Flyover accuracy & sources

Course sources & final directions

These four route previews are modeled from organizer-published files; some short-course direction discrepancies remain under review. Consult the organizer for final directions and course changes. Public-domain USGS and USDA aerial photography plus USGS 3DEP elevation are baked into RunRace USA, so the flyover uses no paid map API or third-party runtime requests. Buildings, roads and shoreline use OpenStreetMap, ODbL; signature Cleveland landmarks are calibrated by hand. Map services and data available from U.S. Geological Survey, National Geospatial Program.

Start & finish scene

The start/finish area has an original Blender race-day assembly at St. Clair Avenue near West Mall Drive: dimensional lettering, aluminum-style trusses, padded supports, clock housings, flags, three connected barrier panels per side with physical tubing and folded fabric sleeves, and a low-profile timing mat fitted to the asphalt. University Hospitals' photographs of the May 2025 event inform its visual character; fixture dimensions, colors, hardware and placement are interpreted, and a 2027 event-production plan is not confirmed. Clock housings do not display invented finishing times. The organizer's current course map identifies the shared start/finish area. The supplied marathon GPS trace ends approximately 77 meters before the modeled gantry; the route and its elevations are preserved rather than extending the trace speculatively. Explore finish area pauses the route and presents a separate close inspection from each camera view; it does not add a fictional final GPS segment. The short starting countdown is a RunRace USA presentation graphic, not footage of an official race start.

Race-start lighting

Lighting is fixed to each race's published 2027 start: May 16 at 7:00 a.m. EDT for the marathon/half, May 15 at 7:30 a.m. EDT for the 5K/10K. Solar direction is calculated for Cleveland's location and that instant. Clear-sky color is a visualization, not a weather forecast; aerial photographs retain shadows from their capture dates.

What the model can—and cannot—show

This is photographic terrain with modeled architecture, not photogrammetry. Bridge approaches, elevations and facade details are approximations; the organizer's published route remains the reference.

Water, streets & planting

Lake Erie uses an original Blender-built water and breakwater model following the mapped shoreline; wave conditions, armor stones and crest heights are illustrative.

The Cuyahoga channel uses a separate Blender-built water surface and shoreline cutout. A bounded Irishtown Bend retaining-wall section interprets documented pipe piles and sheet steel; its dimensions and water appearance are illustrative. Course-side streets include Blender-built pavement and raised sidewalk faces; paving joints and widths are inferred. Selected downtown curb edges include modeled concrete gutters and shallow expansion joints.

Reusable Blender curb modules have rounded concrete edges and recessed end joints, and representative cast-iron drains have physical ribs and openings. The curb profile interprets Cleveland's standard construction drawings; individual heights, spacing and wear are not surveyed. Drain seats are fitted to the actual modeled paving, with inferred inward corrections of up to 0.75 meters from the existing catalog; ambiguous or unsupported placements are omitted. These are not surveyed municipal fixtures. Changes to their local source geometry invalidate the affected seats rather than leaving floating hardware.

Vegetation uses six original Blender tree forms and low shrubs. Additional planting follows OpenStreetMap tree points, tree rows, woodland and scrub mapped as of September 6, 2026; grass is not treated as woodland. Tree dimensions, species and interpolated planting are illustrative, not surveyed. Some photographic foliage remains. Data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0.

Selected missing road surfaces near Edgewater and along the Shoreway use additional Blender-built asphalt following mapped road alignments. Widths and materials are interpreted. Uncertain tunnel sections are omitted; two downtown passage gaps remain photographic pending corrections to existing sidewalk joins. These additions do not change the organizer's course trace or terrain elevations. Asphalt and concrete grain are filtered with viewing distance to reduce visual shimmer; surface wear is illustrative.

Additional benches, bike stands and transit markers use mapped OpenStreetMap points, with original Blender furniture. Gordon Square concrete benches interpret the streetscape designer's references. Positions are mapped, not surveyed; untagged materials, dimensions and orientations are inferred. Conflicting placements are omitted; bus-stop points do not imply shelters.

A bounded north-side Euclid Avenue sidewalk section uses Blender-built beveled clay-and-charcoal pavers informed by Sasaki's HealthLine references. Paver dimensions and the retained narrow sidewalk width are illustrative, not surveyed.

