The Best Half Marathons You Can Walk

Yes, we love running. But we’re equally fans of walking too. Some races, like the Kauai Half Marathon, take you through lush, tropical forests where walking gives you the advantage of being able to take in the sights, smells, and ambiance around you. A low-impact exercise, walking also offers a less intimidating entry point for those who have never run a marathon or half marathon before. With a solid training plan in place and the right preparation, you’re bound to have a great time.

Calendar: Best Walking Half Marathons of 2025

• Burn Your Half Off on July 2025 (date TBA)
• Dave McKay Memorial Half Marathon on August 2025 (date TBA)
• The Kauai Marathon on August 31, 2025
• Holland Haven Half Marathon on September 7, 2025
• Surfers Point Half Marathon on September 7, 2025
• Long Beach Half Marathon on October 5, 2025
• Portland Half Marathon on October 5, 2025
• WhiskeyRow Half Marathon on October 2025 (date TBA)
• Run Crazy Horse Half Marathon on October 5, 2025
• WhistleStop Half Marathon on October 11, 2025
• Des Plaines River Trail Half Marathon on October 11, 2025
• Lake Powell Half Marathon on October 2025 (date TBA)
• Indian Creek Trail 15-Mile on October 18, 2025
• Urban Bourbon Half Marathon on October 18, 2025
• Des Moines Half Marathon on October 19, 2025
• Grand Rapids Half Marathon on October 19, 2025
• Happy Girls Run Sisters Half Marathon on October 25, 2025
• DONNA National Half Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer on February 2, 2025
• Lost Dutchman Marathon on February 16, 2025
• Modesto Half Marathon on March 23, 2025
• West Point Fallen Comrades Half Marathon on March 9, 2025
• Earth Day Half Marathon on April 19, 2025
• San Juan Island Half Marathon on May 10, 2025
• New River Half Marathon on May 17, 2025
• Slacker Half Marathon on June (date TBA)
• East Bay Half Marathon on June 8, 2025
• Governor’s Cup Half Marathon on June 14, 2025
• Skagway Half Marathon on June 2025 (date TBA)
• The Great Ferry Race Half Marathon on June 8, 2025
• Kona Marathon on June 21, 2025
• Totem to Totem Half Marathon on July 2025 (date TBA)

Burn Your Half Off

• Where: Chattanooga, Tennessee
• When: July 2025 (exact date TBA)

A cheeky name isn’t the only fun thing about this race. The route winds along the Tennessee Riverwalk trail and features unique public art, green spaces, fishing piers, and the Chickamauga Dam. A party awaits you at the finish line with food and festivities that continue until the last person finishes. “Walkers are not only allowed, they are encouraged,” according to the website. With a time limit of 8 hours this is a great race for first-timers at any distance.

Dave McKay Memorial Half Marathon

• Where: Flagstaff, AZ
• When: August 2025 (TBA)

Get ready for a high-altitude challenge at this race, which lies at an elevation of about 7,000 feet above sea level and features a walkers’ start an hour and a half before the runners. This challenging and scenic course starts at Thorpe Park and ascends a steep urban trail onto the beautiful Observatory Mesa Natural Area.

The Kauai Marathon

• Where: Poipu, HI
• When: August 31, 2025

Walking this half marathon matches the island’s relaxed, unhurried pace. Wind your way through waterfalls, tropical foliage, and ‘The Tunnel of Trees,” a beautiful canopy of over 500 Eucalyptus trees. This race offers one of the most beautiful places anywhere on earth for a running/walking event.

Holland Haven Half Marathon

• Where: Holland, MI
• When: September 7, 2025

Set along the coast of Lake Michigan, Holland offers a peaceful and scenic small town atmosphere for your next race. This walker-friendly half marathon has a 6-hour time limit and runs along the lakeshore with both paved roads and biking trails past Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa.

Surfers Point Half Marathon

• Where: Ventura, CA
• When: September 7, 2025

Lined with palm trees along the Southern California coastline, Ventura’s Promenade Park serves as the race start and finish for this event, which offers a generous 7-hour time limit. The course is very flat and walker-friendly, and most of the race takes place either within shouting distance of the beachfront or along the beachfront itself.

Long Beach Half Marathon

• Where: Long Beach, California
• When: October 5, 2025

Featuring long stretches of beachfront runs along the Pacific coastline, the Long Beach course takes runners and walkers along a fast, flat course with some of the most scenic seaside running areas in California. The half marathon has a course time limit of 6 hours.

Portland Half Marathon

• When: October 5, 2025
• Where: Portland, OR

Dubbed one of the “Best Fall Marathons” by Runner’s World, this course runs through the streets and riverside parkways of Oregon’s largest and highlights some of the city’s best sights. They offer a 6-hour time limit for the half marathon too.

