LAWRENCE HALF MARATHON
COURSE DESCRIPTION

(USATF Certification # KS08002BG)

You will start on the campus of Haskell Indian Nations University.  It was founded in 1884 as the United States Indian Industrial Training School.  Originally a school for elementary age American Indian children, it has changed over the years to eventually become a four-year university.  The starting line will be the balloon archway to the south of Coffin Sports Complex.

As you leave the Haskell campus, you will go under the 23rd St. overpass, which was originally built over railroad tracks.  Those tracks went to Baldwin and Ottawa.  A short rails to trails section starts at this overpass and goes south.

.9 Miles:  What is probably the only body of water in the Midwest named after a legendary Beat Generation author?  Lake Ginsberg?  No.  The Keroauc River?  Wrong.  Ferlinghetti Falls?  Wrong again.  It’s Burroughs Creek, which you are now crossing.  William Burroughs lived in the house to the north of the creek on the west side of the street in the last years of his life.

1.7 miles:  Just before turning onto 12th Street, you will see a garden on your left.  This is the site of a tragic fire in 2006 that took the lives of five people.  The garden is maintained as a memorial, the first of several memorials you will run past.

2.1 miles:  You are entering South Park, the first of 9 parks you will run past or through.  Pass the South Park Gazebo, built in 1906, and the Roosevelt Fountain, dedicated in 1910 by President Theodore Roosevelt.  After passing the large flower garden, you will turn onto Massachusetts Street.

2.2 miles:  “Mass St.” is Lawrence’s main downtown street.  Downtown Lawrence is famous for being one of the most beautiful, eclectic, and thriving downtown districts in the U.S.  History is everywhere.  In 1863, William Quantrill and a band of pro-slavery “border ruffians” raided Lawrence, killing 140 to 180 men and leaving most of downtown Lawrence in ruins.

2.8 miles:  As you reach the north end of downtown, City Hall is on your right, the Kansas River (also known as the Kaw) is straight ahead.  Eagles are a common sight over the river in the winter months.  On the north side of Sixth Street, in Robinson Park, is Shunganunga Boulder, which was deposited upstream by ancient glaciers.  Next to it is a civil war cannon.  As you turn onto Sixth Street, you will pass the sculpture "Freeform".  Sixth Street is also Highway 40, which was also known as the Victory Highway.  More on eagles and the Victory Highway later.

3 miles:  After turning off Mass St., you will go through Buford Watson Park, passing #1073, a steam locomotive built in 1902.  In the days of Quantrill’s Raid, a ravine ran through this area.  Only one of Quantrill’s men died in the raid.  His body was unceremoniously dumped into this ravine and his body burned.  Legend has it that years later, a work crew unintentionally dug up the bones, and again unceremoniously dumped them back into the hole.

3.2 miles:  You are now entering Old West Lawrence, where the first “well to do” residents of Lawrence built many beautiful homes in the 1800’s.  At Ohio St., you will pass by the spot where George Collamore, the mayor of Lawrence in 1863, hid in a well during Quantrill’s Raid and either drowned or suffocated.  Two others supposedly died in the well during the rescue attempt after the raid.

3.4 miles:  You will turn south on Louisiana Street.  According to one story,  this street is wider than others in Lawrence because a prominent woman who lived here wanted to be able to turn her horse-drawn buggy around in the street.  However, another possible reason for the extra width is that a trolley used to run down this street.

4 miles:  You are now passing Kansas University’s Memorial Stadium, built in memory of Kansas University students who died in World War I.  Many Kansas running legends, such as Jim Ryun, Wes Santee, and Billy Mills, have competed on this track.  More about Billy Mills later.

4.5 miles:  You are now climbing Mt. Oread, the hill upon which Kansas University is perched.  The Spencer Museum of Art is on your right.  You’ll turn onto Memorial Drive, passing the Campanile, dedicated to KU students who died in World War II.  On race day, Elizabeth Egbert Berghout will be playing the carillon as you pass by.  Enjoy the view of the Kansas River Valley, and pass by Potter Lake, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial.

5.1 miles:  You are passing the Chi Omega fountain, the gateway to Jayhawk Boulevard and the central KU campus.   Before the university was built, the Oregon Trail ran along the top of the hill.  At this point, the Oregon Trail travelers had around 2000 miles to go.  You only have 8 miles.  Thinking about the journey to Oregon and the memorials to the war veterans that you just passed may make the hill you just ran up seem a little less significant.   In front of Strong Hall, you will see the Academic Jayhawk, sculpted by Eldon Tefft and donated by the class of 1956.  Continue north on Jayhawk Boulevard and pass the Natural History Museum.  The Victory Eagle in front of the museum was one of several along the Victory Highway, which ran from Atlantic City to San Francisco.  It was originally placed in a roadside rest area northeast of Lawrence, and later moved to the KU campus.  Continue north, past the Kansas Union and the brightly colored Jayhawk at the front entrance.  At the north entrance of the campus, you will turn around at the fountain at the Docking Family Entrance, and go back south.  As you turn off of Jayhawk Boulevard, get a good look at Fraser Hall, as you will see it again in a few miles.

