17 Spring Half Marathons You'll Love Running Across the U.S.
Marathons, half marathons, 10-milers + more, all across America
Beaufort Twilight Run
Beaufort, S.C. | Saturday, March 22, 2025
A run through one of coastal South Carolina’s most beautifully scenic cities, a place where Spanish moss hangs nearly all the way to the street from the limbs of the ancient live oaks overlooking its city streets. Along the run, which begins in the late afternoon and includes a 5K, 8K and 10-miler, you’ll get to see what author Pat Conroy described in his books, and as the organizers say, “even the most focused runners seem to do a double-take as they weave along the greenways adjacent to the Beaufort River during sunset.” A beautiful, beautiful run.
Grasslands Trail Run
Alvord, Texas | Saturday, March 15 - Sunday, March 16, 2025
With more than 20,000 acres of rural grasslands in the Texas backcountry, the Caddo and Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands are where you’ll run this early springtime race, designed for those ready for real trail running conditions — which means you’ll need to be ready to run across streams and through muddy bogs, as well as sand and underbrush. The terrain for the race consists of a mix of gravel, single-track trails and dirt trails along a number of rolling hills, as well as a mixture of pine and oak grove forests and wide-open prairie grasslands, from which the park takes its name. And the animals you may encounter along the way include horses and cows, who frequently share the trails with you as you run.
Golden Gate Headlands Marathon + Half
Sausalito, Calif. | Saturday, April 5, 2025
Run along a backdrop that combines gorgeous natural vistas with views of San Francisco’s urban skyline in the distance, as well as a hilly and challenging course, this race unfolds over a course that features some dramatic changes in elevation — the half marathon climbs and descends roughly 800 feet overall. The race starts across the bay from San Francisco’s Presidio at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and from there, runners follow an out-and-back loop through the Marin Headlands, which overlook the city and the Golden Gate Bridge. The route takes runners along a course that’s truly postcard-perfect, along single-track hiking trails, fire roads, pavement and a beach crossing, running throughout along the lush Pacific shoreline dotted with vibrant wildflowers.
Charlottesville Marathon + Half
Charlottesville, Va. | Saturday, April 5, 2025
Known for its rolling green hills, gorgeous farmlands and famous residents such as John Grisham, Sissy Spacek and the fact that it served as the home base and launching pad for the Dave Matthews Band, Charlottesville plays host each spring to this race, named by the New York Times as one of the country’s best destination races. From the starting line next to Main Street Park downtown, runners will head south and east, making their way through the city toward the banks of the Rivanna River, along which you’ll run long stretches of the race, both out and back.
Desert RATS Trail Running Festival
Fruita, Colo. | Sunday, April 13, 2025
A stunningly beautiful run through the high desert country of western Colorado, along parts of the 142-mile-long Kokopelli Trail, a mecca for backpackers and mountain bikers that stretches between Fruita and Moab, Utah. You’ll run at elevations between about 4,000 and 5,400 feet above sea level during the half marathon, which starts near the northern edge of the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, and from there heads up onto the Kokopelli, offering up panoramic views of canyons and mesas as well as the winding Colorado River below.
Dunes Endurance Challenge 50K + Heavy Half
Hobe Sound, Fla. | Saturday, April 26, 2025
A challenging, sometimes even grueling, run through Florida’s Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which organizers say is an “epic journey” through the park’s 11,000 acres, where “the soft, rolling sugar sand dunes will test your willpower and endurance, pushing you to dig deep and find the strength to conquer the course.” You can choose among either the 50K or the half marathon — which they call a “heavy half,” meaning it’s actually 14.4 miles — and run through pine flatwoods, river swamps, bald Cypress trees and more.
Garden Spot Village Half Marathon
New Holland, Pa. | Saturday, April 26, 2025
The pastoral beauty of Pennsylvania’s Amish countryside — with its horse-drawn buggies, rolling farmlands and simple family-centered life — is the hallmark of this race, which is run in the small town of New Holland in Lancaster County, home to just over 5,300 people about 60 miles west of Philadelphia. Organizers say you can expect to see lots of the kind of scenery this area is famous for, such as farmers using horse-drawn plows to cultivate their fields and plenty of beautiful green rolling fields along the out-and-back lollipop-shaped loop route.
Sunflower Trail Half Marathon
Winthrop, Wash. | Saturday, April 26, 2025
A gorgeous run through the lush wildflower fields of Washington’s Methow Valley, which runs along “well marked deer trails, single track trails, and gravel roads” starting from the tiny community of Mazama, Wash., and running to the nearby town of Twisp. In between the start and the finish, the half marathon — which actually is a little longer than the standard 13.1 miles, as is the full marathon (at 26.8 miles) — features some big climbs and descents, organizers say, but the sight of “carpeted meadows of sunflowers” will take your mind off all of that.
