About the Back Your Badge Marathon
The course is USATF certified and qualifies for Boston, which tells you something about how seriously it was put together. It winds through Plainfield's park trail system and along a historic highway, passing local police, fire, and communications facilities along the way. Aid stations are spread generously across the full distance, with water, electrolytes, ice, cooling towels, and medical support at many of them.
Packet pickup happens the evening before at a recreation center, where a pasta dinner is also served, free for participants. Marathon runners get a dedicated parking pass that puts them right next to the start and finish, with gear accessible in their cars. General parking is available at nearby trailheads, both within a short walk of the start line.
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Back Your Badge Marathon 2026 Results
Going by the 2026 results, this is a decent-sized field, and the spread of finish times is wide, so this is a mostly recreational race rather than one for club runners.
5K Results · 2026
328finishers
15:18winner
43:04median
1:34:55cutoff
Top 3: David Eichenberger (15:18) · Colin Rinne (17:34) · Jake Hally (17:59)
Half Marathon Results · 2026
78finishers
1:17:01winner
1:55:26median
2:10:25cutoff
Top 3: Baxter Keith (1:17:01) · Henry Winkelman (1:19:24) · Cole Rightley (1:19:37)
Marathon Results · 2026
1finishers
16:07winner
16:07median
16:07cutoff
Top 3: Ryan Handzlik (16:07) · Matthew Ross · Andrew Allen
The Back Your Badge Marathon has been held every year since at least 2023. That is as far back as RunSignup's records for this race go, so it may well be older.
How we calculate these stats: RunSesh calculates these figures from the most recent published results of past editions, sourced from RunSignup. We show aggregates only: field size, winning and median times, and the cutoff. We never publish individual finisher tables. Last updated Oct 25, 2026.
Distances & Start Times
26.2 Miles9/19/2027 07:30$65
13.1 Miles9/19/2027 07:30$55
5K9/19/2027 07:20$30
1 Mile9/18/2027 09:00Free
Going for a Time?
Set a goal and get a pace band: every mile split on a card sized for your phone lock screen, so race morning needs no math.
Not sure what to aim for? The marathon pace chart lists the pace for every finish time.
Where to Stay
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