Spearfish Canyon Half Marathon & 5K
Spearfish, SD
- Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Road race down beautiful Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway featuring limestone canyon walls blanketed with coniferous and deciduous trees along Spearfish Creek. Runners begin in Savoy and follow Highway 14A, Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, to the Spearfish City Park. This slight downhill road race features gorgeous views along Spearfish Creek. This … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jul 11):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 77 | 91 | 82 | 75 | 88 |
| L (°F) | 52 | 57 | 62 | 57 | 56 |
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Excellent downhill half
The run is down Spearfish Canyon which is incredible. The views were hard to beat. The race is downhill for the entire race but the majority of your elevation loss … MORE
The run is down Spearfish Canyon which is incredible. The views were hard to beat. The race is downhill for the entire race but the majority of your elevation loss is in the first 10 miles. Despite it being a small race the production is excellent. They don’t communicate much at all before check in but at check in they make the instructions for race day very clear and communication and buses on race day were excellent.
Very happy that I chose this race for South Dakota.
Great race and well organized.
Opportunity to set PR. Need more and better stated water/aid stations. Well run bus service up to start line. Organizers couldn’t have been friendlier. MORE
Opportunity to set PR. Need more and better stated water/aid stations. Well run bus service up to start line. Organizers couldn’t have been friendlier.
Beautiful course supports a good cause!
Really good, well-run smaller race in South Dakota. (The whole area far exceeded my expectations in terms of scenery and sites to see during our trip there.) The bus ride … MORE
Really good, well-run smaller race in South Dakota. (The whole area far exceeded my expectations in terms of scenery and sites to see during our trip there.) The bus ride to the start was smooth and leaves a lot later than many larger races- giving plenty of time to warm up and use restroom prior to start, but not be there forever just waiting around. Aid stations
were adequate, volunteers and staff were friendly and accommodating. Swag was soft tanks for ladies (tshirts for males) and a small medal- but understood as this a fundraiser for the local CASA and am happy to see funds go there. Would recommend if looking for a race in SD! Apparently there is another race on this same course in August as well including some other distances..if that suits one’s schedule better.
Beautiful and Fun
This is a point to point, really pretty race down Spearfish Canyon. Plenty of aid stations. Road is not closed so you have to pay attention to cars/traffic. Well run/organized. … MORE
This is a point to point, really pretty race down Spearfish Canyon. Plenty of aid stations. Road is not closed so you have to pay attention to cars/traffic. Well run/organized. Lots of police/first responder/ambulance type support as they drove up and down the canyon offering help if needed. Really like this race.
Downhill all the way
This is a small race production, so don't expect the over the top aspect that other larger races have. It was only about 400 runners, but the course is absolutely … MORE
This is a small race production, so don’t expect the over the top aspect that other larger races have. It was only about 400 runners, but the course is absolutely beautiful. You can get a PR for sure but downhills still hurt the quads
Beautiful run
The scenery is excellent. I enjoy one way runs since you get to see more and hear more as this was next to water for the majority of the race. … MORE
The scenery is excellent. I enjoy one way runs since you get to see more and hear more as this was next to water for the majority of the race. This is worth running again. The people responsible for the race are fantastic as well. I will do this one again.
Beautiful fundraiser run
It's a beautiful downhill course. The race is on the smaller side with about 320 runners but the production is pretty good considering. It is also a fundraiser that benefits … MORE
It’s a beautiful downhill course. The race is on the smaller side with about 320 runners but the production is pretty good considering. It is also a fundraiser that benefits neglected and abused children in the Northern Hills area through the CASA program. Adequate amount of water stations and port-a-potties (5 throughout the course). Gun time is the same as chip time which was odd but the medal is pretty good. And I got my first race tank (as opposed to a shirt).
Scenic downhill
This was a gradual downhill race in a beautiful place. It’s a fairly small race, about 320 runners this year. There is also a 5k at the same time. The … MORE
This was a gradual downhill race in a beautiful place. It’s a fairly small race, about 320 runners this year. There is also a 5k at the same time.
The information leading up to the race was minimal. The website is not especially useful for first time runners as far as parking and course information.
It didn’t seem like there were enough port a potties at the beginning and initially they didn’t have toilet paper.
Water stations were good and spaced nicely.
Overall, a nice race. I was happy to run it and support a good cause. The people running it all seemed very involved and added a nice personal touch.
beautiful scenic course
This was my first all downhill half marathon. For a small race, race directors did a good job, Good communication. It was a beautiful course, I took several pictures on … MORE
This was my first all downhill half marathon.
For a small race, race directors did a good job, Good communication.
It was a beautiful course, I took several pictures on the way down. Packet pick up was nothing special, however the tank tops are nice material, I will wear again. The medal is also very nice.
The only thing I struggled with was the heat, it got really hot towards the end.
All gradual downhill, beautiful scenery!
Swag is average and compared to previous years medal was better this year. Good support. Start was a little funky as they did not have an obvious start line. Chip … MORE
Swag is average and compared to previous years medal was better this year. Good support. Start was a little funky as they did not have an obvious start line. Chip timed but not from start line but from the starting horn. But having said all that Go and enjoy a beautiful downhill course. Definitely PR worthy. Would highly recommend!
Beautiful, downhill, challenging course
South Dakota had three half marathons that I struggled to choose between. This one won out due to the convenience of being able to combine with a family road trip … MORE
South Dakota had three half marathons that I struggled to choose between. This one won out due to the convenience of being able to combine with a family road trip through Yellowstone, on our way to Mt Rushmore & Crazy Horse.
The course is beautiful; down Spearfish Canyon Road. It was a little bit chilly at the beginning, which was appreciated. Unfortunately it did not stay that way for us and it got very hot, very quickly. The temperatures were about 10 degrees higher than the forecast a few days prior. The following day the temperatures were about 15 degrees cooler, which would’ve been perfect. The course is virtually all down hill. My first event with so much decline in elevation. I was amazed at how challenging that made it; especially around the bends. To add to the beauty, the course goes by a waterfall right about the middle, which is very cool.
The shirt was okay. The medal was very nice. It’s a small event that has a few elite runners, but mostly seemed like casual runners like myself. The organizers aren’t the best, but they did okay.
Spearfish is a nice town. We stayed 2 days, then relocated to Rapid City to be closer to the tourist sites, which cuts a good hour off of travel time to these sites. It was great to be able to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Visiting the town of Deadwood was an unexpected highlight to the trip.