TLDR: Go to Zion, stay far away from anything planned by these race coordinators. The "challenges" of this 2017 half were artificially induced by poor logistics, planning, and organization. The expectations were poorly set and then mismanaged. Communications were frantic, blameful, and condescending. Everything seemed blamed on rain and snow that occurred a week earlier. Post-race emails offering 15% discount on future races (ha!), noted failures due to "unexpected circumstances" and " surprises mother nature threw at them". Y'know, spring. From official Zion climate page: "Precipitation peaks in March." (https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/weather-and-climate.htm) Things that were done well: aid stations appropriately manned and supplied. Gear check relatively quick and bags sorted for finishing. Staff for shuttles and aid stations were all cheerful and upbeat. Medal- classy, well above average. I don't run for the material thingees that will get tossed during my next move, but clearly the upbeat staff were coached to remind us how great they will be every bus transfer and aid station. If this course billed itself as a trail run or mud run, that's one thing. But a net-downhill, paved course within sights of Zion were the key points. That's what we prepared for. Basic planning & logistics for 3000 runners failed at several steps: the expo & bib pickup was in no place to support 3000 people in short notice. Total parking capacity (which reduced 2-way roads to 1-way) around 200? Somehow, the pre-race spaghetti feed still ran out of meatballs within the 30 min of opening. Despite the fact we were in the Zion area, with very limited cell reception and hiking on amazing remote trails, the race organizers insisted in their communications the day before the pick-up "Please Check Your Email Frequently This Weekend". 7 Texts and 3 emails later, we actually started running. I guess we were supposed to skip all our Zion hiking plans and stay glued to the screen to know what twist was next. The shuttles and parking locations were moved, because, well, spring occurred. The emails kept insisting that we get there very early and expect a walk, without any quantification. Like, a mile, with hills. (And we were among earliest parkers, if slower runners). We spent more time to- and from- our parking space than the race itself took. This also led to 2 miles of snaking parked cars along both sides of our run. Lovely The course was poorly chosen. The first mile was especially awful- a mile on unpaved mudbogs thru tacky, under-construction "family" campground and mini-golf course (astroturf too). Miles 7-9 occurred along the same snaking parking that earlier logistics fails created. Parking lot is not what I'd expect from a run touted in the National Park Series. Miles 9-11 followed a single-file mule train bounded by a mud to one side and barbed wire to the next. The portions which vaguely represented our expectations were miles 2-6 as bland yet inoffensive ranch land and the last 2 miles with distant views of a canyon. Less than half. We were happy that many runners found joy and satisfaction in this event. We also heavily discussed the sunken cost fallacy (https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/173/Sunk-Cost-Fallacy) that would greater affect destination races than local events. This event is altering how we plan travel around races in the future. Essentially, our group will not use any future Vacation Race events. We're trying to inject humor into the honest representations of the actual event (as this is what kept us going.) Please see pictures and decide if only the endorphins failed us that day. Please still go to Zion and experience the amazing landscapes and scenery. Their roads & trails are jaw-dropping, buses run regularly. The weather went from perfect sunny, to rain, to blizzard in our four days, yet- unlike this event- the Nat'l park staff and logistics are pros and nothing hampered our enjoyment of this amazing park. We only wish to have skipped this event to spend more time there. read more

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I ran the 2nd Zion Half Marathon. I've always wanted to run a destination race, especially in a National Park (or more like near a National park). I loved the race because of the great views. I felt that the organizers were great. They sent a decent number of emails about the race. I felt prepared, considering that I was an out of towner. In addition, they offer fun challenges like the Angels Club and Trifecta. As the website states, "If you were ever looking for any excuse to visit Zion, I can't think of a better one." I love the fact that we got the chance to run near the Zion National Park from Virgin to the driveway of the Giant Screen Theatre at the entrance to Zion. My friends and I also did a couple of hikes in the Zion National Park after the half marathon. I totally recommend it! The race is relatively small, which comes with its own pros and cons. It is not as crowded as your typical race in the city. At the same time, do not expect a big expo. The race has a small expo at the Giant Screen Theatre with a few vendors. I also like how the race tried to be environmentally friendly. The organizers are dedicated to maintaining a clean, cup-free race and preserving the beauty of the area we ran in. They provided each one of us with hydrapouch in our race bag. I personally have mixed feelings about hydrapouch. I like the purpose of hydrapouch, but it is not very easy to use. It falls off easily and can get you messy wet. Half Marathon #7 Time: 2:49 read more

