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 performance t-shirt. Our goal is to provide convenient, affordable, and fun races to runners.

South Mountain Half Marathon runs along the incredible Jordan River Parkway. This race will focus on the Southern half of this amazing trail system and takes you past parks, Thanksgiving Point, and finally up to the foothills of South Mountain itself. The trail is more challenging than most paved races due to the elevation gain!

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

The Half Marathon starts at Olympic Park which is located right next to the Jordan River. You immediately merge with the Jordan River Trail which you will follow for almost the entire race.

After leaving Olympic Park you will be treated to some of the best parts of the Jordan River Trail as you run past Thanksgiving Point.

Just as you are past Thanksgiving Point you come to the first aid station and begin a climb up the foothills of South Mountain in Bluffdale. This will bring you to the second aid station. You will be treated to amazing views of both Utah County and Salt Lake County.

After this you will make your way under the Porter Rockwell bridge to the third aid station which is also the turn around point of the race. 

The course is an out and back with a climb and rollers leading up to the turn around point. If it doesn't challenge you it won't change you!

Start to Aid 1 - 2.0 miles +41/-53 ft elevation (Bathrooms at start)

Aid 1 to Aid 2 - 2.2 miles +170/-76 ft elevation (Aid 2 has bathrooms)

Aid 2 to Aid 3 - 2.4 miles +75/-209 ft elevation

Aid 3 to Aid 4 - 2.4 miles +209/-75 ft elevation (Aid 4 has bathrooms)​

Aid 4 to Aid 5 - 2.2 miles +76/-170 ft elevation

Aid 5 to Finish - 2.0 miles +53/-41 ft elevation (Bathrooms at finish)

13.1 miles and +625 ft elevation total
100% Paved Trail

*There will be Trail Marshals positioned at major intersections to prevent you from getting lost or cutting.

No cutoff time, we want everyone finishing even if it means walking.

Navigation
Course is marked with pink flags, ribbons, signs, and trail marshals.

General

Race
April 19th 2025 starts and finishes at Olympic Park, Lehi UT

Half Marathon will start 6:30 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 5:30 am located at the starting line.

We recommend all runners arrive at least 45 minutes before their races start time to ensure a stress free and smooth start if you do not pickup your packet the day before. Pre-race announcement 10 minutes before race begins.

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, seasonal bread, and pumpkin chocolate chip bread! We will also have chocolate milk, orange juice, and bananas.

Awards
Overall male and female for the Half Marathon 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 be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place male and female in these age groups: >20, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+
​
Navigation
Courses are marked with pink flags, ribbons, signs, and trail marshals.

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!

Aid Stations​
Aid stations will have Gatorade, water, Honey Stinger gels/waffles, fruit, and an assortment of whatever looks good at Costco that the race director wants an excuse to eat. Usually Swedish Fish or Nerd Clusters.

Parking
We ask all runners to please carpool or be dropped off as parking is limited. Parking is free. Map of parking locations can be found on the website!

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.​ Click here for more info!

Late Registration
Begins March 20th and closes April 18th at 11:59 pm

We cannot guarantee all participants registering after March 20th 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 69*F and average low is 48*F

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.

South Mountain Half Marathon runner cap - 250

About

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 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 Front area has 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: 3:14 AM MT