The 500 Festival Mini-Marathon (also known as the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon for sponsorship reasons[1]) is an annual roadhalf marathon usually held the first Saturday in May in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
The race began in 1977 and became an official 500 Festival event in 1979. The 13.109-mile (21.097 km) course currently starts in downtown Indianapolis, then heads west toward Speedway. It features a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then returns to finish in the downtown area. From 1977 to 1992, the race was held the Friday before the Indianapolis 500. Starting in 1993, the race was moved to early May, the Saturday three weeks before the race, with rare exceptions. From 1994 to 2004, it was known as the Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.
The race regularly attracts runners and spectators from all 50 states and several countries. It includes a men's and women's running division, as well as men's and women's wheelchair entries. The Delta Dental 500 Festival 5K, a shorter version of the Mini utilizing the same start and finish lines, runs the same day. Runner's World named it among the "Most Iconic American Races" and in 2023, a USA Today readers' choice contest named it the nation's best half marathon.[1]
In 2020, the race was cancelled for the first time in its history, due to the coronavirus pandemic.[2] Entrants from this year's were given invitations to the 2021 race.
Selected history
2008
The race resulted in the closest finish ever in the history of the event: a tie.[3] Two Kenyan runners, Lamech Mokono and Valentine Orare, were declared co-winners, extending the streak of Kenyan victories to 13. In the women's race, Janet Cherobon successfully defended her title. Tony Íñiguez became a three-time champ in the wheelchair division.
2011
The 2011 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon took place Saturday May 7, 2011. A pair of newcomers brought home the men's and women's titles in the 2011 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis. Moroccan Ridouane Harroufi took the men's race, winning in 1:02.45, while Everlyne Lagat of Kenya captured the women's race with a time of 1:11:29, snapping the four-year win streak of fellow Kenyan Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, who took second. Adam Bleakney of Champaign, Ill., took advantage of the ideal conditions to win the wheelchair race with a blistering time of 49.18. The 2006 winner of the same race, Bleakney, a member of the 2008 U.S. Paralympics teams, was competing in Indianapolis for the first time since his previous win.
Runners at the 2 mile mark in the 2024 500 Festival Mini-Marathon
2022
In 2022 the Mini also hosted the USATF Half Marathon championships. The championship was announced a little over a month before the race and was met with heavy criticism directed toward USATF over the timing and planning of the event.[4]
