Trail Running Calendar California 2025-2026

The Women's Headlands Half Marathon is a scenic 13.2-mile trail race held annually in the Marin Headlands near Mill Valley, California. Celebrating its third year in 2025, the event features a challenging course with nearly 2,000 feet of elevation gain, showcasing stunning singletrack trails, sweepi..

Wild Wild West Marathon & Ultra in Lone Pine, California is the oldest trail marathon in the United States, hosted by the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce for 46 years. The event offers 50-mile and 50K ultramarathons, plus a marathon and a 10-mile race, routing runners through the Alabama Hills and the..

The Auburn Half Marathon, held in Auburn, California, is a Brazen Racing trail event offering a half marathon, 12K, and 5K. Scheduled for October 4, 2025, the courses start at Overlook Park and run into the Auburn State Recreation Area, with more than half the route on the Western States Trail. Runn..

Star City San Bruno Mountain Half Marathon & 5K, organized by the Excelsior Running Club, takes place in Brisbane, CA, on the San Bruno Mountain trails. The course is 93% on trail with about 2,400 feet of elevation gain, including a single-track downhill and sweeping views of the Pacific, Bay, and S..

Reservoir Dogs Trail Run in Orinda, CA offers 10K, Half Marathon, and 35K distances with start and finish in the San Pablo Reservoir Recreation Area. The event is notable as the first trail race to completely circumnavigate Briones Reservoir on EBMUD trails, delivering rolling open fire roads, tree-..

Mount Wilson Trail 5K Recovery Run is a road 5K and a Kids Fun Run held in Sierra Madre, California, at Kersting Court. The 2025 event moves to Saturday, October 4, featuring vendor booths at Kersting Court, a photo booth, and a beer garden to celebrate Octoberfest. The race aims to unite the commun..

The Cuyamaca 100K is an ultramarathon held in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park near Julian, California, about an hour east of San Diego. The race features a challenging 100-kilometer course composed of three distinct loops starting and ending at Camp Cuyamaca. The first loop covers 31.5 miles on the park'..

The Women's Headlands Half Marathon is a trail running event held in the scenic Marin Headlands near Mill Valley, California. This race features a brand-new half marathon course that highlights the area's stunning singletrack trails, challenging climbs, and exhilarating descents, offering runners a..

Kokanee Trail Runs, held in the Lake Tahoe Basin near South Lake Tahoe, California, features a half-marathon, 5K, 10K, and a Tadpole Trot for kids along Fallen Leaf Lake and a sweeping route over Tahoe Mountain for the half-marathon. The event is RRCA-sanctioned and renowned for its scenic courses a..

Yuba Gold Trail Runs takes place near Nevada City, California, in gold country. The event offers 50K, 35K, and Half Marathon distances along a historic route with views of the South Fork Yuba River and the Malakoff Diggins site. It’s an Independent P2P (DIY/self-guided) adventure rather than a tradi..

Run by the Sea is an annual running event held at Wilder Ranch State Park in Santa Cruz, California. Scheduled for October 5, 2025, the race offers three distances: a 4K run/walk, a 12K run, and a half marathon. The courses primarily follow flat, packed dirt trails along the scenic coastal bluffs of..

Spooner's Cove Trail Run took place at Montana de Oro State Park’s Spooner’s Cove in Los Osos, California. The event offered multiple distances: 8K, 13K, 25K (two loops of the 13K plus Hazard Peak, with the 50K by looping again), 37K, and 50K, featuring significant elevation gains up to about 6,400..

The HOKA Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB take place in Big Bear Lake, California, a rustic mountain town near Los Angeles. This two-day festival features five race distances ranging from 10K to 100 miles, offering runners a challenging high-altitude experience with elevation gains up to 4100 meters...

Mile Madness Endurance Run takes place at Sunset Whitney Recreation Area in Rocklin, California. The race uses a 1.05-mile loop (85% dirt, 15% paved) with about 62 feet of elevation per lap and a central Start/Finish hub. Runners choose from 6-, 12-, 24-, 48-, or 72-hour events, plus a 100-mile chal..

Ruth Anderson Memorial Endurance Run is an annual multi-distance ultramarathon staged in San Francisco, California. Runners compete on a 4.475-mile paved bike-path loop around Lake Merced, with dirt shoulders and one aid station per loop. Each participant can pursue the event’s standard distances —..

Live Oak Odyssey is a fixed-time trail running event held at O'Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon, California. Participants choose between 3-hour and 6-hour races on a scenic 2.75-mile loop featuring approximately 500 feet of vertical gain per lap. The course offers a mix of uphills, downhills, s..

Go Wild Marin offers a trail and wilderness navigation challenge in Corte Madera, California, with 2-hour and 4-hour options. Teams of 1 to 5 use a custom map to locate up to 24 checkpoints scattered along trails and wild areas of the Tiburon Peninsula. The event emphasizes exploration and navigatio..

Set in Gonzales Canyon Open Space in Carmel Valley, San Diego, the Carmel Valley Trail Race offers trails through scenic open space with rugged climbs. The 12th annual event starts and finishes at Solana Ranch Park in Gonzales Canyon, featuring three distances: 15K, 10K, and 5K. The 15K and 10K rout..

Granite Head 2025, billed as Granite Bay’s Best Trail Run and part of Trails & Ales, is a two-distance trail race presented by Altra in Granite Bay, California. Runners can tackle a gnarly 6.6-mile short course or an epic 11.2-mile long course. Both start and finish at Granite Beach, with the course..

Euchre Bar Massacre is an ultramarathon near Foresthill, California, offering 25- and 50-mile fatass-style routes along the North Fork of the American River. The rugged course ladders about 10,000 feet of climbing for the 25-mile option and roughly 20,000 feet for the 50-mile, with substantial bushw..