Zion Half Marathon - Races & Competitions Near Me

Run this race and I promise you won't regret it! ;) Even though you don't actually run through Zion, the views are scenic throughout the course...I was stopping at every mile to take pictures! This race was my first vacation race and from this experience I would love to do another. They were so well organized and the support for the runners was the best I've ever seen (probably due to the smaller race size about 2500 runners) Pre-race: there was a warming tent. They raffled off multiple prizes starting two hours before the start. The had bananas, coffee and hot chocolate out before the race. During: At each water table - they also had an electrolyte drink as well as honey stinger energy gel. After: they handed out boxes to each runner that had a bunch of snacks, they also had water, chocolate milk and bananas available. I was pretty worried beforehand about how cold it would actually be the morning of since we took the pre-race shuttle from the finish line to the start at about 530 am... And as a California girl anything below 60 for me is cold, but they had the warming tent so it wasn't too bad. When we started the run it was probably low 40's... I got away with wearing Capri pants, a tank layered with a dri-fit long sleeve that had holes for my thumbs and an ear warmer headband. I was able to take my long sleeve off about mile 4 and be fine without it for the rest of the run. Also, if you're looking for another reason to come back - You can complete one of their hiking challenges after the race to get 50% off the next year. read more

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Total agreement with all the one star posts here. Zion is a beautiful national park. But Vacation Races is a joke and a shame of an organization. Everything people have already posted here is true and given the zero responses here it's clear the organization doesn't care. AVOID this race and any other race organized by Vacation Races. Money and time is wasted with them read more

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Ran this race in March 2016, and had a great time! Overall the race was well-organized and we had no issues with bib pickup or the race itself. PACKET PICK UP They had their expo the day before and they were flexible with letting other people pick up my bib. I left LA Friday afternoon, so I gave a copy of my ID to my sister so that she could get my bib for me. The shirt also came in multiple colors which was cool, and it had a beautiful design on it. COURSE t was nice to see a smaller race that didn't have 10,000+ participants and it was also great to see the cup free running. I didn't use the cup that they offered, and chose to use my own water bottle. The course itself is a continuous uphill but the elevation gain isn't that significant. It's only about 500ft total. Even though we didn't run through Zion National Park itself, it was nice to see the rock formations outside of the park. We were also able to run through the Zion Canyon Village near the end of the race. The best part about the race is that it's well stocked with snacks, gel packs, water, and electrolytes. There were also porto potties available. I didn't even pack any food because they gave out so much food during the race. At the end of the race they gave us a snack box and chocolate milk. The snacks were great! MEDAL The medal is amazing!!! One of the reasons why I ran this half marathon in the first place. Not only is the medal itself large, it also has nice etching on the back. OTHER STUFF! Make sure to pay attention to your e-mail and text messages if you choose to sign up for the race. They had to make some last minute changes because it rained that morning. Before the race started, the rain made it the ground super muddy so parking was a hassle. Luckily we were able to park at a church and a shuttle picked us up from the church and then brought us back there at the end of the race. Also, if you sign up with a team of 6 people, then you will all get a discount on your registration! read more

Zion Half Marathon - Races & Competitions Near Me

I've always wanted to visit Zion National Park; why not throw in a half marathon for the extra fun challenge? :) This race sells out! But they have a generous refund policy; they offered a full refund up until December (3 months before the race) which is the most flexible refund policy I've seen of any race! While the course doesn't run through Zion National Park, it still offers gorgeous views and scenes. It's a steady uphill route to the entrance of the park, but don't let the incline scare you! It's really not bad and some parts of the route actually felt like I was going downhill. Pros: - Great communication; emails, FB and on the day of the race, there were last minute changes and I got a text alert from them which I appreciate! - Beautiful, big medal + fitted technical t-shirt - Plenty of aid stations stocked with water, guu, nuun, bananas, oranges - cup free aka no cups littering the roads - good vibes all around Cons = none! Overall, a really well organized, beaUTAHful race. I would definitely run another Vacation race! Last pro-tip: after resting from the run, I would definitely try to explore the park a little. I was able to do the Riverside Walk, the Weeping Willow, the Lower Emerald Pool Hike and see the Three Patriarchs the afternoon of the race. All of those hikes/sites were short, easy and doable after a morning of running. read more

I was nervous going into this race based on the reviews here but I am relieved to report that I was pleasantly surprised by how wonderful this race was! The location was spectacular and the course really showcased all the beauty that the mesa has to offer. It was great being able to camp essentially right by the start line and turned the event into a weekend-long celebration. The event was very well organized despite there being a time change for high winds (which I believe was a very smart call). The race staff and volunteers were friendly and maintained a crazy level of enthusiasm as they cheered on all 3,000 runners as they crossed the finish line! Overall (if I chose to endure another half marathon) I would definitely return back to any of the Vacation Races! read more

