The Indiana Women’s Half-Marathon is finally ready for its Carmel debut.
The race, in its 12th year, was supposed to be held in Carmel in 2022, but race director Todd Oliver decided about three months before to cancel it because of three areas of construction along the course.
“The reason why we didn’t stage it was because we had told the ladies how great it was going to be moving to Carmel, and if we staged it we would not be able to showcase our full course because of the construction,” he said.
The Indiana Women’s Half-Marathon and 5K is set for 8 a.m. Oct. 21. The races will start and end at the gazebo next to Carmel City Hall.
“Our event is the only women’s half-marathon in the country that pays the top 20 (spots),” Oliver said. “The last time it was in full swing we had women from 37 states come in. We already have four ladies that have qualified for the Olympic Trials. They are coming because they know the competition is going to be good, and it’s a great opportunity from a cash purse perspective to make money.”
The purse is $4,000 with the winner earning $750.
The Carmel Road Racing Group acquired the event in 2014.
“We went through a complete rebrand and reimagining and by 2019 we had grown into the eighth-largest women’s half-marathon in the country,” Oliver said.
There were more than 2,500 participants in 2019.
Oliver said the COVID-19 pandemic struck the event hard in 2020 and 2021.
“We were bounced around Indianapolis and lost our hotel space,” Oliver said.
Oliver is expecting 1,500 runners this year. Oliver said he wants to see the numbers return to around 2,500 participants within a few years.
The course will travel through Meadowlark Park, Central Park, the Monon Greenway and Home Place.
“We’re going to showcase some neighborhoods that have never had a big-time running event come through,” Oliver said.
For more, visit indywomenshalfmarathon.com.
