Sun Marathon
Santa Clara, UT
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Sun Marathon has four distances: Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K. The purpose of this race is to get runners out of the cold and into the warmth of Southern Utah in the St. George/Santa Clara Area. Though the courses are primarily downhill over the distance there are … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jan 23):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 51 | 48 | 49 | 45 | 55 |
| L (°F) | 39 | 29 | 43 | 31 | 31 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Beautiful scenery running downhill
This race included both a full and half marathon, as well as a 5K and 10K race. Packet pickup was at the St George Running Store and you had to … MORE
This race included both a full and half marathon, as well as a 5K and 10K race. Packet pickup was at the St George Running Store and you had to sign up for a pickup time. Swag included a very ugly short sleeve cotton t-shirt (that’s going in the donation pile right away!), bib number, and bag. Full and half marathoners were bused to their respective starting lines and everyone was really good about wearing masks on the bus. The weather was around 30 degrees at the half marathon start. They had little fire pits out to try to help keep runners warm, but they kept going out. In order to promote social distancing, runners were only allowed to start one at a time. Everyone had to line up at the start, and then when you hit the starting line, they asked for your bib number, entered it in a computer and then you took off. There were about 10 full marathoners who came by before the half marathoners even started! I am a slow runner so I was constantly getting passed by full marathoners, but everyone was super friendly and said “Good morning!” as they passed. The course scenery was spectacular, typical Utah red rocks at each bend. A few gradual inclines, but mostly downhill. We shared the road with cars and had to run on the shoulder. Most cars slowed down when they passed you so I wasn’t concerned. Plenty of aid stations with water and Poweraid, every 2 miles or so. No spectators allowed on the course, but that is to be expected in the age of COVID I guess! Finish line was at Gubler Park, where everyone parked to catch buses. They handed out a bag full of a banana, orange, granola bar and cheese stick at the finish. Medals were nice, but they said “Sun Marathon” no matter what distance you ran, and they didn’t have the date or the location on the medals so that was a bit of a disappointment. They had some major screw up with race categories so when I checked my result immediately after the race, it showed I was in the full category, not the half. A lot of runners experienced the same thing because when you looked in the full half marathon results and saw someone with a time of 37 minutes, you assumed they ran the 5K not the full! But they managed to fix the results by Sunday night. They had 118 finishers for the half and 185 finishers for the full. Overall, I would recommend this race for the gorgeous scenery and course. On Hill Productions did a good in person race, and with so many races cancelling or going virtual these days, they prove that it is possible to have a safe, in person race.
Fast, beautiful scenery
I trained on this course, and thought my time would be in the 5 to 5 in a half hour range, That was the time I got while training. However, … MORE
I trained on this course, and thought my time would be in the 5 to 5 in a half hour range, That was the time I got while training. However, I came in 4hrs 47 minutes, and for me, that is awesome. Small group of runners, great volunteers, and great time of the year to be running in Veyo. I got the “Runners High”, all the way to the finish.
Low-key race
This is a low-key race in Southern Utah near the end of winter. It's the perfect time to get away from the cold, lingering winter and run in shorts in … MORE
This is a low-key race in Southern Utah near the end of winter. It’s the perfect time to get away from the cold, lingering winter and run in shorts in the sunshine! The 10k is run in town, but it is still surrounded by the iconic red rock cliffs of Southern Utah.