Welcome Veterans and Runners! The Bird Family is proud to continue the tradition of the Veterans Marathon, a superb event honoring our nation’s Veterans and Local Heroes. Located in the heart of northeast Indiana, Columbia City is a small-town community with true Hoosier values. It’s a community rooted in its …
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Welcome Veterans and Runners! The Bird Family is proud to continue the tradition of the Veterans Marathon, a superb event honoring our nation’s Veterans and Local Heroes.
Located in the heart of northeast Indiana, Columbia City is a small-town community with true Hoosier values. It’s a community rooted in its agricultural heritage, strengthened by its commercial and residential development, and proud of its hometown heroes.
In honor of those servicemen and servicewomen throughout nation, we present the annual Veterans Marathon, Half-Marathon and Heroes 5K this November. Located in Northeast Indiana, we can promise that flags will be waving at the start, a gently rolling countryside course, and a race experience you will always remember.
Only 20 miles west of Fort Wayne on US Highway 30, Columbia City is easy to find, easy to get to, easy to appreciate, and easy to enjoy. We can’t promise the race is easy to run, but we can promise that you’ll have fun.
Come experience the challenge and excitement of running the Veterans Marathon, Half-Marathon or 5K and do so in honor of America’s veterans. You’ll be glad you did.
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Same race as before. Always good
Race has choice of full marathon, half marathon or 5k. Marathon is twice around half marathon course. Honors and raises money for veterans causes. Sponsorship has changed hands a couple … MORE
Race has choice of full marathon, half marathon or 5k. Marathon is twice around half marathon course.
Honors and raises money for veterans causes.
Sponsorship has changed hands a couple of times in the last couple of years but is still run with no issues.
Course is 90 per cent in the country side of northern Indiana. If you like rural scenes and cornfields this if the course for you.
Very rolling hills. Great workout. Weather wasn’t the greatest this year. Rain / snow mix with 25 mph winds at the start but cleared up later in the day. But winds didn’t die down. Made climbing the hills into the wind very challenging.
So pretty much the same race as previous years. Not a bad thing because the course is challenging and it is run very well.
So if you are looking for a marathon or half marathon to run after the majors this is a good choice.
One of my favorite parts of the whole thing is that it is in a small town. Parked a block from the start and walked to the start 5 minutes before the start. 300 total participants.
Hopefully will continue as is for years to come.
Good race for end of year
Did the half marathon. Had done the full in 2011 and 2012 but the course has changed since then so was pretty much a new experience. Small run in small … MORE
Did the half marathon. Had done the full in 2011 and 2012 but the course has changed since then so was pretty much a new experience.
Small run in small city – Columbia City about 20 miles west of Ft Wayne.
The course is a half marathon loop with the full marathoners going It twice.
Package pickup was easy the morning of the race. No crowds. Parking was great. About a half block from the start finish line.
Probably about 150 to 200 people in both the full and half marathon. Don’t know how many more started later in the 5k.
It was a cold windy morning but thanks to parking so close was able to stay in the car until about 10 minutes until start time.
Started right on time. Which was nice considering the weather.
The course is deceivingly hilly for northern Indiana. Lots of rolling hills and a few steep climbs.
Most of the course is thru rural areas and farms so not much scenery.
Plenty of water stops and the volunteers were great.
Swag – nice long sleeve running shirt and a pair of socks. Also small medal if you care about a medal for completing a half.
Summary – a small but very well run year end half or full for those looking to get a good run in before winter weather sets in.
Pretty much what you'd expect
After a process of elimination, I decided to run this race. I needed a marathon in mid-November and it had to be driving distance from Chicago. Since the marathon season … MORE
After a process of elimination, I decided to run this race. I needed a marathon in mid-November and it had to be driving distance from Chicago. Since the marathon season dies in early November in the midwest, I didn’t have many options.
Between the 13.1 and 26.2 mile distances, there were about 450 runners. The course is a 13.1 mile circuit through Columbia City and its surrounding farms, with marathoners running it twice. Aid stations were appropriately spaced and full of friendly volunteers. The medal is a small cutout of Indiana with the name printed on it and all runners got a navy blue long-sleeve tech shirt and a pair of Brooks gloves (a surprise).
It was exactly what I expected from a tiny race in the middle of nowhere. It was somewhat hilly, there were no crowds, but it was well organized and the locals were very friendly. Given the absence of other options in mid-November, if you’re aching to race (as I was), and are relatively close to Fort Wayne (the closest “city”), by all means, join the denizens of Columbia City and salute the troops.
Otherwise, opt instead for Indianapolis Monumental the week before.
Nice weather and scenery
For my first race I wasn't sure what to expect... stopped running for a couple of years and now back in the swing of things. More hills than I had … MORE
For my first race I wasn’t sure what to expect… stopped running for a couple of years and now back in the swing of things. More hills than I had expected in Indiana, training differently now and know to do more research about the course before a race.