WhiskeyRow Half Marathon

• Where: Prescott, AZ
• When: October 2025 (date TBA)

Organizers say the challenging climbs of this race make it one of the toughest marathons in the U.S., but if you can finish the half marathon in 5 hours you are welcome to enter as a walker. The race event is known for its rugged terrain, it’s emphatic elevation gains, and its often severe weather run-ins throughout the challenging course. If you’re up for the challenge, Whiskey Row is surely going to become your favorite annual half marathon!

Run Crazy Horse Half Marathon

• Where: Crazy Horse, SD
• When: October 5, 2025

The gorgeous and oftentimes stark and jagged natural scenery of South Dakota’s Black Hills will be on display at this race, which features a 7-hour time limit for walkers and runners. Designed to raise awareness and interest in the area’s majestic tourist attractions, the race also serves as a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity and the American Heart Association.

WhistleStop Half Marathon

• When: October 11, 2025
• Where: Ashland, WI

Run along a crushed limestone gravel trail that’s designed to be easier on the knees and joints than ordinary road races. This fast and flat course winds along Wisconsin’s Tri-County Corridor, a 60-mile rails-to-trails project that spans from the lakeshore Wisconsin town of Superior all the way to Ashland. The race offers a scenic fall backdrop and a 6-hour time limit for its 13.1-mile distance.

Des Plaines River Trail Half Marathon

• When: October 11, 2025
• Where: Des Plaines IL

Starting and finishing at the Half Day Forest Preserve, this course winds along the beautiful and fast Des Plaines River Trail located just outside of Chicago. Flat and wide, the crushed gravel trail is also free of roots and rocks which is ideal for fast times. You’ll have 9.5 hours to complete the race.

Lake Powell Half Marathon

• Where: Page, AZ
• When: October 2025 (date TBA)

A great half marathon for both beginners and experienced trail runners alike, this breathtaking race features a 4-hour time limit. Run just inside the outskirts of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument on the Utah-Arizona border and admire spectacular views that no other race course can offer in Arizona. With mountainside sites of Lake Powell, the Vermillion Cliffs and its painting-like red rocks throughout, plus tremendous temperatures to accompany it, this half marathon is one for the books.

Indian Creek Trail Run 15-Mile

• Where: Sedalia, CO
• When: October 18, 2025

Featuring some of the best, seldom-used single track of the Denver Metro area, this 15-mile course travels through the lower and upper montane ecosystems of the Front Range. Feast your eyes upon the lodgepole pine forest sprinkled with sprawling aspen groves, the same red rock formations that make up the Red Rocks Amphitheater, and occasional glimpses of nearby 14ers that tower above. The time of year also makes it a great opportunity to do some leaf peeping and admire the changing colors. You’ll have a cutoff time of 12 hours to see the sights and cross the finish line.

Urban Bourbon Half Marathon

• Where: Louisville, KY
• When: October 18, 2025

If you like bourbon, this is your race. Jim Beam will greet you at the finish line, where you’ll have the option to take a tour of the distillery and enjoy a bourbon tasting. The half marathon features exclusive bourbon experiences and a post-race party that Runner’s World called “one of the best half marathon after-parties in the country.” As long as you can keep an 18 minute per mile pace, you’ll be well on your way to whiskey.

Grand Rapids Half Marathon

• Where: Grand Rapids, MI
• When: October 19, 2025

Thanks to its gentle, forgiving fast and flat course, this race is considered an excellent choice for first-time marathoners and half marathoners. With a supportive atmosphere and emphasis on community and celebrating accomplishments of all kind, this is a race that is bound to lift your spirit.

Happy Girls Run Sisters Half Marathon

• Where: Sisters, OR
• When: October 25, 2025

Meet new friends and enjoy bonding time with women of all ages and levels. You’ll have 4 hours to finish this all-women’s trail half marathon along the Peterson Ridge Trail, a more than 20-mile-long network of mountain biking and hiking trails that (depending on the season) can be dusty and loose or packed with snow. The course weaves through the Deschutes National Forest, offering stunning views and rolling terrain amongst the Ponderosa pines. Be ready for a challenge with elevation change and some climbing in the beginning.

Donna National Half Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer

• Where: Jacksonville Beach, FL
• When: February 2, 2025

Do you enjoy long walks on the beach? This race features two and a half miles along the sands of Jacksonville’s beaches and an opportunity to support one of the running world’s most significant charitable fundraising efforts. Past years have seen more than 6,000 runners cross the finish line in all races combined to help those fighting breast cancer and to support research in combatting the disease.

Lost Dutchman Half Marathon

• Where: Apache Junction, AZ
• When: February 16, 2025

Quoted as one of the “Best Little Marathons in the Country” by Runner’s World, this race offers a rugged desert course and what is usually a smaller field of participants than bigger-city races. Beautifully scenic and very challenging, there is a 6:30 time limit to give walkers ample opportunity to cross the finish line.

