Cocoa Women's Half Marathon

Runners will follow an out-and-back route for the half marathon, which (like the 5K and the one-mile fun run) will start and finish near Hemisfair Park and the Henry Gonzales Convention Center, between Villita Street and Nueva Street, just blocks from the city’s famed RiverWalk. More than 900 runners crossed the finish line in both races combined in 2016, including just over 600 runners in the half marathon.

From there, the course unfolds first along several twists and turns through downtown, taking runners past historic spots like Main Plaza and La Villita, the heart of San Antonio’s arts and cultural district. The course takes runners across bridges over the San Antonio River several times during the race, twice within the first mile.

The next few miles take runners through Hemisfair Park, which was built to host the 1968 World’s Fair and today is home to the city’s Institute of Texan Cultures as well as the Instituto Cultural Mexicano.

The middle miles of the race unfold largely along the banks of the river, along both paved and dirt trails, and take runners south all the way down to Concepcion Park, where they’ll make the turn just after the mid-way point of the race around the southern end of the park.

The race contains a few minor hills but overall is mostly flat and fast, as much of it unfolds along the river. After passing the mile 8 marker, runners return to the river banks and stay on the trail for the next few miles, all the way back into downtown — and crossing the river four times on the way back — until they reach the finish line back near the park where they started.