Skunk Cabbage Classic - Ithaca, New York - Running

The Skunk Cabbage Classic is a Running race in Ithaca, New York consisting of a Half Marathon and 10K.

This looped course with rolling hills is named for the plant aand its distinctively strong smella that are visible around the half-way point of the half-marathon in the Skunk Cabbage Classic Half Marathon & 10K. The series combined attracts more than 1100 runners each year to this vibrant upstate NY town, beginning and ending on the scenic campus of Cornell University.

The half-marathon starts on Campus Road below Barton Hall and heads up campus past the Veterinary School and animal hospitals. Youall see livestock and research barns as you run out Game Farm Road, following a mostly eastward route for the first half of the course. Along Ellis Hollow Road, the course features some rolling hills, especially around the half-way point where the famed skunk cabbage can be seen (and smelled!). With the exception of a rise around mile 10, the rest of the route is fast and flat, running through campus past the Dairy Bar and the Wilson Synchrotron on one side, and the Cornell Plantations on the other, on a fast downhill to the finish on Garden Avenue. Download the half-marathon course map (PDF).

The 10k starts on Garden Avenue in front of Barton Hall and follows the same course as the half-marathon, out Game Farm Road to Stevenson Road, with the turn-around and a community-sponsored water stop. The course enters campus on Tower Road, and heads toward the Clock Tower, past the Dairy Bar and the Wilson Synchrotron on one side, and the Cornell Plantations on the other, running a fast downhill to the finish on Garden Avenue