Located just a few miles north of the Utah-Arizona border is the heart of the most heavily concentrated collection of natural wonders anywhere in the world. It’s no 
wonder that new running events continue to be organized in the “Magically Unspoiled” area of Kanab and Kane County. Kane County is already home to a variety of running events, including the Grand to Grand Ultra Marathon, the Zion Ragnar, the Top of Zion Relay, the Dunesday Xtreme Triathlon, and Kanab 10K. The Little Hollywood Half Marathon is one of two new races coming to the Kanab area this year.
The new Little Hollywood Half Marathon will take place Saturday, Aug. 22—just one week before the annual Western Legends Roundup, which celebrates real cowboys of the West and the “reel” cowboys of the Western movies. This marathon is named after the nickname Kanab was given back in the heyday of Western movie making when more than 100 Western movies and TV series were filmed in and around Kanab.
The Little Hollywood Half Marathon will begin in scenic Long Valley, north of Kanab, and will wind past the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park into red rock country, through Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, finishing at the north end of Kanab at the Little Hollywood Museum, a great place to see some old Western movie sets and memorabilia.
Registration is now open at littlehollywoodhalfmarathon.com. The race fee is $55 and will include a T-shirt, a medal, cash prizes for the winners, numerous drawing prizes, and a post-race breakfast catered by Houston’s Trail’s End Restaurant.
A couple other new events that running enthusiasts can look forward to are the Hog Wild Trail Relay race in Kanab in September and the three-day Grand Circle Trail Fest, beginning October 2016.
