A paved rail trail from Holdingford to St. Joseph
This is a point-to-point paved marathon, not a technical woodland trail race. Use road-running preparation appropriate to your current ability, then review the course profile for its gentle changes rather than expecting a steep downhill course. The organizer describes USATF certification and Boston-qualifying eligibility.
The starting venue is Holdingford High School, 900 Fifth Street, while the finish is in St. Joseph. Establish the current shuttle, parking and baggage arrangements before selecting accommodation or asking someone to drop you off. A car left at the start needs a return plan after the race.
The published registration window is 07:00–13:00, giving a useful six-hour planning reference. Confirm the final course-support and cutoff rules in the runner guide. Allow for stops when assessing whether the available time fits your expected effort, rather than comparing it only with moving pace.
The homepage already announces 2027 registration but still links the 2026 runner and spectator guides. Those older documents are useful for understanding the event’s scale and rail-trail setting, while their collection, transport and aid instructions require a new-edition check. Use the organizer’s final 2027 guide before fixing a race-morning itinerary.
Confirmed race date
Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon: May 8, 2027. Verified on October 14, 2026 against the official event information.
Current race profile
The organizer remains authoritative if the course, distance program, venue, registration or schedule changes. Historical conditions are not a forecast; use current organizer advisories and the race-week forecast.
Training calendar anchors
These dates are calendar arithmetic, not proof that a plan length is appropriate.