Salt Flats Endurance Runs
Bonneville, Utah | Friday, May 2 - Saturday, May 3, 2025
Run one of the most unique race courses anywhere on earth at the world-famous Bonneville Slat Flats in northwestern Utah, which stretch across more than 30,000 acres (or nearly 160 square miles) and are made up of salt deposits that reach six feet in depth in many places. A geologic wonder that goes through a continual process of wearing away and smoothing out thanks to the whipping winds and water that floods them each winter, the flats dry away in the spring and summer months. It is said that when you stand on the flats and look out over the horizon, you can detect the curvature of the earth — and perhaps you’ll get to see it at this race’s 5K, 50K, 50-miler or even its 100-miler.
San Juan Island Half Marathon
Friday Harbor, Wash. | Saturday, May 10, 2025
Run along the rural highways of this gorgeous, scenic island just north of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, off the coast of Washington state, along a course filled with rolling hills and jaw-dropping views of one of the most peaceful, serene places to visit anywhere in the U.S. Parts of the course run through San Juan Island National Historical Park, which spans more than 2,000 acres of the island, and where you’ll get to take in some truly stunning scenery, from sweeping valleys dotted with cattle and sheep to windswept fields and oceanside highways swaying with sea oats, to thick forests and perhaps even an orca or two out in the water as you run along the bays.
Cottage Grove Half Marathon
Cottage Grove, Ore. | Saturday, May 17, 2025
Unfolding along the scenic, wooded Row River Trail — a 16-mile-long paved trail that once was the route for the abandoned Oregon Pacific & Eastern Railroad — this point-to-point race begins at a local park and ends in the small city of Cottage Grove, which lies about a half-hour’s drive south of Eugene. A simply beautiful (and overall downhill) run shaded by trees for much of the way, the course passes along the shoreline of Dorena Lake for most of the first half of the race, and the finishes in downtown Cottage Grove.
La Jolla Half Marathon
La Jolla, Calif. | Saturday, May 17, 2025
Gorgeous, hilly and challenging, this race welcomes thousands of runners every year to one of Southern California’s most scenic stretches of coastline, including stretches through Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, where golf’s U.S. Open was played a few years ago. From the starting line at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the point-to-point route takes you past some incredible scenery, from the steep and rocky bluffs that peer over into the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing below to the sails of hang gliders and ultralite flyers pass through the sky in the distance. The course also has several major hills on the way to the finish line, which overlooks La Jolla Cove.
Boston’s Run to Remember Half Marathon
Boston, Mass. | Sunday, May 25, 2025
A running tour of Boston’s most historic places — from the green urban oasis of Boston Common and the Public Garden to Faneuil Hall and the Old State House. You’ll follow a mostly fast and flat course from Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center through the Back Bay area and take in views of the city’s skyline for much of the course, including stunning views when you run back and forth over the Longfellow Bridge.
Pisgah Farms + Furlongs Half Marathon
Lexington, Ky. | Saturday, May 31, 2025
A beautiful run through the bluegrass region of central Kentucky’s horse country, where you’ll start at a place called Ashbrooke Farm and later run along tree-covered paved roads bounded by white picket fences, places where the kind of champion thoroughbred horses you see each year at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes are born and raised. The out-and-back route features mostly easy running along 100% paved surfaces, and the race serves as a fundraiser for the Pisgah Community Historic Association, which works to preserve the area’s natural environment and historic sites.
Ha’ena to Hanalei Half Marathon
Hanalei, Hawaii | Saturday, June 7, 2025
You’ll run almost entirely along the shore of the gorgeously scenic Hawaiian island of Kauai at this early-summer race, the place where countless movies and shows from Pirates of the Caribbean to Jurassic World have been filmed. The event offers an 8-miler, which begins at Ke'e Beach in the town of Ha'ena, as well as a half marathon that follows much of the same route, taking runners over single-lane bridges and along Kauai’s stunning North Shore, all the way to the finish line at Hanalei Pier, where you’ll take in the breathtaking Hanalei Bay.
Garden of the Gods 10-Mile
Colorado Springs, Colo. | Sunday, June 8, 2025
One of the most stunningly scenic road races anywhere in America, this race unfolds on a loop route through Garden of the Gods Park, known for the sweeping views of its 300-ft.-high sandstone rock formations and the sight of Pikes Peak off in the distance. The race is run mainly on paved roads inside the park and you’ll need to be ready for high altitudes — the race is run between about 6,200 and 6,500 feet above sea level. The highlight of the race is Balanced Rock, which appears to defy the law of gravity at it sits perched precariously atop a sloped ledge of sandstone, just before the halfway point in the race.
Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon
Ithaca, N.Y. | Sunday, June 8, 2025
A place filled with forests, rail trails, lakeside stretches and plentiful waterfalls — that’s what awaits in upstate New York at this race, on a course organizers describe as “one of the fastest and most scenic half marathons you’ll ever run. Period.” The point-to-point route begins in the nearby town of Ulysses, which if you’ve read your Homer you will recognize as the Latin name for Odysseus — the hero of the epic poem The Odyssey — who hails from the Greek island of Ithaca and it’s there he spent the entire story trying to get back.
