Scouting America Half Marathon

The Erie Shores Council has run this as a council fundraiser since 2009 and deliberately slots it a few weeks ahead of the fall marathon season in Toledo, which is how most of the field uses it. Around 175 runners finish the half in a typical recent year. Entry includes a pancake breakfast that the troops cook and serve after the finish.

The half is flat and takes in a wide slice of Bowling Green: downtown streets near the university, an industrial stretch, wooded bike path, a golf course neighborhood, and City Park. Nothing on the route is technical or steep, and the 3 hour course limit is the only real constraint on the back of the field.

Late August in northwest Ohio is often muggy at a 7:30 start, commonly in the 60s with high humidity. The bike path sections give some shade, but the open road miles heat up quickly once the sun clears the trees.