The Trailbreaker
The Trailbreaker will be run, Sunday, April 5th, 2025 in Waukesha, Wisconsin!
Since 2009, the Park Foundation of Waukesha (PFW) has operated the Trailbreaker Marathon. This Waukesha tradition consists of a Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K Run/Walk. It is a Waukesha home-grown running event, certified by the United States of America Track and Field (USATF), and may provide qualifying credentials for other events. The Trailbreaker has been held annually since 1993 and was the brainchild of three running colleagues.
Proceeds from this race, totaling over $200,000, have been invested to make Waukesha a better place to live, work and play. The Park Foundation of Waukesha (PFW) a 501(c)3 organization, uses funds raised to promote “Community Quality of Life”. There are no paid staff, all are volunteers.
The Trailbreaker Marathon now has 2 routes. The Lapham Peak Route has a number of distinctive features that make it unique among marathons.The trail is very scenic and has a 438’ rise from the start to the top of the Lapham Peak Tower. The race begins in a beautiful downtown park setting. After winding along the Fox River Corridor within the City of Waukesha it joins the paved WDNR’s Glacial Drumlin Trail. At the 11.3 mile mark, runners go “off road” onto the rugged Ice Age National Trail. This 2.36 mile segment takes runners to the base of the 40’ Lapham Peak Tower. Participants climb the tower, ring the bell, and then begin their return to Waukesha. The Ice Age Trail portion is extremely challenging and provides runners with “bragging rights” to attest to their accomplishment. In the event that snow, ice and wet conditions pose a risk to runners and/or the integrity of the trail, an alternate certified route will be used.
This alternate route is now an option for our race. It continues on the Glacial Drumlin Trail to the Waterville Lake area, offering a flatter, less rugged marathon route than the Lapham Peak Route. Both marathon routes are USATF certified!
Since 2009, the Park Foundation of Waukesha (PFW) has operated the Trailbreaker Marathon. This Waukesha tradition consists of a Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K Run/Walk. It is a Waukesha home-grown running event, certified by the United States of America Track and Field (USATF), and may provide qualifying credentials for other events. The Trailbreaker has been held annually since 1993 and was the brainchild of three running colleagues.
Proceeds from this race, totaling over $200,000, have been invested to make Waukesha a better place to live, work and play. The Park Foundation of Waukesha (PFW) a 501(c)3 organization, uses funds raised to promote “Community Quality of Life”. There are no paid staff, all are volunteers.
The Trailbreaker Marathon now has 2 routes. The Lapham Peak Route has a number of distinctive features that make it unique among marathons.The trail is very scenic and has a 438’ rise from the start to the top of the Lapham Peak Tower. The race begins in a beautiful downtown park setting. After winding along the Fox River Corridor within the City of Waukesha it joins the paved WDNR’s Glacial Drumlin Trail. At the 11.3 mile mark, runners go “off road” onto the rugged Ice Age National Trail. This 2.36 mile segment takes runners to the base of the 40’ Lapham Peak Tower. Participants climb the tower, ring the bell, and then begin their return to Waukesha. The Ice Age Trail portion is extremely challenging and provides runners with “bragging rights” to attest to their accomplishment. In the event that snow, ice and wet conditions pose a risk to runners and/or the integrity of the trail, an alternate certified route will be used.
This alternate route is now an option for our race. It continues on the Glacial Drumlin Trail to the Waterville Lake area, offering a flatter, less rugged marathon route than the Lapham Peak Route. Both marathon routes are USATF certified!
View a video from the 2016 Trailbreaker as recorded by Left Foot Productions!! Thank you, Tyler for a great view of our race on a very strange day!