Vacation Races’ National Park half-marathon series gives you a way to run in some of the most beautiful places in America.

No matter how well the first six or so miles go, by mile eight or nine of a half-marathon, it’s going to start feeling hard. Running through the trails near Zion National Park, the landscape is some consolation. If you’re subjecting yourself to running that far, it might as well be in one of the most beautiful places in America.

That’s the thinking behind Vacation Races’ National Park halfmarathon series, which kicked off the 2017 season with the Zion Half Marathon on April 1. Runners wound from Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort, 6,500 feet up, down through miles of mud that threatened to suck the shoes off each runner, ending 13.1 miles later just outside the east entrance of the park.

Through October, Vacation Races will host events at or near 11 national parks across the country, including, closest to Las Vegas, races at the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and Yosemite. Registration costs range from $99 to $150, depending on the event and time of registration. That includes an event T-shirt and a post-race snack box.

With the exceptions of the events at Everglades National Park and Lake Powell, which is within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the