Buildings, bridges & camera views

Cleveland landmarks, neighborhood buildings and street objects include original Blender-authored models. Street names follow mapped intersections. Fine architectural details, sign supports and unmapped street furniture are interpreted, not surveyed; this is not photogrammetry.

Across the mapped course environment, background building materials, recessed windows and entrances, residential roofs, rooftop fittings and tree canopies are illustrative interpretations, not individually verified architecture. Detailed landmark models take precedence.

Key Tower has an original photo-informed Blender refinement with recessed glazing, vertical stone piers, notched stainless-steel roof tiers and modeled panel joints, informed by Kendall/Heaton's architect photographs. Existing source placement, tower envelope and spire are retained; tier proportions, materials and small dimensions remain interpretations, not a survey.

Key Tower, Detroit–Superior, Carter Road and Hope Memorial's trusses and Guardians use fixed geometry retained during playback, with identical near and far model detail. Unavailable models retain a simplified fallback. All mapped motor-road bridge decks are retained at both quality settings; secondary bridge structures may remain generic approximations.

Bridge refinements use original Blender geometry: Detroit–Superior has curved portal haunches, connection plates, rivet rows and detailed bearing pins; Carter Road has modern solid-web members, bolted joints, catwalk rails and physically recessed operator-house windows; Hope Memorial has massive concrete parapets with squat rectangular openings and retained recessed pier panels. Nathan Holth's field photographs and ODOT's 2022 Hope inspection photographs inform these details. Existing roadway profiles, principal towers and Guardian sculptures are retained. Small dimensions, panel cadence, fastener counts and sculpture detail remain interpretations, not individually surveyed measurements or statements of current structural condition. Main Avenue, Superior Viaduct, Willow and secondary rail bridges still need further source registration or modeling.

Center Street has an original Blender bobtail swing bridge with unequal red truss arms, open-channel steelwork, a rim-bearing pivot and cambered sidewalks. The Library of Congress engineering record and historical USGS laser survey inform its closed-position shape. A bounded correction aligns its drawn roadway and short approaches; source road endpoints and the race routes are unchanged. The marathon crosses above it on Detroit–Superior, not through this swing bridge. Near and far geometry stays identical. Member dimensions and historical registration are interpreted, not a post-rehabilitation survey.

Columbus Road has a custom closed-position Blender lift bridge with independently level towers, perforated orange lifting wheels, counterweights, guide hardware, a transverse machinery house and dimensional walkways. WJE and American Bridge's records distinguish the retained towers from the span replaced in 2014. Historical USGS laser-survey returns inform the sloping roadway, upper truss and machinery-house roof. Short, source-bound approach corrections replace the former flat-deck mismatch without editing the original roads, race routes or terrain. Unchanged surrounding ground may remain coarse; small members and submerged foundations are interpreted, not a current survey. The race does not cross this surrounding landmark. Its principal geometry is retained throughout playback. Without the aerial-road environment, it keeps the simpler fallback rather than placing this model on a mismatched road profile.

Additional missing building outlines use Cuyahoga County 2023 Building Footprints, provided as-is; their heights and architecture are inferred. Course-side pavement and sidewalk widths are illustrative, follow mapped roads, and fade into the original aerial imagery.

Runner view shows only the visible route ahead, without a full-course overlay. Chase and Aerial retain the overview, with faint dashes behind foreground structures. Blender-built curb edges, roof coping, ridge caps, vents and additional street trees are inferred details; photographic vehicles, foliage and shadows may remain beneath the modeled scene.

Individual landmark notes

St. Theodosius shows a simplified restoration-state exterior from March–July 2026 sources; roof staging may differ.

The Bank Building at 6501 Detroit Avenue uses an original photo-informed Blender frontage with physical recessed windows and a corner entrance. Its existing mapped outline and inferred height are retained; unseen elevations are illustrative.

The Schofield Building and historic Main Library use original Blender exteriors informed by operator, architect and City photographs. Recessed windows, corner curvature, columns and roof details are modeled; dimensions and fine ornament are interpreted within the existing source envelopes. Photographs are references, not model textures.

