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The Tank Run trail near the end of the course. This photo taken on a smokey day from forest fires
Expressing your inner hero on the Faulty Trail
Views of the Cottonwood Canyon Rim
The Cairn-Age Trail, above Lower Cottonwood Canyon
Cairn-Age Trail, overlooking the Sevier Valley below
Cairns on the Cairn-Age Trail
The Faulty Trail, upper section
Scorpion Ridge (Cottonwood Canyon Rim)
10km Course:
Part 1: Civil Conservation Corp (CC) Road. (1.3 miles)
As you leave the Lion’s Park, you pass under the freeway overpass and begin up the gravel dirt mountain road created by the Civilian Conservation Corp during the Great Depression. Interesting fact, Ken Isbell, who this race is held in honor of, actually oversaw teams of workmen on this road when it was first being constructed 80+ years ago. You will run up this steep road, past the pink water tower. Stay on the main road, and do not take any cut-offs. DO NOT take the cut-off just before the Fish Lake National Forest sign, rather continue on the road around that hill. Did we mention the road is fairly steep?
Part 2: Connection Road (0.1 miles)
At about 1.3 miles into your run, turn right up onto a dirt road.
Part 3: The Big Red Trail (and a little Kiln-In) (1.4 miles)
OK, things level out quite a bit when you hit the bike trails, and while you are still climbing, it is much less steep. Follow the Big Red Trail up. You will pass thru a section with planks over rocks which is quite nice. At about mile 2.6 (cumulative distance since starting) there is a trail junction. Stay left, and continue up the Kiln-It Trail another 0.2 miles to the top of the draw, where several bike and ATV trails merge.
Part 4: 10 km Aid Station
Check in, refuel, and begin your downhill return! This is a new location for the Aid Station. Unlike all previous years for the 10km, DO NOT drop down the ATV, instead begin the Cairn Age Trail.
Part 5: Cairn-Age Bike Trails (1.1 miles)
This is a fun trail, with interesting rock formations and amazing views! At about mile 3.5 into your run, you will exit the Cairn-Age Trail.
Part 6: Connections (.25 miles)
Leave Kiln-It trail with a hard right onto a crossing ATV road, then a quick left turn on another ATV trail. This brings you back to the Kiln-It Trail, down lower than earlier.
Part 7: Kiln-It Trail - lower (0.3 miles)
Follow this trail down and over to ATV Trail #103.
Part 6: ATV Trails 103/104 (0.25 miles)
Turn right onto Trail #103, which is a bit steep and rocky. After a few hundred yards, you merge with ATV trail, #104, which isn’t quite as steep, but it is still blessed with lots of rocks.
Part 7: Tank Run Trail to the Water Tank & finish (1.6 miles)
Turn right onto the Tank Run trail. Tank Run (1.1 miles) is a mostly smooth single-track paralleling the freeway far below. For 2025, you go all the way to the end of the trail as it connects to the CC Road (no off trail scramble this year). At the CC Road, keep to the Left of the Water Tank, and reconnect to the CC Road run on earlier. Zoom on down the CC Road back under the freeway to where you started the day and finish at the Lion’s Park.
Overview
Experience the adventure of the wild red rock canyons of the Pahvant Range. Both the 10k and 1/2 Marathon explore several of the amazingly engineered Pahvant Mountain Bike Trail System trails.
The 10km course starts up the CC dirt road, continues up the Big Red & Kiln-It Trails to the 10km Aid Station. Here the 10km zooms down the Cairn-Age Trail and then circles back on the Tank Run Trail.
The 1/2 Marathon route (all new routing for 2025!) follows the 10km route up the Big Red and Kiln-It Trails to the 10km Aid Station, then it follows the Faulty Trail on up to the Cottonwood Canyon Rim (Trail #103). At Aid Station #1 in Little Valley, runners continue up through the center of Little Valley, and climb up to the One-In-A-Pinion Trail. This is followed over and down to the Spinal Tap Trail. 1/2 Marathon runners will descend all 4 miles of Lower Spinal Tap before finishing, in glory and pride!
See more of the new Pahvant Trail System. Here are videos by others:
+ Juniper Drop & Cairn-age Trails. High speed downhill biking.
+ Kiln-It up, and Cairn-age down. Click here to jump to Cairn-age.
+ 17 minutes hitting a bunch of the new trails.
