I-35 Challenge

The I-35 Challenge is back in Kansas City on Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, 2026. It's a two-city running challenge that pairs the Garmin Kansas City Marathon with the IMT Des Moines Marathon, with the I-35 highway serving as the symbolic link between them. Both races happen on the same weekend in October, and the challenge is built around completing them both.

You get to choose your own distance: there are four combinations, pairing a full or half marathon in Kansas City with a full or half marathon in Des Moines. If you finish both, you get a participant shirt and a finisher medal from each race, plus an additional I-35 Challenge branded shirt and a separate challenge finisher medal. It's a lot of gear for one weekend, and the distance is up to you.

Logistically, the Kansas City leg is the one we're talking about here. The race starts at 7 AM on Saturday, October 17, and the second day kicks off at 8 AM on Sunday, October 18. Your packet is collected at the Health & Fitness Expo, and there's no race-day packet pickup for the Kansas City race, so you'll want to swing by the expo ahead of time to get sorted.

Registration is $325 plus a $17.25 signup fee, and that price goes up to $355 after 11:59 PM CDT on October 10, so if you're planning to do it, you'll want to sign up before then. The Kansas City portion is centered in the 64108 zip code.