The Blue Blaze Festival is a celebration of Ohio's Buckeye Trail in conjunction with National Public Lands Day. Whether you are a trail runner, hiker, or would like to learn more about backpacking you are welcome to be a part of our celebration of the Buckeye Trail (BT). Join us for the 2026 Blue Blaze Festival and explore the diversity and beauty of the outdoors. This year we will be joining forces with Destination Shawnee, the Tecumseh Theater and outdoor recreational organizations to bring together runners, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to the Village of Shawnee. This section of the Buckeye Trail, in the Wayne National Forest, is mostly single-track trail and provides some very challenging terrain. The Blue Blaze Festival will be highlighting the BT as an outdoor destination for running, hiking and backpacking, plus all of the excitement happening in the historic Village of Shawnee.
There is a trail experience and distance right for you: Half Marathon (13.1 miles), 10K, 5K run/walk, 10 Mile Hike and an overnight Backpacking trek. All events are on the Buckeye Trail in the Wayne National Forest.
9:00am Half Marathon and 10K, 9:15am 5K start.
The 10-Mile Hike will start at 8:00am (1 hour before the running events) in Shawnee. All hikers will be given a race bib/number with a timing chip used to monitor when hikers start and finish the hike. The hike is designed and lead by the Little Cities of the Forest Chapter of the BTA, with a number of historical points following the Blue Blazes of the Buckeye Trail. A guide with historical points of interest and the route map will be provided to participants.
Sep 26, 2026
Distance — 16.1K
Type — Running
08:00
$20.00
Sep 26, 2026
Distance — 9.8K
Type — Running
09:00
$30.00
Sep 26, 2026
Distance — 21.1K
Type — Running
09:00
$45.00
Sep 26, 2026
Distance — 5K
Type — Running
09:15
$25.00
These values represent the 3-year monthly averages for September in Shawnee.
Learn more about the host city, Shawnee.
Shawnee is in the Frontier Country region of Oklahoma.
Read more launchOfficial finishing times from previous editions of Buckeye Trail Blue Blaze Festival - Half Marathon, 10K, 5K Run, Hike and Backpack.
| Place | Name | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Joshua Garland | — | |
| 🥈 | Jamie Miller | — | |
| 🥉 | John Harrison | — | |
| 4 | LJ Parkins | — | |
| 5 | Morgan Nuess | — | |
| 6 | Kelsey Parker | — | |
| 7 | Janine Schomer | — | |
| 8 | Misty Harmon | — | |
| 9 | Todd Thompson | — | |
| 10 | Julie Harley | — | |
| 11 | Daryan Wood | — | |
| 12 | Meghan Walters | — | |
| 13 | Molly Ryan-Fisher | — | |
| 14 | Kristin Schein | — | |
| 15 | Penni Swearingen | — | |
| 16 | Karen Oconnor | — | |
| 17 | Daniel Harmon | — | |
| 18 | Tiffanee Hahn | — | |
| 19 | Amy Frame | — | |
| 20 | Amy Binkley | — | |
| 21 | Angie West | — |
Read what other athletes have to say about their experience at the Buckeye Trail Blue Blaze Festival - Half Marathon, 10K, 5K Run, Hike and Backpack.
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Explore other exciting events happening in this same region.
location_on Fairfield, Ohio, US
calendar_today Sep 20, 2026
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