The Cleveland Trust Rotunda restores the mapped stone-building shell around the dome, with an original photo-informed Blender exterior. The former Heinen's location is not represented as an operating store. Source heights and architectural details remain approximations.

The Arcade uses distinct Euclid and Superior facades and a raised glass roof, informed by the operator's photographs and Library of Congress HABS drawings. Approximate 38-meter wings and 44-meter center towers are scaled interpretations of historic drawings, not a current measured survey; the later square Euclid entrance is retained.

Two Professor Avenue storefronts use original photo-informed Blender entrances, balcony ironwork, window guards and an awning. County spring 2023 aerial imagery informs the Edison frontage's hipped roof end. Existing footprints and inferred height caps are retained; roof pitch and unseen elevations are not surveyed.

One Gordon Square folded-metal shelter and its small supporting forecourt interpret designer and owner photographs. Its position is estimated within about three meters, not surveyed; exact source-bound pavement contact is required before it appears. No road width is changed for this placement.

The historic Cuyahoga County Courthouse uses a photo-informed Blender exterior with physical windows, colonnades, roof balustrades and two open lightwells. Public aerial photography informs the flat roof arrangement; lightwell dimensions, rear details and simplified figures are interpreted, not surveyed.

City Hall restores the mapped whole building around a previously isolated roof part. Its original Blender exterior follows City-issued 2023 facade-assessment photographs and dimensioned historic elevations, including the central copper roof, wing decks and two lightwells. Drawing-to-ground alignment, roof rise and small details are interpreted rather than geodetically surveyed.

Two Detroit Avenue frontages in Ohio City interpret 2025 exterior photographs with original recessed entrances and windows. Existing source height caps remain; unseen walls are not reconstructed from photographs.

Tower Press restores its mapped full shell, stepped roofs, courtyard and recessed red-brick frontage. Historical USGS lidar supports roof elevations; the mapped footprint is retained despite several meters of horizontal disagreement with the older scan. Lakewood's Oldest Stone House has original sandstone walls, recessed shuttered windows and measured-form pitched roofs. It sits beside Lake Avenue, not at the marathon turnaround. Small source-outline and ground-height differences remain.

The Great Lakes Science Center restores the mapped full shell, harbor terraces, curved theater roof and sloped glass canopy. Original Blender roof surfaces are fitted to historical public USGS lidar, with 2023 aerial and architect photographs as references.

The Justice Center uses original recessed facades, a deep tower roof well, stepped podium, glass pyramid array and corrected roof-notch geometry. Historical lidar supports principal roof heights; the adjacent annex is untouched.

Ohio Savings Plaza at 1801 East Ninth restores its mapped podium and recessed tower facade, using historical exterior photographs and lidar-supported roof levels. Old tenant signs are omitted; its adjoining garage is unchanged.

Don's Lighthouse near the Lake-to-Clifton turn has original arched entrances, mansard dormers and three roof turrets. Its lower story is compressed to the existing terrain, about 1.7 meters above the historical scan's ground. Turret centers are regularized roughly 3-5 meters within the mapped shell; this is not an exact roof-position survey.

St. John Cantius has an original Blender exterior with recessed arched windows, stepped aisle roofs and an octagonal bell tower. Parish photographs, 2023 aerial imagery and historical lidar inform the model; fine ornament and alignment remain interpreted.

Winton Place beside Lake Avenue has recessed balconies, stepped rooftop structures and a low lake-end annex. Both main slabs follow the same historical lidar roof level; the mapped foundation is retained despite about three meters of scan alignment uncertainty.

Perry–Payne on West Superior has an original seven-bay stone frontage, recessed windows, bowed balconies and column-capital relief. Operator and architect photographs inform the exterior; historical lidar supports the stepped roof levels. Fine ornament, hidden walls and colors remain interpreted.

A compact original Blender model preserves Terminal Tower's complete silhouette when its fine-detail model is outside the camera's loading budget.

The Stokes courthouse replaces a misplaced legacy block with an original curved limestone exterior, paired and triple recessed windows, stepped podium and deep roof crowns. Architect photographs and historical lidar inform its geometry. A compact native base retains the principal openings and roofs when fine detail is unavailable; the current plaza reconstruction is not modeled.

