With a new category added for 2026, there are already over 1,000 runners registered for Salina’s Crossroads Marathon.

Organizers say 1,018 runners from 41 states and Canada have registered for the fifth anniversary race, which will be held on November 7th.

This year’s race will include a new Adaptive Athlete Division, allowing participants with disabilities to take part. “This is an exciting year for the Salina Crossroads Marathon because we will be adding a new Adaptive Athlete Division. Over the last 12 months we have visited with races that have adaptive athlete divisions to ensure we have accommodations in place to make the 2026 Salina Crossroads Marathon a fun and exciting experience for all of the adaptive athletes who participate,” said Co-Race Director Daniel Craig. “We especially want to thank Ray Stelly, an adaptive endurance athlete from Texas who participated virtually in last year’s Salina Crossroads event, as he was gracious and offered his time to talk through and discuss the key elements we need to have in place to be ready to add the adaptive athlete divisions.”

The 2026 Salina Crossroads Marathon weekend will feature five family friendly events:

• Marathon
• Half Marathon
• 5K Run/Walk
• 10K Run/Walk
• Half-Mile Kids Run

The 2026 race will be the fifth anniversary for the Salina Crossroads Marathon, which has grown from 817 registered runners to 5,416 registered runners in 2025.

Visit Salina estimates that the 2025 Salina Crossroads Marathon generated an estimated $1.49 million in economic impact for the Salina community. The event drew approximately 4,700 visitors from beyond a 60-mile radius, including runners representing all 50 states as well as multiple international countries. Many attendees stayed at least one night, collectively generating more than 1,800 room nights for local lodging establishments.

The Salina Crossroads Marathon has developed the brand of The Most Runner Friendly Marathon in Kansas. The three core components of that brand include allowing registered runners the option to change their race distance at any time, defer entries to the following year, and offering race day packet pickup.

“It is really neat seeing people set running goals; some of which have considered themselves non-runners. Watching them train for months, stay on schedule, and then have it all payoff on race day is fulfilling,” said Co-Race Director Andrew Manley. “Just like running a Marathon, the event itself is months in the making. Our Marathon committee starts designing and building the race 6 months in advance, just like all of the runners. As we get closer to race day, everything just gets a little harder. To finally get to race day is neat, not only for the runners, but for the hundreds of volunteers, the community, and the race staff. Last year, I heard one of the members of our race staff say to me, “We did it!” just as someone was crossing the finish line saying, ‘I did it!”. Pretty cool. Yes, we did. Everyone did.”

Funding from local organizations including Vortex Company, the Marathon Presenting Sponsor, and Schwan’s Company, the Half Marathon Presenting Sponsor, as well as local foundations and statewide organizations allows the Salina Crossroads Marathon to put on one of the premier marathon events in the Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Iowa region. “We are thankful for strong support from the City of Salina and local businesses to help the ideas come to life. From a vintage vehicle leading the pack at the starting line, to live music along the course, to slices of ice cream pie when you cross the finish line, our goal is to create a race experience for runners and spectators that people will talk about and remember” said Co-Race Director Chris Lehecka.

The Salina Crossroads Marathon is a “Gold Standard” race and provides 100% of the race entry fees back to Saline County Youth Sports. Runners can register at https://raceroster.com/events/2026/113366/salina-crossroads-marathon. Salina Crossroads Marathon takes pride in having one of the lowest registration fees for any race in Kansas and being a race that everyone can participate in and two years ago began offering the option of not getting a race shirt and receiving a discount off the entry fee. Through January 31 participants can register for any race for $5.00 or less (race shirt is optional and would be an additional fee) to celebrate the 5 year anniversary. After January 31, race fees will be $1.00 per mile. Kids fun run ($1.00), 5K ($3.00), 10K ($6.00), half marathon ($13.00) and marathon ($26.00) with race shirts again being optional and an additional fee.

The Salina Crossroads Marathon has a planning team of approximately 25 individuals, which includes local nonprofits, small and large businesses, as well as local runners. Anyone who has a passion for event planning and would like to help would be welcome. The Salina Crossroads Marathon will also need over 500 volunteers. Anyone interested in helping out can email the race directors at [email protected]. The Salina Crossroads Marathon leadership team would like to thank the community of Salina for your amazing support that has allowed the race to quickly grow into one of the premier marathons in the Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma region.

_ _ _

Photo by Tanner Colvin