Like the full, 26.2-mile marathon, the 13.1-mile half marathon begins in downtown Richmond at the corner of 7th Street and Broad Street, and follows Broad Street northwest for a long straightaway for the first two and a half miles of the race.
Once they reach the intersection with Boulevard, runners then turn right and head north, for a stretch that takes runners past the Avenue of Champions and the Diamond, and then back onto Boulevard, which becomes Hermitage Road.
Once they’re on Hermitage, runners then follow the course as its winds northward for the portion of the race that runs on the loop roads around Joseph Bryan Park, a 262-acre public park on the northern side of the city that is home to hardwood forests as well as plenty of ponds, streams, an azalea garden and grassy, wide-open fields and recreation areas.
Runners then return to Bellevue as its winds its way along Pope Avenue and then turns onto Fauquier and begins its long stretch southward back toward the finish.
After the run around the park, the race course becomes a stretch through the tree-lined residential neighborhoods along Pope and Fauquier Avenues. The stretch along Fauquier then turns onto Brock Road, which takes runners southward all the way toward the campus of Virginia Union University, where runners cross through and then head onto Lombardy Street.
As Lombardy turns onto Grace, the last couple of miles of the race take runners home toward the finish at the corner of 9th and Cary Streets.
The race is run on paved surfaces for the entire course, and runners should expect a mostly flat and fast course with only a few rolling hills — as race organizers add, the race is considered an excellent one for first-time marathoners as well as first-time half-marathoners.
