Why Should I sign up for this race?
Beautiful course, free breakfast, good company, race photos, custom locally made finisher medal and awards, friendly competition, and a performance t-shirt you will actually want to wear when running. What more could you want? Really if you can think of something let us know and we will try to get it!
The Deer Creek Half Marathon starts and finishes in Soldier Hollow Campground. An amazing area home to some of Utah's most incredible trails. The majority of this race is run along the beautiful Deer Creek Reservoir.
This trail run is very beginner friendly for anyone deciding they want to give trail running a try. However, the rolling hills will still present a challenge for even the experienced runners looking to push themselves!
We recommend viewing our website for more information including course map and details as well as other races we offer! www.happytrailsrace.com
Half Marathon
This race starts off at Soldier Hollow Campground. You will reach the Provo Jordan River Parkway Trail in half a mile at which point you will connect to the beautiful Deer Creek Reservoir. You run along this well made dirt trail for the next 6 miles until turning around. You will be rewarded with terrific views of the lake and mountains while going both directions!
This trail is well packed dirt with little tripping hazards. This makes it beginner friendly and an awesome trail to run on for runners of all levels. We do recommend bringing a water bottle or pack due to the aid stations being 4.3 miles apart.
Start to Aid 1 - 4.3 miles and +297/-358 ft elevation
Aid 1 to Aid 2 - 4.5 miles and +329/-329 ft elevation
Aid 2 to Finish - 4.3 miles and +358/-297 ft elevation
13.1 miles and +970 ft elevation total
95% Dirt Trail, 5% Dirt Single Track
No cutoff time, we want everyone finishing even if it means walking.
General
Race
July 12th 2025
Starts and finishes at the Soldier Hollow Campground Group Pavilion
Half Marathon will start 6:00 am
Early Registration - $55
Registration - $65
Late Registration - $75
Packet pickup
Friday 3 pm to 6 pm at the Sandy Salt Lake Running Store
Race day pickup starts at 5:00 am.
We recommend all runners arrive at least 45 minutes early to ensure a stress free and smooth start. Pre-race announcement 15 minutes before each start time.
Swag
Runners will receive a high quality race shirt and a custom locally made finishers medal
Post Race Breakfast
Great Harvest Bread will have cinnamon rolls, cookies, and pumpkin chocolate chip bread! We will also have chocolate milk, orange juice, and bananas.
Awards
Overall male and female will receive a custom locally made plaque for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
Salt Lake Running Company will provide 1st place with gift cards as well!
Age Division medals will also be handed out to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place male and female in these age groups: >20, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+
Free Photos
Xotio Media will be on the course taking photos as well as the finish line. Photos will be hosted on their website providing easy access for downloads using bib recognition. We will NOT put a logo or watermark on your picture. Instead of ruining your picture with our logo we would rather rely on you telling your friends and family about our races!
Finish Line
Awards ceremony will be held when we have our winners. Revive Sport & Spine will be there to help with your aches and pains post race, Dr. Reheisse is amazing! We will also have a Photo backdrop for pictures with friends and family as well as Cornhole, our favorite game!
Parking
Free parking
Word of mouth
Your friends and family are the best way to promote this race. Running is much more fun with a buddy!
Volunteers
These events are not possible without help! To show our appreciation all volunteers will receive a free race entry for any future Happy Trails race. Expires after one year. In addition volunteers will have access to food at the finish line area.
Late Registration
Begins June 12th and closes July 11th at 11:59 pm
We cannot guarantee all participants registering after June 12th will be able to order a shirt. We will order extra to do our best to accommodate late registration. If we do not have your size or you do not want a shirt you can use code NOSHIRT at checkout for $10 off registration.
Same Day Registration
Not available. Registration will close Friday night at 11:59 pm
Weather
Average high is 84*F and average low is 57*F in July for this area which stays cooler in the mornings due to being higher than the Salt Lake Valley
Race Director - Don Hantla
801-230-5070
happytrailsrace@gmail.com
Capacity
Due to our races utilizing beautiful and amazing trails we are limited on how many runners we can have. This is because of trail usage, parking, facilities, and permits needed to make these events happen.
Half Marathon runner cap - 225
About Us
At Happy Trails Running we focus on a beautiful course and an amazing experience. We want our races to be events that runners look forward to every year. We believe in quality over quantity which is why we cap all races at 300 or less participants. This lets us hold races in unique areas that would be off limits to a large race due to parking and trail capacity.
We also believe in keeping everything local. This enables us to both support our community but also keep costs down. We want our races to be simple, affordable, and convenient for runners. You won't find huge expos at our races, just local businesses, friends, and family having a great time!
If there is anything we can do to improve your experience with our races please reach out to us. We are always trying to improve our events. Your feedback, what you liked and did not like, is the best way to achieve this.
Our courses will not focus on setting PR's with mostly downhill running but instead on enjoying all of the beautiful trails the Wasatch Mountains have to offer. We hope our races will make lasting memories and experiences for all of our runners.
If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you!
We hope to see you at the races or on the trails. Until then, Happy Trails!
Event's current local time: 4:43 PM MT
