Mini-Marathon

Four months ago, I began training for an Indianapolis Mini Marathon that never happened. But sticking with the workouts became my way of outrunning the pandemic.

The Mini folks charitably call it the “back-of-the-pack bus,” but The Hoosierist prefers its unofficial title: the meat wagon.

Consider this a comedic call to arms.

Whether you’re training for the Mini or just out for a light jog, these paths are hard to beat.

Running the Mini this year? Prep starts now. Here, the owner of Personal Best Training shares his tips.

Browse the photo gallery of shoes from Saturday’s race.

Music acts and costumes, belly dancers and superheroes—the Indy Mini has it all, with runners the world over all pushing themselves to the limit on the IMS track’s 2.5 miles of splendor and sweat. Then there are the other nearly 11 miles.

Sometimes described as a “garage band,” The Trumans play a mix of ’90s alternative, modern rock—Holloway has a special affinity for Kings of Leon—and, occasionally, pop country.

In a message to participants on April 29, organizers wrote that “in partnership with the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety, local, state, and federal agencies, [we] will be taking additional security and safety precautions … [that] may or may not be visible to event attendees.”

The 500 Festival Mini-Marathon came and went (quickly!) this past Saturday, May 5. Runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers took to the city’s downtown and near-westside streets, pounding the ground for competition, for personal health, for charity, and with the intent, for some, of clocking personal-best times.

Since I ran the inaugural Indiana University Mini-Marathon on my 25th birthday in 2006, I have been slightly obsessed with half-marathons, and road races of all distances. I have now run three Indy Minis, as well as innumerable 5-milers and 5Ks, including the 2007 Indy Mini Day’s 5K, that just three and a half months after I was in a fairly serious car wreck.