GPX Download links (see race guide for more mapping options):
- 60km Spinal Tap Trail GPX & Strava (coming soon)
- 1/2 Marathon GPX & Strava (coming soon)
- 10 KM GPX (the new 2025 route will be slightly different - coming soon)
- 10 KM Route on Strava (the new 2025 route will be slightly different - coming soon)
Registration: Clickhere to register -->
Race Guide: 2024 Race Guide (updated 2025 guide coming soon!)
Time & Date: Richfield, Utah Lion’s Park Saturday, September 20, 2025. The 60km start at 5:00 AM (headlamps needed), the 1/2 marathon starts at 7:30 AM, and the 10km at 8:00 AM.
Bib pick-up the night before at the starting/finish area at the Lion's Park, or if needed come at least 45 minutes early on race morning.
Getting There: Richfield, Utah is located a 1hr 50 min drive South of Provo, and 2hrs 40 minutes South of Salt Lake City.
There are 2 freeway exits off I-70 into Richfield. From the North exit, drive South into town until you hit the first stoplight at 300 North, next to the City Park. Here turn West towards the mountains and drive 6 blocks to the Lion’s Park (600 West). We will meet up in the middle of the park at the main pavilion next to 400 North.
From the South, Richfield is about 1hr 50 minutes North of Cedar City, or 4hrs 15 minutes North of Las Vegas.
Check out this 102 second promotional video for Richfield City in 2018, which gives a shout-out to our race (click image to play):
Running with a dash of adventure: To enjoy this run you should be experienced running on technical trails (or at least power hiking) with limited support, and competent managing your own hydration and nutrition. There are aid stations throughout the course, but all runners must have personal hydration for 1 to 2 hours between aid stations. 60km runners are required to carry a rain jacket, and depending on the weather, shorter distances may also. We are still a small race, and a single pacer is welcome. And though we love dogs, no dogs on the course on race day.
Weather: Hopefully the weather will be dry. The clay sections become quite slick when wet. There is minimal chance for snow in September, but it is Utah, so come prepared for just about anything. 60km runners do summit at over 10,000 feet, so be prepared. Average temperatures mid-September is 45 degrees F on the low end and 75 degrees F on the high end.
Course Markings: The course will be marked at most places with signs, arrows, and ribbons corresponding to the race colors on the maps. Red = 60km, Blue = 1/2 Marathon (mixed with green to start up and red to end down), Green =10km.
Packet Pick-up: Packet pickup is the night before between 5:00 and 8:00 PM at the Richfield Lion's Park.
1/2 Marathon Course:
Section A: Up CC Road (1.3 miles) - see 10km description below
Section B: Big Red and Kiln-It Trails (1.5 miles) - see 10km description
Section C: Faulty Trail (1.1 miles)
At the Faulty Streambed Aid Station, you continue up the gentle grade Faulty Trail as it carves several large switch backs up the hill, crossing one large crack (fault) in the earth. Some great views of Cottonwood Canyon on top.
Section D: Trail #103 to Little Valley (2 miles)
Take a hard right when you hit ATV Trail #103, which starts with short descent and continues along the rim of the scenic Cottonwood Canyon. After dropping down into Little Valley, at the T fork in the road, catch the ATV road left (heading South) and follow it as it crosses the dry streambed in Little Valley until you hit Aid Station #1: Little Valley.
Section E: Little Valley Crossing & Climb (1 mile)
After checking in, continue on up through Little Valley - the first couple minutes will be navigating the dry streambed, which then turns into smooth packed clay (or possibly dust depending on the weather). After crossing the main CC dirt road, continue South until the marking and route take up up to the Little Valley rim. It can be quite steep the last short climb to the rim.
Section F: One-In-A-Pinion Trail (.75 miles)
Drop down following flagging about 50 yards to connect to the One-in-A-Pinion trail. Take this bike trail downhill to the South (turn right). As you continue on the trail, you will cross ATV Trail #84, and then the bike trail has a couple short switch backs before connecting to the Spinal Tap Trail.
Section G: Lower Spinal Tap Trail (descent 4.5 miles)
After about 0.5 miles, you will cross back over Trail #84, which is the location of your final aid station. Check in, refuel, and then zoom on down the dramatic red rock Spinal Tap Trail. Be mindful of bikers who might be zooming down this open trail, and step aside if you hear them coming.
Section H: Frontage Road to Finish (1.2 miles)
At the bottom of the Spinal Tap Trail, follow the chain-link fence to the right for a minute, then turn left and run towards the freeway overpass. At the freeway overpass, follow the raised gravel Frontage Road back North for 1 mile to the original overpass you started the day under. Pass back under this overpass, and finish at the Lion's Park where you began.
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