Back Your Badge Marathon
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Event information
The Back Your Badge Marathon weekend takes place in Plainfield, Indiana, with multiple races and a kids race held on a separate day. Distances offered include:
- Marathon
- Half Marathon
- 5k
- Kids Run
The event base is the Richard A. Carlucci Recreation and Aquatic Center, 651 Vestal Road, Plainfield, IN 46168. The marathon and half marathon courses are USATF certified; the marathon course is listed as a Boston Marathon qualifier. Race services include chip timing with live results, race photos, custom finisher medals, and color coded race bibs. Runners select a team to support (Police, 911, or Fire) and receive a team shirt. Marathon and half marathon finishers from 2024–2026 are eligible for a custom acrylic medal display.
Course and support
The marathon route begins at the recreation center and uses a mix of paved county and neighborhood roads, historic US 40 through downtown Plainfield, the Vandalia Trail, and local parks including Franklin Park and Hummel Park. The course passes landmarks such as an iron bridge, a tunnel under US 40, the Hendricks County 911 Dispatch Center, and Plainfield Fire Station 121. The final mile returns on the Vandalia Trail to the recreation center. Elevation is described as relatively flat with rolling hills.
Aid stations and support are placed throughout the course, supplying water, Gatorade, ice, cooling towels, sponges, GU, restrooms, and medical aid at multiple mile markers. Cash prizes are listed for the top three men and women in the marathon and half marathon, and age-division awards are given for top three finishers in each listed age group. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.