6 miles:  You will be directly in front of Watson Library.  The Kansas University campus is famous for being one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.  Enjoy it before you go back down the southern face of Mt. Oread.  Please test your brakes and stay in low gear.

6.4 miles:  Go through Veterans Park, before turning onto Kentucky Street.  Kentucky Street runs parallel to the Oregon Trail, which was just to the west.  Here you will run by many old homes before returning to South Park and crossing Mass. St. again.

8.2 miles:  Pass New York Elementary School.  Famous Lawrence writer Langston Hughes attended this school.

8.5 miles:  Enter Hobbs Park.  The John Speer homestead and the Murphy-Bromelsick house are on your left.  John Speer was a notable newspaper editor who supported the Free State cause in the early days of Lawrence.  The house on this site was originally built in 1867, and moved 300 yards to this site in the year 2000.  Run by Municipal Stadium, built in 1947, with its brightly colored murals which depict various elements of East Lawrence history.  You are now on Delaware Street.  You may have noticed that many of the north-south streets are named after states.  That was the idea of the founders of Lawrence.  Being from Massachusetts, they named the main downtown street after their former home.  The other streets were named for the states from east to west in the order that the states were admitted to the union.  Delaware was the first state, so it was the eastern-most street at the time.  As Lawrence expanded, they broke from tradition, as you will find out when you get to:

8.8 miles:  Oregon Street

9 miles:  Cross Haskell Street, named after the renowned architect John Haskell.  His former home is a block down on your right.  Haskell Indian Nations University isn’t named for John Haskell.  That would be Dudley Haskell, a U.S. Representative who was instrumental in getting the school established in Lawrence.

9.3 miles:  Brook Creek Park is on your left.   In the early 1900's, an amusement park known as Woodland Park was located in the northern section of this park.   Street cars once ran from the amusement park to Downtown Lawrence.  Woodland Park is the inspiration for an event in Langston Hughes' fictionalized autobiography Not Without Laughter.   As a promotion, the park was hosting a free admission day for everyone.  However, "everyone" didn't include black children, and Hughes, who was eight years old at the time, was not allowed into the park.  Ironic, considering the anti-slavery foundation that Lawrence is known for.

9.5 miles:   Oak Hill Cemetery is straight ahead.  Many of Quantrill’s victims are buried here.

9.6 miles:  When most people think of sports in Lawrence, they of course think of long distance running.  But did you know that another popular sport in Lawrence is basketball?  Part of the reason for that is because James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, lived in Lawrence for most of his life.  His grave is the large marker on your left as you turn west onto 15th Street.  Naismith was KU’s first basketball coach, and the only KU basketball coach who did not have a winning record.

9.8 miles:  Looking west you get a good view of Fraser Hall (remember it back at 6 miles?) on top of Mt. Oread.

10.5 miles:  On your left is the Robert Miller house.  The first victim of Quantrill's Raid was killed near here as Quantrill's group rode into town.  They stopped here to water and feed their  horses, but did not harm the Millers.  Quantrill was obviously unaware that a smokehouse on the property was used as an "underground railroad station" to house escaping slaves.

11.1 miles:  Pass by William Burroughs' house again, and think of what you are going to eat for (Naked) Lunch after the race.

11.6 miles:  Return to Haskell’s campus, and pass by Haskell Stadium, which was built in 1926 from funds raised entirely by American Indians.  It was the first stadium in the region to have lights.  You’ll see this stadium again soon.

12.4 miles:  Haskell’s cross country course is on your left, as is another section of the Oregon Trail.  The Baker Wetlands, one of  the few remaining wetland areas in the region, is just to the south.

12.5 miles:  As you near the finish line, you can think of the inspirational victory of Billy Mills in the 10,000 meters in the 1964 Olympics.  Mills attended Haskell, and later the University of Kansas.  The street you are now on is Mills, named in his honor.

12.8 miles:  You are now on the central campus of Haskell.  You’ll pass some of the original stone buildings on the campus and through the ornate arches of the main entrance to Haskell Stadium, and finish with a sprint on the track, just like the Olympic Marathon.

13.1 miles:  Finish line.  Congratulations!