Lake Sammamish, Hoover Dam, Lake Ozark, Emigration Canyon, Angel Island
Races you can run next spring in California, Missouri, Nevada, Utah + Washington
Lake Sammamish Half Marathon
Sammamish, Wash. | Saturday, March 6, 2021
Runners get to enjoy the fast and very flat gravel surface of Washington State’s East Lake Sammamish Trail at this race, unfolds along the trail that stretches between two local parks along the lake here in this suburb of Seattle. The trail, built on the bed of a former railroad, features only gentle rises in elevation over the course of the 13.1-mile half marathon route, so runners can expect a mostly flat course for virtually the entire race.
$70 and up | Sign up here
Six Tunnels to Hoover Dam Half Marathon
Boulder City, Nev. | Saturday, March 13, 2021
Combine a run through a desert-like environment, the crystal-blue waters of Nevada’s Lake Mead nearby and the majestic Hoover Dam in the distance, along a mountainous trail road through the hills of Lake Mead National Recreational Area. That’s what you get at this race, named for the tunnels along the converted railroad track to and from the Dam (you’ll actually travel through the tunnels), which long ago served as an access route for train cars and trucks hauling supplies to Hoover Dam. Thanks to its original construction, the route offers largely smooth, gradual inclines and declines, though there are a few big climbs on the route.
$40 and up | Sign up here
Bridge and Dam Half Marathon
Lake Ozark, Mo. | Saturday, March 27, 2021
Run along the reservoir known as the “Missouri Dragon” for the twisting, serpent-like shape it cuts through the land, this race takes runners back and forth across a pair of bridges over the Lake of the Ozarks, a massive reservoir created by the damming of the Osage River back in the 1930s. You’ll start the race on the bridge at Bagnell Dam, which created the lake when it was completed nearly 90 years ago, and organizers say you’ll need to be ready for hills: “Lake of the Ozarks is hilly, so yes you will have some hills! It is a beautiful, scenic and challenging course. Train for hills once a week and the feeling at the finish line will be that much sweeter.”
$65 and up | Sign up here
Emigration Canyon Half Marathon
Salt Lake City, Utah | Saturday, April 3, 2021
The majestic beauty of Utah’s Wasatch Mountain range is on full display throughout the winding, hilly course at this race, which draws a few hundred runners each year. Its course begins at Mountain Dell Golf Course in the mountains east of downtown, and from there you’ll follow the roadways into East Canyon and then into Emigration Canyon, making your way through Mountain Dell Canyon, Little Tree Hill and Rattlesnake Point. The biggest hilly stretch occurs between the start and Little Mountain; after that, you’ll run a long, slow descent through the Salt Lake Valley to the finish.
Registration TBD
Romancing the Island Half Marathon
Angel Island State Park, Calif. | Saturday, April 10, 2021
Go back in time at a race that’s run on the largest natural island in San Francisco Bay, where the Coast Miwok tribes hunted and fished many hundreds of years ago, and was a stop for Spanish explorers like Juan Manuel de Ayala, who drew the first map of the San Francisco Bay in the 1700s. From the starting line at Ayala Cove, you’ll head toward the main road that circles the island, and shortly after head onto the Sunset Trail, one of the many miles of trails that wind through the heart of the island and make their way up to Mount Livermore, the island’s summit. Expect some challenging hills on this run, which starts at just above sea level and climbs to nearly 630 feet by the time you reach the 3rd mile marker.
$70 and up | Sign up here
A song to run to today
“Woke Up This Morning” from the album Exile on Coldharbour Lane by Alabama 3.
🎵 Listen to our full playlist on Spotify here.
Words to run by
“The distance runner who accepts the past in the person he is, and sees the future as a promise rather than a threat, is completely and utterly in the present. He is absorbed in his encounter with the everyday world. He is mysteriously reconciling the separations of body and mind, of pain and pleasure, of the conscious and the unconscious. He is repairing the rent, and healing the wound in the divided self. He has found a way to make the ordinary extraordinary; the commonplace, unique; the everyday, eternal.”
— George Sheehan
One of our fellow members, Faith, lost her husband to Covid this past weekend, which she shared with us on Sunday in our Strava group. I know I speak for all of us when I say that our hearts are with her right now. Please keep her in your thoughts — I hope this can help send some positive, supportive vibes her way.
— Terrell
So sorry Faith. My thoughts & prayers are with you. ❤️
Faith, I know that mere words can not take your pain away. But just remember there are people out there who are thinking about your loss and are keeping you in their prayers.