The Western Reserve Building on West Ninth pairs an original historic three-oriel facade with the curved glass frontage and barrel roof of its modern addition. City and facade-supplier photographs inform physical windows and entry recesses; historical lidar supports roof levels. Lower stories accommodate the existing terrain, with about two meters of historical ground disagreement. Fine ornament is interpreted.

The 820 Building has an original stone-and-brick frontage with physically recessed paired windows, an arched entrance, bracketed cornice and a shallow seven-figure relief. Operator and historical photographs inform the facade; historical lidar supports its compound pitched rooftop structures. Main drainage slopes and ornament are simplified, and the lower storey accommodates about 0.8 meters of historical-ground disagreement.

Grand Arcade at West St Clair and West Fourth has original recessed brick-and-stone frontages, a central entry and a physical long gable supported by historical lidar. Operator and dated exterior photographs inform bay spacing and stone bands; small ornament and membrane drainage remain interpreted. Both detail levels retain the principal roofs and window recesses. This is not the separate Cleveland Arcade.

Johnson Block at West Sixth and West St Clair has original recessed storefronts, three upper window rows with arched heads, distinct brick-and-stone cornices and stepped drainage roofs. Operator and broker photographs inform the exterior; historical lidar supports roof slopes. Hidden walls and fine dimensions are interpreted, and thresholds accommodate the existing terrain. Its exact mapped foundation preserves an inherited overlap with a neighboring source outline.

Stadiums & arena

Huntington Bank Field retains the existing lakefront stadium, with original curved unequal seating banks, fitted metal canopies, concrete undersides, recessed entry wings and open circulation gaps. Architect photographs, a February 2024 condition report and historical public lidar inform the assembly. Roof fitting is stronger than seat and portal positioning; hidden concourses, dimensions and photo alignment remain approximate.

Huntington's field uses an original Blender interpretation of the Browns' orange midfield helmet, white-and-orange end-zone lettering on grass, restrained mowing bands and football markings. Official September 2025 and August 2026 team photographs inform this representative game-day design; May 2027 field paint is not confirmed. The principal artwork and major yard lines remain in the persistent base; that compact base omits tiny hashes and yard numerals. Paint is modeled as nonoverlapping surface inlays, not stacked opaque plates. Logo outlines, glyphs and mowing colors are interpreted; individual grass blades are not modeled. Ground imagery is clipped only inside the visible, source-validated native pitch so the historical aerial surface cannot cover its turf. Missing or rejected stadium models retain the original ground; terrain and race elevations are not altered.

Huntington also has a compact original native model that preserves its roof, bowl, open circulation gaps and stadium silhouette when fine detail is unavailable. Distant seating is represented by continuous supported surfaces, not individual chairs.

The nearby Shoreway approaches follow historical 2019–2020 public lidar road and bridge elevations. Their joins accommodate the existing terrain; this is not a current engineering survey or the proposed North Coast Connector.

Progressive Field has an original Blender reconstruction with asymmetric seating banks, open concourses, contemporary corner terraces, physically recessed Ontario offices and nineteen triangular light towers. Historical lidar, County aerials, original architectural drawings and recent contractor photographs inform it. The screen retains the manufacturer's 59-by-221-foot dimensions. The field and bowl sit 4.07 meters above historical elevations to clear unchanged terrain; the screen has a separate 0.90-meter accommodation. Current office heights, small fittings and facade details are interpreted, not surveyed. Principal geometry is identical across both detail levels; a compact resident model retains the field, roofs and openings when full detail is unavailable.

Rocket Arena has an original Blender exterior with a curved main roof, lower curved wings, recessed roof courts, raised louvers, glazed Huron and Ontario frontages, and five physically recessed entrance groups. Historical public lidar, County aerials, completed architect photographs and original engineering documentation inform its form. The older south body and projecting glazed stair are distinct from the newer north addition. Historical roof elevations are retained while foundations and thresholds follow the existing terrain. Small dimensions, facade cadence, colors and doorway positions remain interpretations; glass is opaque, not a photorealistic reflection or transparency simulation. Both detailed quality levels retain identical principal geometry.

