The first of two running events that take place among the majestic redwood forests of California’s Humboldt Redwoods State Park (October’s Humboldt Redwoods Marathon & Half Marathon is the other), the Avenue of the Giants Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K offers much of the same breathtaking scenery as its autumn counterpart, along a course once described by Runner’s World as one of the nation’s most beautiful running routes.
From the starting and finish line at the park’s Dyersville Bridge on Bull Creek Road, the out-and-back course for the half marathon follows the second out-and-back of the 26.2-mile race, heading south along the Avenue of the Giants (Highway 254), all the way along six and a half miles of paved roads to the turnaround point near Hammond Grove and Truss Creek, where runners then make the turn and retrace their steps back toward the start.
All along the course, which starts out flat for roughly the first mile and then becomes hillier and more challenging as runners move into the middle miles of the race, the scenery changes from a mix of redwoods to wide open spaces.
