“What makes most people comfortable is some sort of sense of nostalgia. I grew up in a small town, and I could count my friends on one hand, and I still live that way… When I can’t move my bones around a stage any more, you’ll find me living in a place that’s spread out and rural and spacious.” — Justin Timberlake
It probably sounds ridiculous to hear someone like JT singing the praises of small-town life, but I think he captures something we all feel when we think about places like these.
That’s what I think these races offer, the chance to feel that feeling — even if it’s just for a weekend, and even if you didn’t grow up in a small town yourself.
1) Seymour Half Marathon • Seymour, IN
What could be more of a small town race than a half in John Mellencamp’s hometown? That’s exactly what you get here, at a race that along flat and wide-open terrain with fields dotted only by houses and barns, the places Mellencamp wrote about in songs like “Small Town” and “Pink Houses.”
May • Race info & signup >>
2) Run for the Animals Half Marathon • Onancock, VA
You’re welcome to bring your four-legged friend(s) to join you at this race, which runs along the streets of this small town on the Chesapeake Bay on Virginia’s Eastern Shore and supports the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
April • Race info & signup >>
3) Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon • Waynesville, NC
If you’ve ever traveled to western North Carolina, you know what you’ll encounter here — lush, green, tree-covered mountains just beyond the wilderness of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the former of which is the most visited national park in America.
May • Race info & signup >>
4) Oak Barrel Half Marathon • Lynchburg, TN
This race, which runs through this beautiful, hilly small town in middle Tennessee, takes its name from the home and world headquarters of the Jack Daniels Distillery, where every bottle of its world-famous whiskey is made.
April • Race info & signup >>
5) Rumspringa Half Marathon • Adamstown, PA
On the edge of Amish country in southern Pennsylvania, this small town bills itself as the “Antiques Capital of the USA.” As the organizers describe it, “we do cater to a certain type of runner, one who does not need a glitzy expo, a shiny medal… rock bands or a celebrity telling them how awesome they are.”
April • Race info & signup >>
6) Chester County Half Marathon • Coatesville, PA
Set for its second annual running in this small southeastern Pennsylvania town, which lies less than an hour’s drive from Philadelphia, this race follows a loop route through the gorgeous, rolling horse country here.
May • Race info & signup >>
7) Steel Rail Half Marathon • Lanesborough, MA
Run along the gorgeous, tree-covered hills and woodlands of Berkshire County, this race starts in Lanesborough and finishes 13.1 miles later in nearby Adams. The trail’s 10-foot-wide path is paved and flat, and there are only three turns throughout the entire race.
May • Race info & signup >>
8) Wallis Sands Half Marathon • Rye, NH
Named for the state park where the course starts and finishes, this race takes runners and walkers on a tour of the oceanfront highways and the scenic country roads of this small town along the New Hampshire coast, home to just over 5,000 souls — including Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code.
May • Race info & signup >>
9) Brookings Half Marathon • Brookings, SD
The course for this springtime race captures the authentic feel of small-town South Dakota, including the architectural treasures of its turn-of-the-century homes, a bridge that runs over a creek, a trek through the town’s arboretum and gardens, and views of the tree-lined campus of South Dakota State University.
May • Race info & signup >>
10) New Paltz Challenge Half Marathon • New Paltz, NY
Run bright and early on Father’s Day, this race unfolds largely along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, a former railroad corridor that today is part of the Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail system and takes runners, walkers, bikers, joggers and cyclists through tree-shaded forests and wide-open farm fields.
June • Race info & signup >>
11) Texas Wine Series at Flat Creek Estate • Marble Falls, TX
Featuring a generous 5-hour time limit that welcomes both walkers and runners, this race unfolds through the rolling, scenic hills of the Texas Hill Country, the region in the southern part of the state near Austin, which lies along the Colorado River.
March • Race info & signup >>
12) Huckleberry Half Marathon • Welches, OR
Surrounded by the tree-covered slopes of the Cascades and Mount Hood off in the distance, this small and gorgeously scenic event is the picture-perfect example of a small-town race, run among the golf courses and moss-filled trees among the forests here in the Villages at Mount Hood.
August • Race info & signup >>
13) Octoberfest Half Marathon • Peru, NY
Timed to coincide with the peak viewing season for fall foliage in Upstate New York, at this race runners can expect to see every shade of red, gold and yellow on the apple trees and woodlands along the race route.
October • Race info & signup >>
13.1) Mesa Falls Half Marathon • Ashton, ID
The comforts and friendliness of this small Idaho earned this race its well-deserved raves as one of the nation’s best by the authors of “From Fairbanks to Boston, 50 Great U.S. Marathons.” Scenic and challenging, the race starts in the foothills of the Targhee National Forest and finishes in downtown Ashton.
August • Race info & signup >>