A compact original native arena model preserves its curved silhouette, roof recesses and entry openings when fine detail is unavailable; tiny trim and the dense louver array are simplified at distance.

Edgewater Park

Edgewater Park has four original Blender landscape parcels spanning the western bluff, beach, upper park and eastern lawns. Positively mapped lawns, wooded ground, beach, paved paths and parking follow the unchanged terrain; current roads, water and building footprints remain clear. The existing 194 branching trees and shoreline rocks are retained. Native details include the red-tile upper shelter, Lindsey play-space timber catwalk, climbing slope, slide, rope play and willow tunnel, plus the fishing pier's deck, rails, understructure, lamps and benches. Forty-four mapped outdoor picnic tables and other mapped park amenities receive original models; the upper shelter also has sixteen interpreted interior tables. OpenStreetMap, the Metroparks map and photographs, and registered County Spring 2023 aerial references inform this work. Small dimensions, path widths, equipment, roof sections, colors and material appearance are interpreted, not surveyed or photogrammetric. Unknown paths, unclassified ground and marina docks are not invented, and the marina basin is not filled with land. The park uses identical principal geometry across detail levels and a bounded all-or-nothing startup load to avoid mid-playback replacement; an unavailable or stale family retains the base world. The fishing pier's additional horizontal guardrails and shallow lamp diffusers interpret dated pier photographs; existing access openings, deck, posts and ground remain unchanged. Broad grass and woodland-floor color variation is authored in Blender on the western bluff and central coastal parcel; it is an illustrative material treatment, not photographed current turf or additional vegetation geometry. Thirty-five existing interpreted bluff-shore rocks have weathered shoulders and retained fractured faces, with their original terrain contact and placement preserved. These are not individually surveyed or photographically identified stones.

The Edgewater Beach House replaces its generic block with an original open two-level pavilion: a curved cedar canopy, grouped steel supports, recessed lower openings, physical railings and a furnished upper deck. Completed architect and structural-engineer references inform it within the existing mapped footprint. Dimensions and unseen details remain interpreted; the separate external access bridge and ramp are not modeled. Only the marathon visits Edgewater in these four route previews. Physical recessed masonry courses, cedar fascia joints and chimney cladding add surface depth within the original exterior. Joint dimensions and board cadence are photo-proportional interpretations; openings, roof, supports and placement remain unchanged. The rooftop timber screen now has real horizontal openings around a recessed exhaust core. Column-head light fixtures, railing post shoes, pipe collars and recessed opening frames add physical detail without changing the canopy, deck, foundations or mapped building outline; their small dimensions are photographically interpreted.

Transit & streetscape details

One original Clifton Boulevard transit shelter and its terrain-fitted concrete apron are placed at the southwest West Boulevard corner, informed by 2023 county aerials and off-course shelter-family photographs. Dimensions and alignment are interpreted, not surveyed; this does not add a connector across the mapped pavement gap.

At Detroit Avenue and West 25th, an original Blender signal assembly follows operator and landscape-architect photographs: a tapered mast, four hooded yellow heads and an integral footing. Its fixed corner position and proportions are interpreted, not surveyed; the signal is nonoperating and no future transit works are depicted.

Playhouse Square's original Blender chandelier has three source-bound supports, curved arms, open rings and 424 opaque pendant shapes. Operator and fabricator photographs, public aerial references and historical lidar inform it; it is not a reproduction of thousands of transparent crystals. Its three small opaque feet accommodate existing coarse pavement without changing the road. It appears only on the three modeled Euclid Avenue courses.

Historical surveys & aerial imagery

These lidar-informed models use public data acquired in 2019-2020, not a current survey or photogrammetry. Fine dimensions, materials, unseen elevations and ground alignment remain interpreted; references are not copied texture maps.

Selected aerial-view areas, including a small downtown start/finish section, use sharper public-domain Cuyahoga County and Ohio Statewide Imagery Program (OSIP) Spring 2023 aerials, resampled by RunRace USA. This is not whole-course imagery or a current capture; vehicles and shadows remain baked into the photographs. Sharper imagery is not used in runner view.