample volunteers and well marked course. The aids station were well stocked even on the 2nd loop. Cute little downtown and a great Italian restaurant for night before race,martinelli’s. Highly recommend especially for first timers, they did it right
Very nice race
Organisation was great, beautiful scenery. Most of race was flat! It is fun and enjoyable race. The weather was good but I heard it can fluctuate from year to year. … MORE
Organisation was great, beautiful scenery. Most of race was flat! It is fun and enjoyable race. The weather was good but I heard it can fluctuate from year to year. Loved the music and the crowds!
Small town race Big Time Charm
This town puts its best foot forward for this race. Great race from packet pickup to post race. The marathon is a double loop course that runs down the main … MORE
This town puts its best foot forward for this race. Great race from packet pickup to post race. The marathon is a double loop course that runs down the main street to a local college, through 3 local parks and finishes right downtown. Great medal, great post race party with a band, craft beer, breakfast pizza, sliders and ice cream pie and more. Would put this at the top of the list of Kansas races if you are looking to get this state checked off.
Super fun race
Incredibly well ran. This race wants the best for the runners and makes it almost difficult to not be catered to. Everything was easy to navigate. Race pick up, morning … MORE
Incredibly well ran. This race wants the best for the runners and makes it almost difficult to not be catered to. Everything was easy to navigate. Race pick up, morning of, post race all easy. The aid stations were incredible. They had everything someone would have needed. The course itself is fairly easy but miles 7-8 and then 19-20 of the full do have some hills. One particular hill is brutal BUT it just added to the crazy and fun. After that there are some rollers but they either give a good reprieve from running or change up the terrain to give the legs a rest. Other than those 2 miles (or 4) it is incredibly flat. The running terrain is good and there are only a few spots that there is brick you’re running on. It was not difficult to find flat spots to run.
Just awesome vibes
It’s just awesome vibes run and nice weather and nice course. Race communications via email was really good, bib pickup expo was awesome too. MORE
It’s just awesome vibes run and nice weather and nice course. Race communications via email was really good, bib pickup expo was awesome too.
I loved this marathon!
This was such a well run race. I did not know what to expect with a $20 entry fee but it was FANTASTIC. Course was really great all through downtown … MORE
This was such a well run race. I did not know what to expect with a $20 entry fee but it was FANTASTIC. Course was really great all through downtown Salina and around. Lots of support/people much of the course. The wind made today tougher than usual for me but all in all it was really fun and I will be back.
Add this to your Kansas list!
Really great race. Extremely affordable, well organized. Perfect size of about ~5000 runners - room to breathe but never felt like I was alone. Some rolling inclines here and there … MORE
Really great race. Extremely affordable, well organized. Perfect size of about ~5000 runners – room to breathe but never felt like I was alone. Some rolling inclines here and there and one steep hill mid-race. I was able to walk to the start/finish (LOVE when they are in the same spot!), but seemed like parking was available close by. Getting a shirt was nice to have as an optional add-on or pass if you don’t need one. Great aid stations with anything you could need.
Special highlights were the cheesecake/pie after! Assuming it was from a local spot – so good. The other big win was a local yoga studio offered instructor-led post race stretching and provided mats/props etc. – this was SO nice to have and such a great idea – beautiful studio too! Highly recommend especially if you’re on your 50 states quest! The town is also cute and had a lot of great spots to hit up for post race food
Well put on event!
The finisher festival food was fantastic! Pies, sliders, and breakfast pizza. Beer if you wanted to wait in yhd lonv line. Small town and definitely not the most scenic race! … MORE
The finisher festival food was fantastic! Pies, sliders, and breakfast pizza. Beer if you wanted to wait in yhd lonv line. Small town and definitely not the most scenic race! Fairly flat, one small hill. Still glad we did it!