Amway River Bank Run

8 May 2027 Start 08:308:30 AM Grand Rapids

Your race weekend

Fri 7 to Mon 10 May Grand Rapids, three nights around race day

days
hours
min

To the start, 08:308:30 AM local time

Hotels in Grand Rapids. If you book through this link we are paid a small referral fee; the price you pay is the same either way, and nothing here is ranked by what it pays.

Hotels in Grand RapidsRace weekend, Fri 7 May to Mon 10 May
Flights to Grand RapidsOut Fri 7 May, back Mon 10 May
Race fuel for your long runs The gel we pick, on Amazon
Amazon partner link: we earn a small fee if you buy, the price is the same.

The flight search is filled in for Friday 7 May to Monday 10 May, which you can change there. Every link here opens another company’s site; nothing is booked here.

Stay up to date

Get an email when the date, the entry or the course of the Amway River Bank Run changes, and MARATHON NEWS with it.

At a glance

Race day: Sat 8 May; The 2027 race
Start: 08:308:30 AM
Distance: 1.6 km1 mi; 1 Miles · 10K · 25K · 5K
Time limit: 3 h 30 min

The course

The Amway River Bank Run started in 1978 as a 25K through downtown Grand Rapids and has been the site of the USA 25 km Open Championships since 1995.

The largest 25K road race in the countryA 25K from downtown Grand Rapids since 1978, a national championship since 1995.
One start and finish for every distanceOttawa Avenue start, Monroe Avenue finish, the 10K shares stretches of both.
A 3.5 hour limit at 13:35 a mileFall behind 13:35 a mile and the course services leave.

Course notes 3 short reads on the course

Whole courseLandmarkThe largest 25K road race in the countryA 25K from downtown Grand Rapids since 1978, a national championship since 1995.

The organiser calls it the largest 25K road race in the country. It began on the second Saturday of May 1978 with just over 1,000 runners, and it carries the only 25K wheelchair racing division in the world beside a 25K handcycle division. The men’s 25K American and course record is 1:12:15 (Casey Clinger, 2025) and the women’s 25K American record is 1:22:24 (Carrie Ellwood, 2025).

Sourced

Whole courseFinishOne start and finish for every distanceOttawa Avenue start, Monroe Avenue finish, the 10K shares stretches of both.

Start staging for the 25K is on Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, with no corrals: runners find their pace-per-mile sign and enter through the gate to line up. The finish is on Monroe Avenue near Pearl Street. The organiser notes that the 10K course follows portions of the 25K and 5K, and that the 25K lead vehicles, handcycle and wheelchair divisions and elite athletes can pass 10K runners on the right on Park Street and John Ball Park Street. Aid stations with Ice Mountain Water and Gatorade stand about every 2 miles.

Sourced

Whole courseTacticsA 3.5 hour limit at 13:35 a mileFall behind 13:35 a mile and the course services leave.

Anyone not holding 13:35 a mile is told to move to the sidewalk and finish at their own risk without event services, or is offered a ride to the finish area. Medical stations, aid stations, course marshals and course markings go when the roads reopen to traffic at 12:15. The 10K asks for a 16 minute pace (a 1:39:25 finish), and the 5K for 14:30 a mile.

Sourced

Race weekend

Friday 7 May Bib pickup

11:0011:00 AM–20:008:00 PM

Event check-in and Sports & Fitness Expo DeVos Place, 303 Monroe Ave NW. Event check-in on Friday, May 7 from 11:00 to 20:00 at the Sports & Fitness Expo.

Bib in hand?A number belt holds it without pins through your race top. Clip it on tonight.

Number belt on AmazonAmazon partner link

Saturday 8 May Race day

06:006:00 AM

Event check-in opens DeVos Place, 303 Monroe Ave NW. Check-in on Saturday begins at 06:00.
Time not published

25K time limit Times are recorded until about 12:00, 3.5 hours from the start. Participants must hold a 13:35 minute per mile pace; those who do not are asked to move to the sidewalk or are offered a ride to the finish area. 3:30 limit: 130:30/km for 1.609 km3:30 limit: 210:02/mi for 1 mi

Other races (8)

07:007:00 AM

5K run start Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, Grand Rapids
07:307:30 AM

10K run start Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, Grand Rapids
07:457:45 AM

5K community walk start Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, Grand Rapids
08:158:15 AM

25K handcycle division start Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, Grand Rapids
08:168:16 AM

25K wheelchair racing division start Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, Grand Rapids
08:208:20 AM

25K elite women start Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, Grand Rapids. Listed as 8:20:15 am or 8:19:30 am.
08:308:30 AM

25K run start (elite men and the 25K field) Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, Grand Rapids
08:458:45 AM

25K myTeam Triumph start Ottawa Avenue near Lyon Street, Grand Rapids

Times as published by the organiser, in Grand Rapids time, checked 16 October 2026. Confirm on their site before you travel.

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Grand Rapids time

Entry

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Race fuel

Energy gel

No gel needed at this pace

Finish

Under about 75 minutes most runners need no gel: water at the aid stations does it.

For your long training runs:

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe