Heart of America Marathon

Today’s race brought together three people who represent a pretty incredible part of the HOA story:

🏅 Andy Emerson — 23 consecutive Heart of America Marathons (consecutive record is 25)

🏅 Mary Ellen Bradshaw — 22 consecutive Heart of America Marathons, the longest consecutive streak by a female runner

🏅 Joe Duncan — Heart of America Race Director from 1970–2016. Joe is recognized as one of the longest-serving race directors in road racing history and was also a co-founder of the Columbia Track Club, which eventually took over stewardship of the race. He also ran the race 12 times and finished 9 times!

From running the race to directing it to helping keep this Labor Day tradition alive, these three represent decades of Heart of America history. And apparently, none of us have learned when to quit.

Here’s to the past, the present, and hopefully many more miles of HOA history to come!

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ CONGRATULATIONS, HEART OF AMERICA RUNNERS! ❤️🇺🇸

What a day! Congratulations to every marathoner and relay runner who took on the Heart of America Marathon & Fun Team Relay today! 🎉 You showed up, toughed out the heat and humidity, and got it done!

Here are a few photos as a sneak peek at the hundreds of amazing photos captured by Mile 90 Photography.

We’ll share the link to the Mile 90 website as soon as all the photos are ready. Trust us—you’re going to want to check them out! They take amazing photos!

And a HUGE THANK YOU to our incredible volunteers who spent their day making sure runners were supported from start to finish. ❤️ We also can’t thank the police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other emergency personnel enough for helping keep everyone safe out on the course. Your support makes this race possible!

Thank you to everyone who helped make another Heart of America Marathon a success.
Congratulations, runners—and THANK YOU, volunteers and support crews! 🏅❤️🎉

GOOD MORNING, HOA RUNNERS!

Good luck, stay hydrated, and have a great race! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️❤️

See you at the finish line! 🎉

🚨 IMPORTANT COURSE RESTROOM UPDATE! 🚨

We have a couple of updates regarding restrooms on the Heart of America Marathon & Relay course. 🚻🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

📍 Mile 3.8 Relay Exchange / Aid Station
The porta-potty is actually located at approximately Mile 4.0 at Rock Bridge Elementary School. You should be able to see it from the aid station.

📍 Mile 7 – Route K / Old Plank Road Turnoff
There is NO porta-potty at this location. If it's an emergency, you may be able to use the Break Time at the roundabout, just before Mile 7.

🗺️ We’ve also updated the a Google Map with the restroom information and other course updates.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1NhyGrv7Con_-JRKDgcCwT51ptUNRwWY&usp=sharing

👉 Check the updated map before race morning!

We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. We want everyone to have the most accurate information possible before you hit the course.

Now you know where to go when you need to GO. 😂🚽

See you at the start! ❤️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Columbia Track Club

www.google.com

🚨 WELL… THIS IS IT. 🚨

HEART OF AMERICA MARATHON AND RELAY IS TOMORROW! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

The course is marked.
The aid stations are coming together.
The volunteers are ready.
The spreadsheets have multiplied.
And somewhere out there, someone is realizing they probably should have trained more. 😂

And because it wouldn’t be Heart of America without some classic HOA weather…

🌡️ 6:00 AM: 70°
💦 Humidity: 81%
☀️ By noon: 83°

Yep. Typical HOA weather. Because apparently Labor Day isn’t complete unless you sweat through your clothes before noon. 🥵😂

At this point, there’s nothing left to do but show up and run 26.2 miles!

Whether you’re running the marathon, tackling it with a relay team, volunteering, cheering, or just wondering why your friend thought signing up for this was a good idea…

WE’LL SEE YOU TOMORROW! ❤️

Get some sleep. Hydrate. Lay out your clothes. Find your bib.

And for the love of all things running… DON’T FORGET YOUR SHOES. 👟😂

🏃‍♀️ 26.2 miles
☀️ Labor Day
❤️ Heart of America
💦 81% humidity
🤪 What could possibly go wrong?

Let’s make it another great Labor Day tradition!

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ HOA MARATHON & RELAY — PACKET PICKUP & RACE DAY INFO! ❤️🇺🇸

Race day is almost here! 🎉 Be sure to check out the HOA Runner Instructions & Map and the Map / Aid Stations / Relay / Restrooms guide on our website—or check your email for all the details.

📍 PACKET PICKUP — SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
🕑 2:00–5:00 p.m.

