HOPKINSVILLE, KY – Motorists should plan for additional travel time Saturday morning as runners take to several city streets for the eighth annual Hoptown Half Marathon & 5K. Approximately 300 runners are expected to participate. The half marathon will begin at 8 a.m., followed by the 5K at 8:20 a.m. Half marathon participants will have until noon to complete the course.

Both races will begin in the Justice Center parking lot. The 5K will start at 8:20 a.m., after the half marathon runners have cleared the starting area, helping reduce congestion among participants. Runners have been instructed to stay on the right-hand side of the road except while on the bypass, where they will use the left-hand shoulder and travel opposite the flow of traffic. Law enforcement vehicles will accompany runners at the front and rear of the course.

The course for both the half marathon and the 5K event takes runners to the Hopkinsville Greenway Rail Trail to head to the downtown finish line. The half marathon course joins the Greenway at Foston Chapel Road.

The 5K route moves to the Greenway at Faulkner Drive. The course takes all runners north on the Greenway to 15th Street where they will head east to Bethel Street. Runners will head north and down the hill on Bethel Street (behind First United Methodist Church) en route to Ninth Street where they will turn left (west) toward the finish line. The race finish line is the same location as the start line, in the parking lot of the Justice Center.

The half marathon route goes down South Main Street briefly and turns onto West 14th, continuing onto Canton. It then continues out to New Work Fellowship, where it briefly runs through their parking lot and then continues onto the bypass. Running on the left hand emergency lane (opposite of traffic) of the Bypass the course heads to Foston Chapel Road before picking up the Greenway toward downtown.

Local law enforcement agencies will be accompanying the lead runners for traffic clearance and a “grim sweeper” will be trailing the last runners. Traffic control officers and other race volunteers will be staffing intersections to stop traffic as runners cross the intersections. Motorists are asked to exercise patience for the safety of everyone.

Several streets will only allow one-way traffic during the race period. Race officials and local law enforcement have worked together on plans to minimize traffic disruptions. Streets impacted on Saturday are as follows:

Half-Marathon Route Streets (8 a.m. start)

  • Justice Center parking lot (Start Line)
  • 9th Street (from 7th Street – S. Virginia Street)
  • Main Street (from 7th Street – W 14th Street)
  • Canton Street (from S. Main Street – Bypass)
  • Hopkinsville Bypass (from New Work Fellowship – Foston Chapel Rd.)
  • Foston Chapel (from Hopkinsville Bypass – Rail Trail)
  • W 15th Street (Greenway Rail Trail – Bethel Street)
  • Bethel Street (from 15th Street – 9 th Street)

5K Route Streets (8:20 am start)

  • Justice Center (starting line)
  • 9th Street (from 7th Street – S. Virginia Street)
  • S. Main Street (from 7th Street – S. Wooldridge Rd.)
  • Alumni Ave. (from S. Main Street – Latham Ave.)
  • Latham Ave. (from Alumni Ave. – Cox Mill Rd.)
  • Sterling Dr. (from Cox Mill Rd. – Faulkner Dr.)
  • Faulkner Dr. (from Sterling Dr. – Greenway Rail Trail)
  • 15th Street (Greenway Rail Trail – Bethel Street)
  • Bethel Street (15th Street – 9th Street)

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