From there, runners follow the loop course in a clockwise direction along the river — nearly the entire course unfolds along either side of the Mississippi — leaving the park along Godfrey Road and then turning left onto West River Parkway.
The course takes runners northward along the parkway, following a largely flat route throughout most of the race, with a few rolling hills on the roads along the river.
After heading northward along West River Parkway for the first two and a half miles, runners turn onto the bridge at Lake Street and cross the river, and then turn south onto Mississippi River Boulevard, and head south along the eastern side of the river.
Runners stay on the road for the next six miles as it becomes Shepard Road, and then curves around the bend in the river and heads northeast toward the turnaround point of the race, which lies at about the mile 9 marker.
After they make the turn, runners then turn around and head back along the route they’ve just run all the way up to the Ford Parkway, where they cross back over the river to the finish line in Minnehaha Park.