Truly disappointing. Always wanted to visit Zion so signed up for this half. Ran on rutted out access roads, past bar wire fences and through horse pastures. Saw Zion in the far distance for one brief stretch. The aid stations were great, I appreciated the cup-free race, and love my medal but I feel completely duped. read more

Zion Half Marathon - "Scenic" course - Races & Competitions Near Me

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Zion half marathon 2017: new course. I have run several half marathons in the last few years. This is by far the worst. First of all, the scenic route was not scenic. I believe this is the first time the race has used this course. It will hopefully be the last. Out of the entire course, about 2-3 miles were remotely pretty. Otherwise you spend a lot of time looking at mud, roads, parked cars, and running along a barbed wire fence. See the photos I uploaded. The website is clear that the race is not in zion. To clarify though, you will not see any view of zion except if you happen to be driving through after the race. Overall, I feel the website is deceiving making the race and route seem more scenic than it was. I feel like I have been deceived. Also, the race seemed to be very disorganized. The day before, when you pick up the packet, the "expo" was not set up by start time. Parking was a nightmare, they only had one warming tent for 3000 runners, and the hot chocolate/ coffee before the race ran out. I spent the week before the race in zion. It is truly breath taking and awesome in its grandeur. I am glad i saw the park before the race, which does not offer an iota of the beauty of this area. I feel badly for the runners that drove long distances just for this race and got cheated. Come see zion Skip this race. read more

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What a beautiful race. Most of the races I run have been major 25,000+ people events, so running with 2,180 people this time was nice (if I were a IG selfie queen this is where I would write #blessed). This was the 3rd annual Zion Half and I wish I could have been a part of it the previous two years! PROS: -Beautiful scenery. The race starts a few minutes after sunrise, so the red rocks looked so, so pretty -Warming tent, OMG FTW, bless your hearts for having this tent -Hot chocolate, water, coffee, Vaseline, baby wipes, bananas and some other stuff that I forget was available right outside the warming tent for your convenience. -The most delicious oranges were given at mile 7 and 11, aaahhh so good. Bananas too, just not as tasty. -Best post race box I've ever had! -Large, lovely medal (though as my tenth? eleventh? half, I'm mostly over medals but this is my new favorite) -Angel's Club. Do it. You won't regret it. Unless you are deathly afraid of heights...do the Narrows instead. CONS: -Not enough Porta-Potty's (thought the race owner/creator/director/whoever already addressed this, so I will leave it at that) -Not enough trash cans!!!!!! You wanted this to be a clean, litter free race yet you provided like 3 trashcans on the course? Seriously though, having trashcans only at the Aid Stations is a mistake. There should have at least been trashcans at every mile marker, maybe even every half mile. At one point I ran with an orange peel for 2.5 miles because I didn't want to trash Mother Nature, geez Louise. The next time I grabbed an orange I just had to find a mini pile of peels that other smart people started and left it there. -Let's have a raffle where only 20% of people will be present and if you aren't there then too bad, oh well, don't even think about going to get coffee or go to the bathroom, you're SOL! This is where, as a race organization, you write "must be present to win" in the booklet or if that was too much, you make an announcement throughout the raffle drawing (which you did not). Real amateur mistake. There were only 2,200 people involved, each with a number and (shock) a matching name, phone number, address, AND email. It wouldn't have been that hard to find the winners. -Could the choke start be a little less choked next year? Like 3 more feet, that's all. Out of people's control: -At some point traffic starts to build up and while its fun running next to people parked in their cars...breathing exhaust fumes for 9 miles is unpleasant -Water coming from coolers taste gross. Just a fact. Meh. -Since it was windy, the Vaseline had a bunch of sand/dirt in it :( my feet still appreciated the jelly though -Can't wait to see next year's t-shirt design! -Though it doesn't look like it, this course is completely uphill in elevation. Miles 6, 10, and most of 12 I believe, will suck. Feel extra accomplished when you cross that finish line! Already looking forward to next year's race and some of the other Vacation Races this year :D read more

9 mikes of mud, no views, no parking, terrible course, long lines for check in, long lines for buses and would only load one bus at a time while everyone stood in the cold and mud. Poor logistics. Took 2 1/2 hrs to get back to hotel after the race due to congestion and traffic at east entrance. Had to reschedule flight out of Vegas costing over $300 in change fees. Not sure who's doing the planning for this race and doing logistics but they should be axed. Total up air fare, hotels and fees and we could have gone to Hawaii. Not to mention it's the same week as all the schools are out in Utah on spring break. read more