“Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” — William Faulkner
1) Spicewood Vineyards Half Marathon
Filled with scenic farmland, vineyards and rural roads, the course for this race offers some challenging hills as well as beautifully pastoral views of the Texas Hill Country, which lies just a short drive from Austin.
Sat, Dec 3 • Spicewood, TX
2) OUC Orlando Half Marathon
Featuring a course that takes runners through downtown Orlando, just a short drive from nearby Walt Disney World, this fast and mostly flat race also has live bands throughout and runs past several local city parks.
Sat, Dec 3 • Orlando, FL
3) VA Runner Blue & Gray Half Marathon
A scenic run through one of Virginia’s most historic cities awaits at this race, which runs through downtown Fredericksburg, past the campus of the University of Mary Washington and along stretches of the Rappahannock River, through the heart of the city.
Sun, Dec 4 • Fredericksburg, VA
4) Islamorada Half Marathon
Set for just its 2nd annual running this year, this race features a long out-and-back run on the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys, and is run where Ted Williams visited to go sportfishing for more than four decades.
Sat, Dec 10 • Islamorada, FL
5) Hoover Dam Half Marathon
The desert landscape of southern Nevada, combined with awe-inspiring views of one of the most spectacular man-made structures in the world, combine for a scenic out-and-back race near the shore of Lake Mead.
Sat, Dec 10 • Boulder City, NV
6) Jeff Galloway 13.1 Half Marathon
Run through several of Atlanta’s most historic neighborhoods and its scenic intown park trails at this race, where you’ll cross the finish line at the crown jewel of its public parks, Piedmont Park, next to the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
Sun, Dec 11 • Atlanta, GA
7) The North Face Endurance Challenge
Set to run the stunningly gorgeous — as well as very hilly and challenging — trails of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just across the bridge from downtown San Francisco, this race is part of a weekend filled with a full marathon, half marathon, 50-mile, 50K, 10K and a 5K.
Sun, Dec 4 • San Francisco, CA
8) Holualoa Tucson Half Marathon
You’ll run an almost all-downhill course at this race, which starts just north of the Biosphere 2 research facility (really!) and finishes at the Golder Ranch Fire Station in Tucson, which one commenter on our site described as “one of the prettiest marathon courses in the country” and “one of the easiest to run a personal best.”
Sat, Dec 10 • Tucson, AZ
