Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (also known as the CNO Financial Group Indianapolis Monumental Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual road marathon usually held in early November in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The marathon was first held in 2008 and includes a half marathon and 5K run. Since 2016, it has been the only full fall marathon run in Indianapolis. In 2015, it claimed to have become one of the 20 largest marathons in the U.S.^[1]

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Date	November
Location	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Event type	Road
Distance	Marathon, half marathon, 5K
Primary sponsor	CNO Financial Group
Established	2008; 17 years ago (2008)
Course records	Men: 2:15:41 (2023) Lyle O'Brien Women: 2:35:36 (2023) Rachel Hannah
Official site	monumentalmarathon.com
Participants	15,000 (2023)

History

Runner nearing the finish of the Monumental Marathon

The Monumental Marathon was established by Carlton Ray in 2008.^[2][3][4] Just over 1,100 runners completed the race's inaugural running, while almost 2,000 completed the race the following year. Nearly 3,000 runners completed the half marathon in 2009. Beginning in 2010, a 5k race was offered as well.^{[citation needed]} In 2014, Runners World named the race as one of the nine best, new U.S. marathons.^[5]

In 2015, the Monumental Marathon purchased the Indianapolis Marathon and converted it into a half marathon, operating as the Indy Half Marathon at Fort Ben. Prior to the purchase, the Monumental Marathon was reported to be in the top 25 marathons in the United States.^[5]

In 2017, Jed Cornforth was appointed as executive director of the event, replacing the prior director, Blake Boldon, who left the event to direct the Drake Relays.^[6]

Runners on the Monumental Marathon course at Butler University.

The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic,^[7] with all registrants given the option of running the race virtually or transferring their entry to 2021. An e-mail address was provided for registrants to request a refund, without any additional details regarding a refund policy.^[8]

Course

The course for the Monumental Marathon begins and ends near the Indiana Statehouse in downtown Indianapolis. The Monumental Half Marathon is run concurrently with the full marathon. The two races follow identical routes for the first six or so miles, split, then re-converge for the last 3 mi (4.8 km) of the course.^{[citation needed]}

Winners

Key:    Course record

Year	Male	Time	Female	Time	Rf.
2008	Richard Kandie	2:22:24	Zeddy Chepkoech	2:40:28	[9]
2009	Mathew Chesang	2:21:00	Molly Brown-Boulay	3:07:28	[10]
2010	Leornard Mucheru	2:17:58	Jackie Dikos	2:45:25	[11]
2011	Hillary Cheruiyot	2:22:20	Mandy Grantz	2:42:36	[12]
2012	Aleksey Alexandrova	2:18:44	Whitney Bevins-Lazzara	2:45:23	[13]
2013	David Tuwei	2:16:40	Colleen Dereuck	2:39:22	[14]
2014	Michael Eaton	2:19:38	Alana Hadley	2:38:34	[15][16]
2015	Jesse Davis	2:17:59	Nicole Michmerhuizen	2:41:37	[17]
2016	Japhet Kipkoech	2:18:30	Andie Cozzarelli	2:38:47	[18]
2017	Japhet Kipkoech (2)	2:18:34	Laura Portis	2:41:35	[19]
2018	Aaron Fletcher	2:17:23	Laurie Knowles	2:37:50	[20]
2019	Nate Guthals	2:17:15	Dot McMahan	2:35:36	[21]
2020	Event cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic				[7]
2021	Ian Carter	2:16:24	Christina Murphy	2:37:57	[22]
2022	Jacob Heslington	2:18:56	Jennifer Pope	2:37:22	[23]
2023	Lyle O'Brien	2:15:39	Rachel Hannah	2:35:12	[24]
2024	Austin Nolan	2:16:30	Lindsey Bradley	2:31:46	[25][26]

See also

• Sports in Indianapolis
• List of attractions and events in Indianapolis
• List of marathon races in North America