Yellowstone Small Group Half Marathon

After a beta test of small-group half marathons, Vacation Races is excited to bring you a new location with this format, and it’s a brand new Yellowstone course (compared to our annual Yellowstone Half Marathon)!

The Yellowstone Small Group Half Marathon takes place in the town of West Yellowstone, MT, just outside the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It’s a stunning course with breathtaking views of the Gallatin National Forest, huge gulps of crisp fresh air, and maybe even some wildlife! Make some memories this summer!

The course will start and end at the old Airport on the West Edge of West Yellowstone. There is a ton of parking there and it is easy walking distance from most of the hotels on the south side of town.

The majority of the course will take place on the Rendezvous Ski Trails in West Yellowstone. The whole course will be marked with pink ribbon and pink sprinkler flags. The course will start out running on flat dirt roads. At about 1.6 miles into the race you will pass through a gate entering the Rendezvous Ski Trails. The trails will have some nice gradual rolling, grassy hills. These trails are very well maintained and runnable terrain. The running surface is going to be grassy and mostly smooth terrain. A good portion of the course will be in shade, as you will be running through the forest. Even though none of the hills are particularly very steep or long, be prepared for the whole course to be rolling hills.

The aid stations are fewer and more spread out than our normal races, and this is a cup free event. Runners should plan to be more self-supported than they may be used to, and must bring their own means of refilling hydration (handheld water bottle, hydration pack, belt, etc.). We will have 3 aid stations on course which will be mostly self-serve. We will have water, Gnarly Hydrate electrolyte drink and Honey Stinger gels available at all 3 aid stations. The first aid station will be at approximately mile 2.5. The second aid station will be just before mile 6 with race staff as well as medical staff there to assist with any medical issues on course. The 3rd and final aid station will be around mile 9.7. From here, you will make your way back down to the forest service road you ran in on, to connect to the Rendezvous trails. The course backtracks 1.5 miles of the same route to return to the finish line.

This is a trail half marathon. It is very runnable and not terribly technical, but it is trail. We recommended that you run with trail shoes if you have them, but it is not necessary.