Yellowstone Half Marathon

Course highlights

The race 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 many hotels on the south side of town. The the race takes place on a dirt road and trail in Gallatin National Forest immediately southwest of West Yellowstone, MT. The course starts flat but has a major and a minor hill that you need to train for. You can see a map and elevation profile below. The best part of the course is that you will be less than a mile from the west park entrance. That is 32 miles from Old Faithful and 24 miles from the Grand Prismatic Spring.

The whole race is on a dirt road (depending on weather, there may be puddles). The first three miles is basically a flat loop on Jeep Trail and Whiskey Springs Rd. Mile 3-4 are pretty flat and straight as you head towards the hills. At mile 5 is where it really starts to get pretty, and challenging. You run over a beautiful bridge that crosses the South Fork Madison River and really start to enter the forest. Mile 6 is the most challenging section. You will start running uphill and in the 6th mile you will gain about 200 feet in elevation. Thick forest on either side. If you have to use bear spray it will be in this section (just kidding, but not really). You then start to flatten out and then enter a downhill. The course gets more technical around mile 7 with some rocks and a less defined path. The course will be clearly marked, but those in the front will feel like you are running through some weeds. Mile 8 is real fast down hill. Continues to be technical and weedy. Mile 9-10 is downhill for bit an then starts to flatten out a bit as you enter some really beautiful area. At mile 11 there is a slight hill that will feel big if you are not ready for it. Its only a 40-50 foot gain, but its later in the race. Mile 12 to the finish will be slightly downhill or flat.