Indianapolis Marathon 2015: Route, Course Map, Times, Road Closures, Details

The final Indianapolis Marathon takes place Saturday, October 17th in what is sure to be an epic sendoff for the race.

It's the 20th and final edition of the event after the September announcement that the Monumental Marathon will acquire the Indianapolis Marathon to merge the two events instead of having two in the same city late in the season.

Ray Steele of WIBC.com broke the news, which explains that both races will run as normal this year, with the Monumental still taking place on the first Saturday of November.

As for this Saturday's event, the finale before the merger promises to bring out the best of the community for the farewell tour. Here's a look at the notable times for the event: 

Event	Time (ET)
Late Packet Pick-up	06:30am - 07:30am
Marathon/Relay Begins	08:30am
Half-Marathon Begins	08:30am
Indy Marathon 5K Run/Walk Begins	09:00am
Post-Race Meal Begins	10:30am
Kids Marathon Check-in	11:30am - 12:30pm
Half Marathon Course Closes	12:20pm
Kids Marathon/Fun Run Begins	12:45pm
Marathon Course Closes	03:10pm
Post Race Meal Ends	03:10pm

The event stands as one of the nation's most colorful as things start at Fort Harrison State Park and weave through the countless fall leaves peppering the course.

The marathon's official website provided the route and course map here, but also took the time to run through the course in video form:

The route doesn't divert much into areas creating closures, but there are a few roads impacted by the event which runners and citizens will want to watch out for Saturday. DowntownIndy.org detailed the few closures here.

In fact, the scenic course is such a highlight of marathon season that RunnersWorld.com ranked it as one of the top 10 races of the 2015 calendar year:

"

Leaf-peep while you run at this 20-year-old event. You'll pass through 1,700-acre Fort Harrison State Park in the first half of the race, continue through a 10-mile stretch of Fall Creek Greenway Corridor Park until mile 25.5, and finish through the streets of suburban Indianapolis. As you run along the parks' mostly paved bike paths, you'll find far more colorful trees than cheering spectators, so expect to be able to hear the crunching of leaves beneath your feet.

"

While perhaps a bittersweet moment for longtime racegoers, the finale promises to honor the past 19 years of racing at the event. Race founder Joel Sauer left a message for fans of the race on the event's Facebook page when announcing back in April that this year would be the event's last:

It's clear event organizers will do whatever it takes to make this a memorable event for runners before the merger. Then again, given the sights of the course itself, the race can do most of the heavy lifting on its own. 

For runners professional and novice, the 20th edition of the Indianapolis Marathon is one of the top fall races to attend given the locale and challenging course.

As the finale, Saturday's event stands as one of the most notable calendar stops of the marathon season.

Information courtesy of IndianapolisMarathon.com unless otherwise specified.