2026 Hoover Dam Marathon 2025

Now in its 15th edition, the Hoover Dam Half Marathon is a small, fiercely scenic race with just over a hundred finishers — and a loyal core of about 6% who come back year after year. It starts at Lake Mead's Boulder Beach, in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, about 18 miles from Las Vegas.

The first quarter-mile climbs gradually on a wide roadway before turning onto the paved River Mountains Loop Trail, which runs undulating through the Mojave Desert. By mile 3 you're on the Historic Railroad Trail, a hard-packed dirt path through several railroad tunnels blasted in the 1930s to haul supplies for the construction of Boulder Dam — now Hoover Dam. The trail sits on a ridge above the crystal-blue waters of Lake Mead, with the desert stretching all around.

With cool race-day temperatures in the low 40s to low 60s and dry desert air, it's comfortable running, even if the course rolls more than it flats. The field is intimate, so you get the quiet beauty of a national park rather than a crowded road race. This is an American West classic that rewards a trip.