The clock race day runs on
Race day at the CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon is Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. Gear check opens at 6:30 a.m. at Washington Street and West Street. The half marathon and the marathon start at 8 a.m., the 5K at 8:40 a.m., and the course closes at 3:30 p.m.
The organiser publishes the limits behind that close. The marathon carries a seven-hour time limit, the finish line closes at 3:30 p.m., and no times are recorded after that hour in either the marathon or the half marathon. Marathon runners hold a minimum pace of 16:00 per mile and reach the marathon and half marathon course split between miles 7 and 8 by 10:25 a.m. Half marathon runners hold 16:00 per mile for the first ten miles. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department moves runners off the streets at closure.
The marathon and the half marathon use a wave start. Waves come from the expected finish time given at registration, and each bib carries its own wave letter. A runner may drop back to a slower wave and may not move up on race day. The event is chip timed. A Wave Change Station sits at the Monumental Health and Fitness Expo on Nov. 5 and 6.
The window before the start
The organiser opens a Pre-Race Warm Up Area in the Expo Hall at 6 a.m., half an hour before gear check opens. The Indiana Convention Center sits one block south of the start and finish areas on Maryland Street.
Every participant collects the official clear gear check bag at the expo on Thursday, Nov. 5 or Friday, Nov. 6. Race morning accepts that bag alone.
Four day-use windows against the race clock
hotelSlots sells rooms by the hour in four windows: Morning 6 a.m. to noon, Afternoon noon to 6 p.m., Evening 6 p.m. to midnight, and Overnight midnight to 6 a.m. The platform states day rates at 30 to 75 percent below the nightly rate at the same hotel, charges no booking fee, and counts 103,857 hotels across 46 states. Its Indianapolis directory lists 273 hotels.
A Morning window opens as the warm-up area opens and covers both starts. An Afternoon window covers the marathon field to the 3:30 p.m. close.
An Overnight window ends at 6 a.m., half an hour before gear check opens. The night before the race takes a nightly booking.
Block dates for a longer stay
The race sells a downtown block through the Visit Indy Housing Bureau. Occupant names are due Sept. 29, cancellation stays free until Oct. 8, added nights run Oct. 5 to Oct. 16, and the bureau takes modifications until Oct. 22. The bureau answers at housing@visitindy.com and 317-262-8191, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
Registration and the trip in
General registration for all in-person distances is sold out, and limited charity entries remain. The organiser describes the courses as USATF-certified, fast and flat, starting and finishing in downtown Indianapolis, and calls the marathon one of the 15 largest in the United States. This is the 19th year the event has run in Indianapolis. Downtown sits 15 minutes from the airport, and the organiser states that Indy is within a day's drive of over half the country's population.
Schedule times, pace limits, gear rules and the warm-up window come from the race organiser's site. Confirm the time slot with the property before booking.