Modesto Half Marathon

• Where: Modesto, CA
• When: March 23, 2025

This running event also serves as a fundraiser for the city’s local nonprofit, Teens Run Modesto. The program supports local youth, especially those at-risk, with goal-setting, character development, adult mentoring and improved physical fitness. The half marathon course if flat and fast, taking participants through tree-lined historic college neighborhoods, past Modesto Junior College’s west campus, and into the countryside surrounded by scenic orchards.

West Point Fallen Comrades Half Marathon

• Where: West Point, NY
• When: March 9, 2025

This race takes runners around the campus of the United States Military Academy at West Point and along the Hudson River. The half marathon welcomes walkers to participate with its 4-hour course time limit.

Earth Day Half Marathon

• Where: Baldwinsville, NY
• When: April 19, 2025

The mostly flat rural roads of this village in New York’s Finger Lakes region beckon runners and walkers with a 4-hour time limit to take in the area’s quaint scenic beauty. The race usually takes place within a few days of Earth Day and encourages participants to take a moment of appreciation for their surroundings— rolling farmlands, the sparking water of Beaver Lake, and wide-open farm fields dotted with horses and cows.

San Juan Island Half Marathon

• Where: Friday Harbor, WA
• When: May 10, 2025

“Run where the sea meets the sky” – Orca Running. The San Juan Island Half Marathon offers runners and walkers a course filled with rolling hills and jaw-dropping views of one of the most peaceful, serene places in the country. The time cutoff for this race is 5 hours and 30 minutes.

New River Half Marathon

• Where: Todd, NC
• When: May 17, 2025

The serene beauty of western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains is on full display at this late spring race where you’ll walk along the flat, scenic New River. The time limit for the half marathon is 5 hours and 45 minutes.

Slacker Half Marathon

• Where: Georgetown, CO
• When: June 2025 (date TBA)

Dubbed “the highest downhill half marathon” by race organizers, this course starts at 10,630 feet above seas level at Colorado’s Loveland Ski Resort and descends to 8,400 by the finish line. It features a combination of dirt and paved roads, leading participants through beautiful wetlands, natural waterfalls, stunning views of the Continental Divide and historic mining remnants. With no strict time limit, this is a great race for those who want to try a half-marathon distance for the first time!

East Bay Half Marathon

• Where: East Providence, RI
• When: June 8, 2025

Walk on fast and mostly flat terrain along both roads and bike paths while admiring the gorgeous views of Narragansett Bay and the city of Providence. There are a few hilly sections sprinkled in, but you can rejoice in a downhill finish. This race features a 4-hour course time limit to welcome walkers.

Governor’s Cup Half Marathon

• Where: Helena, MT
• When: June 14, 2025

The hills are alive at this race. Walk among the gorgeous mountains and rolling backcountry roads of the Helena Valley while challenging yourself to a hilly course. The race starts off with a gradual downhill, followed by a challenging hilly stretch for miles 3 through 7, and later at mile 11 a steep uphill dubbed “Cardiac Hill” awaits you. The stunning views may offer a little reprieve, and you have a generous 5-hour time limit to the finish line.

Skagway Half Marathon

• Where: Skagway, AK
• When: June 2025 (date TBA)

Looking for an adventurous experience? Organizers created this designated 13.1 walking race that traces the runners route and features stunning sights of the Alaskan wilderness. Unfolding over hills and past mountains, portions of glaciers, past streams and through forests, it’s no easy feat but definitely worth the while if you’re one who enjoys the great outdoors.

The Great Ferry Race Half Marathon

• Where: Bainbridge Island, WA
• When: June 8, 2025

Escape the hustle and bustle of downtown Seattle and enjoy a scenic ferry ride as you cross over to Bainbridge Island to start the race. This half marathon begins on ferry dock and takes participants all around the Island, surrounded by the Olympic Mountains to the west and Mount Rainier off in the distance in the southeast. The course is approximately 2/3rds road and 1/3rd groomed trail with a 4-hour time limit.

Kona Half Marathon

• Where: Kailua-Kona, HI
• When: June 21, 2025

This point-to-point course starts at the Waikoloa Beach Resort and unfolds past its golf course, hotels and homes, nestled along Hawaii’s Kohala Coast. The race is filled with gently rolling terrain but the elevation change is very small. Famed for its stunning views of the Pacific Ocean as well as its lagoons and lakes along its golf courses, the resort is where you’ll spend most of the race, making your way along Waikoloa Beach Drive and Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. The walker-friendly event gives you 8 hours to cross the finish line.

Totem to Totem Half Marathon

• Where: Ketchikan, AK
• When: July 2025 (date TBA)

The long, mountainous and forested shoreline of the Tongass Narrows waterway is the setting for the annual springtime Totem to Totem Half Marathon, a 13.1-mile race that takes participants along a point-to-point course. Experience beautiful vistas with tree-covered mountains along the Tongass Highway, where you can expect to see local wildlife, fishing villages and boats streaming along the water in the narrows all along the race route. The event is open to both runners and walkers and usually features a smaller field of participants.