Canyonlands Half Marathon & 5 Mile

The Canyonlands Half Marathon and 5 Mile Run on March 21, 2026, is a point-to-point road race on Scenic Byway 128 alongside the Colorado River in Moab, Utah, part of the Run Moab Series and established in May 1976 when 22 runners and one dog completed the inaugural edition. The Half Marathon starts at Sandy Beach at 8:15 AM Mountain Daylight Time; the 5 Mile Run follows at 8:35 AM from its designated start further along the same highway. Both races finish at Lions Park at mile marker 12 on US-191 in Moab. Shuttle service to the start lines is provided by the race organisation, and participants must register and collect packets at Lions Park on Friday March 20 between 3 and 7 PM. No race-day registration is accepted.

Who the Race Serves

The Canyonlands race structure accommodates a wide range of running backgrounds. The Half Marathon’s moderate elevation of approximately 4,000 feet and largely downstream grade through rolling terrain produce finishing times that run fast relative to comparable-distance races at higher elevation or with more significant vertical gain, which makes the event attractive for runners targeting a personal record in a stunning setting. The 5 Mile Run offers a shorter competitive distance for runners building mileage, families with single-sport participants, and participants whose primary motivation is the Byway 128 corridor rather than the half marathon challenge. Both distances use the same Colorado River canyon backdrop, and the difference in start time means that 5 Mile participants experience the morning light at a slightly different angle than the half marathon field, which in this canyon represents a meaningfully different visual composition.

If You’re Going With Kids: Non-running family members watching the race from Byway 128 should position at one of the highway pullouts between mile markers 12 and 18 for the best mid-course viewing, then relocate to Lions Park by 9:30 AM for the first half-marathon finishers. The park’s Colorado River access and Arches National Park proximity make the wait at the finish an outdoor morning in its own right rather than a passive spectating exercise. Dogs are welcome on leash at Lions Park and along the Byway 128 roadside viewing areas.

Moab in March: What the Canyon Country Provides Around the Race

Moab in late March carries the widest daily temperature swing of any race-weekend weather pattern in the American West: mornings in the canyon approach freezing while afternoons reach 18 to 22 degrees Celsius, which means packing for both simultaneously rather than either exclusively. Dead Horse Point State Park, 28 kilometres north of Moab via US-191 and Highway 313, provides the most visually concentrated mesa-top viewpoint in the canyon country within a day-trip distance of the race finish. Canyonlands National Park’s Island in the Sky district begins at the same junction, extending the plateau perspective across a 100-kilometre horizon that the canyon bottom of Byway 128 does not provide. For runners and families staying in Moab through the race weekend, Lake.com lists the Utah County Lake View Retreat as a vacation rental base for the greater southeastern Utah canyon country corridor.