The Blazing Marathon

The Blazing Marathon is a new, fast and low-cost marathon in Des Moines, Iowa, with its first edition on Sunday, October 3, 2027. It is built for runners at the front of Midwest racing and grows out of The Blazing 5k weekend at Water Works Park, which Blazing Race Productions already organizes. Runners start from the SW Shelter at Water Works Park and cover the distance on a loop of roughly 1.7 miles, with 15 or more lead-in loops of the main loop. Men's and women's bottle service sit on opposite sides of the road, so every runner can pick up a bottle each lap, and all runners are eligible for it. Entry is not invite only, but runners submit a recent result that meets the event standard: a 3:00 marathon or 1:25 half marathon for the Women's Elite and Open fields, or a 2:30 marathon or 1:12:30 half marathon for the Men's Elite field. The Women's Elite and Open marathons start at 6:45 AM and the Men's Elite marathon starts at 7:06 AM. The first 8 men to run 2:16 and the first 8 women to run 2:37 each earn a $100 bonus toward travel costs. The organizers say they are working to have the course certified and sanctioned.