Corvallis Half Marathon 5k & 1k

Runners (and walkers — the race is open to both) follow an out-and-back loop course for the half marathon that starts and finishes on the Oregon State University campus, near Reser Stadium, the home field of the OSU Beavers of the Pac-10 NCAA football conference.

From there, runners then head out on a tour around the southeastern corner of the campus, and then head east along Campus Way all the way through the heart of the OSU campus.

The course exits campus with a right turn off Campus Way onto 26th Street where runners continue north until turning onto 27th Street and reaching Walnut Boulevard. Runners then follow Walnut Boulevard west and then south for the next several miles as they tackle the first big hill of the course.

The second big hill comes just after exiting Walnut Boulevard, as runners make a right turn onto Oak Creek Drive toward Bald Hill Natural Area, a 284-acre park that’s a favorite of locals for its gravel and dirt trails that take walkers, hikers and runners from the base of the hill all the way to the top.

After heading into the Bald Hill Natural Area, runners turn right at the base of the hill and follow the winding path through the park all the way northward to Oak Creek Drive, and they make their way along the first of the race’s two big uphill stretches as they head through Bald Hill. The incline, thankfully, is a gradual one, rising about 100 feet in elevation over the course of the mile through the park area. Along the way, the trails pass through a number of wooded areas and wide-open prairies, where plentiful wildflowers bloom in the spring.

Next, runners turn onto the multi-use path leading out of Bald Hill, eventually merging with Campus Way, after which it begins the long straightaway stretch back down toward the OSU campus for the race finish.