The Dimple Dell Half Marathon features a beautiful course, free breakfast, good company, race photos, custom locally made finisher medal and awards, amazing raffle, friendly competition, performance t-shirt, and swag. What more could you want? Really if you can think of something let us know and we will try to …
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The Dimple Dell Half Marathon features a beautiful course, free breakfast, good company, race photos, custom locally made finisher medal and awards, amazing raffle, friendly competition, performance t-shirt, and swag. What more could you want? Really if you can think of something let us know and we will try to get it!
Dimple Dell is located in the heart of Sandy City. You will forget you are running in a city as you take in the beautiful fall colors and awesome vistas of the mountains. A rolling race with a few climbs. Great trails in an amazing canyon make Dimple Dell a classic.
The Half Marathon starts off in Lone Peak Park and drops into Dimple Dell onto a fantastic wood chipped trail that feels great to run on. You follow this trail over a bridge in a really scenic area. Eventually you go underneath another bridge in an area that usually has great fall colors this time of year. Make your way through a nice part of the canyon which includes our favorite bridge and under an awesome tunnel which pops you out at the Wrangler Aid Station.
After you leave the station you will drop down into the canyon running along a trail that takes you through the beautiful canyon floor. You will have great views of the amazing Fall colors here. You start the biggest climb of the race and top out to a beautiful vista on the Rim Trail. You follow this Rim Trail to the turn around point at Granite Park Aid Station.
This course takes place on wood chipped and single track trails making this a very good race for runners looking at trying their first trail race as well as experienced trail runners looking to go fast!
13.0 miles and +1,176 ft elevation total
95% Trail, 5% Paved
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It's a dell
I enjoyed the Dimple Dell Half Marathon. I would run it again if I were in Salt Lake City that weekend, which I likely won't be. I might travel to … MORE
I enjoyed the Dimple Dell Half Marathon. I would run it again if I were in Salt Lake City that weekend, which I likely won’t be. I might travel to Salt Lake City just for this event, because whenever I visit I think to myself this wouldn’t be a bad town to come to for fun, because it has so much to offer outdoors. I have been there several times, and always, as was true on this trip, for business.
That takes me to the first note for outsiders: SLC is almost a mile up. My Apple Watch reported the starting line as being 4457 feet above sea level; topo maps online list the area as 4800 feet. So that is nothing to scoff at. I had done nothing to acclimatize. I’ve run as high as 11,000 feet, though “run” is a misnomer, since I was staggering along at that point. But I live in New York City, and I do not spend much time in this rarified air. I try not to make excuses, even to myself. I am sure, however, this explains the lackluster performance which still was better than 1/6 of the participants — that relative standing is a norm for me. I suppose that means you should expect to be slower, unless you live at altitude. Although I don’t know how long it takes to adjust, I can say I was on the ground for a single day.
The venue was less than 30 minutes from downtown where I was staying, at the Little America hotel complex. It was still quite dark when I arrived at the park. The parking lot had enough spaces for what was not a giant field (under 200). The park had good restrooms, surprisingly already open.
Another note that is important for those considering the race. It has changed. The organizer guy said the route had been altered. He mentioned one year it was 19 degrees and the past year it was pouring rain.
A dell is a valley with trees. That is accurate. This had about 1100-1200 feet of gain, so it tops out over a mile high. The trail is 85% wood chip, with the remainder split between sand and sidewalk. The sights were interesting enough, offering relaxing vistas, woods, and a bit of suburban development.