NEW COURSE! The Ashland Half Marathon – 13.1 miles through historic Ashland town streets and rolling country side roads with a loop through the Hopkinton State Park during the peak fall foliage season in Massachusetts. The race will start and finish at the original starting line of the Boston Marathon beginning with a loop along with the 5 Mile race participants. As the 5 mile participants finish, the Half Marathoners will break off for an eight mile route through scenic country roads with rolling hills on route to the Hopkinton State Park. The Half Marathoners will run a loop through the park with beautiful views as they cross the Hopkinton Reservoir on a dirt trail section before exiting the park and returning to Marathon Park with a fast downhill finish in the final half mile.
NEW DISTANCE! The Ashland 5 Miler – the beginning of all races will include a 5 Mile loop course starting with a two mile flat section passing through downtown Ashland and along the Sudbury River. At mile two, participants are challenged with the Green Street hill. The final two miles will be fast as runners enjoy a long and gentle downhill grade on Winter Street before returning to the Marathon Park finish on Pleasant Street.
RUN WITH A FRIEND! Two-Person Half Marathon Team Relay – want to run the Half Marathon with a friend or family member as a Team? New in 2017 will be a Half Marathon Two-Person Team Relay competition with a 5 mile and 8.1 mile leg. The first leg will include the five mile race course with an exchange zone just before the High Street hill at Gryncel Park. After passing the “relay baton” to your teammate, leg to will continue on with the Half Marathon participants for the final 8.1 miles with a loop through the Hopkinton State Park and back to the finish at Marathon Park.
NEW RACE DIRECTOR! Michael McGrane joins the Ashland Sporting Association as the new Race Director for the 2017 Ashland Half Marathon and 5 Mile races. Michael lives in Ashland and is an accomplished distance runner having qualified and finished the Boston Marathon every year since 2001. As the new Race Director, Michael hopes to bring his expertise in the running industry to support the Ashland Sporting Association community races year round.
Race bib number and packet pick-up will be at the VFW located at 311 Pleasant Street, Ashland.
Friday, October 27th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
(lower level at the back parking lot entrance)
Saturday, October 28th from 8:00 to 9:45 a.m.
(front entrance on the first level of the VFW)
Race Start: 10 a.m. – Half Marathon, 5 Miler and Two-Person Half Marathon Team Relay will start simultaneously at Marathon Park. The Half Marathon course will be open for 3 hours.
Post-race party: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. – post-race lunch and beverages provided to all participants and family fun activities for kids
Awards: Top 3 Overall Male and Female in the Half Marathon will be presented with special Ashland Half Marathon awards approximately at 1 pm. The Top 3 finishers in each age group will receive awards in the mail post-event. The Top 3 Overall Male and Female in the 5 Mile race will receive awards in the mail post-event. Awards for the Team Relay will be 1st place teams in the following categories: male, female, co-ed, and the top Ashland resident team.
Amenities:
Half Marathon, Team Relay and 5 Mile race participants will all receive a winter running beanie, a finisher medal, refreshments, and post-race lunch.
Results:
Finisher results and age group placing will be available on the race website post-event and on Coolrunning.com. The results will be chip-timed with the overall and age group awards measured by gun-time.
Course:
The new Half Marathon and 5 Mile Race courses will be wheel-measured for accuracy. Course maps will be announced soon!
Hydration & Energy Stations:
The Half Marathon will have at least six hydration stations along the course with water and Gatorade available and one Energy Gel station on the course located in the Hopkinton State Park at approximately the 8 mile mark. The 5 Mile race will have one hydration station located just after 3 miles and at the finish line.