📌 Boone County History & Culture Center
3801 Ponderosa St., Columbia, MO

🚗 SUNDAY PARKING
You may park in the History Center parking lot for packet pickup.

⭐ We strongly encourage everyone to pick up their packet on Sunday! It will make race morning quicker and smoother for everyone.

👥 RELAY TEAMS
Only ONE member of each relay team should pick up the team packet. That person can distribute the packet materials to the rest of the team.

👕 SHIRT REMINDER
Shirt sizes cannot be changed at packet pickup. If we have extra shirts after the race, we may be able to accommodate exchanges.

🚨 RACE DAY PARKING — PLEASE READ!
There is NO parking at the History Center on race day.

🚫 Please DO NOT park at the dispensary next to Nifong Park.

Runner and spectator parking will be at:
📍 Business Park
4230 Philips Farm Road, Columbia, MO
The Business Park is approximately 0.25 miles south of the start line, so allow enough time to park and walk to the start.

A shuttle will run from the following locations to the start area from 5:00-5:45 a.m.:
• TownePlace Suites (Host Hotel)
• Business Park parking lot

🌅 RACE-DAY PACKET PICKUP
5:00–5:30 a.m. at the Boone County History & Culture Center.

❤️ Get your packet Sunday, know where you're parking, and come ready to RUN THE HEART OF AMERICA ON LABOR DAY! 🇺🇸
See you at the start line! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🎉

📧 HOA RUNNER INFORMATION HAS BEEN EMAILED! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

We’ve sent Runner Instructions, Maps & Packet Pickup information to all HOA Marathon & Relay participants.

📋 Runner Instructions
🗺️ Course & Race Maps
📍 Packet Pickup Details
🚗 Race Day Parking Information
⏱️ Other important race-day details

Relay Team members: We also sent a separate email with important relay-specific information, including packet pickup, race belt/timing chip instructions, providing your own transportation, and relay legs.

📬 Please check your email! If you don’t see it, be sure to check your spam or junk folder.

With race day just around the corner, please take a few minutes to read through the information and make a plan before race morning.

❤️🇺🇸 The Heart of America is almost here! See you on Labor Day! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🏃‍♀️🇺🇸 50 States Strong! 🇺🇸🏃‍♂️

In 2023, we finally reached a huge milestone for the Heart of America Marathon — we could officially say that, over the years, we had welcomed runners from all 50 states after a runner from North Dakota (ND) joined us!

This year, we’re excited to see runners representing 16 states in the marathon:

📍 AR, AZ, CO, FL, IA, IL, KS, KY, MD, MN, MO, NE, PA, TX, UT & WA

And our relay teams are bringing together runners from 10 states:

📍 AL, CO, IA, IL, KS, MN, MO, NE, TX & WI

We love seeing how far the Heart of America Marathon family reaches! ❤️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️

Thank you to every runner who has traveled near and far to be part of race day. Here’s to many more miles, many more states, and many more Heart of America memories! 🇺🇸🎉

Did you know the first Heart of America Marathon was held on September 5, 1960?

Yep—Labor Day, just like today. Some traditions apparently refuse to die although it was moved to October for a few years and then back to Labor Day.

Here are a few fun facts from that very first race:

🏃 Five runners officially started the race after the local boxing club, which had issued the original challenge, failed to show up.

🥵 Only two of those five runners actually finished the grueling trek from Columbia to Fulton.

The inaugural race was organized and promoted by Bill Clark, Director of Recreation for the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department, working with the Columbia Athletic Club.

Later, Clark and co-founder Joe Duncan helped lead the newly formed Columbia Track Club, and beginning with the 1969 racing schedule, stewardship of the Heart of America Marathon officially moved under the CTC banner.

❤️🏃 66 years later, the Heart of America Marathon & Team Relay is still going strong!

🏛️ MAKE YOUR RACE DAY A LITTLE MORE HISTORICAL

While you're out exploring Boone County during the marathon or relay, take a break from watching runners suffer—I mean, celebrating their accomplishments—and check out some local history!

The Boone County History & Culture Center main building will be open to explore the exhibits. And yes… it's air conditioned. ❄️

At some point during a marathon, those two features become very important pieces of local history.

Come run. Come cheer. Come explore. Come learn a little Boone County history while you're here.

❤️ Heart of America Marathon & Team Relay
📅 Labor Day
🏃 A Columbia tradition since 1960