Get ready to run in the dark! Make sure your headlamp batteries are charged and your calves are ready for sand because this is Joshua Tree! This fun night race will challenge you as we all run together toward the party at the finish line. Throughout the course, you'll enjoy a dark sky full of stars. You may even find a little slice of solitude at some points as you pull away from the rest of the pack. After this nighttime peace, you'll be greeted by colorful lights and music as you cross the finish line to join the rest of your running friends!
To get prepared for this race, please read our race guide and listen to the audio version of the guide. Both resources provide a comprehensive overview of what to expect for this event.
When you read the Race Guide, please pay special attention to the following pages:
- Pages 2-3 - Event Schedule & Race Expo
- Pages 4-5 - Race Details
- Page 5 - Course Map
- Page 6 - Race Parking, Drop-off, & Spectators
- Page 7 - Cup Free Policy
Toward the end of the guide, we share how you can participate in the Explorer Club to get suggestions on what to see and do while you're in the area. When you complete the Explorer Club challenge you earn a special badge (in addition to your race medal) for completing it! Learn more here.
Read the Guide
Listen to Audio GuideMar’rah: a Mojave Oasis
The area we now know as Twentynine Palms, sitting on the edge of the Mojave Desert, was once known as Mar’rah or Mara by the Chemehuevi, which means “little springs and much grass”. Though it may seem like a barren landscape, to the native peoples who dwelled here it is a land of
plenty. Thanks to oasis and their strategy of irrigating the land, they were able to create gardens of native food.
Before Chemehuevi made the Oasis their permanent home, Serrano, Cahuilla, and other Indians lived in the area and used the desert landscape for hunting and gathering. The Serrano creation story had their people living in the Mar’rah oasis since the time Serrano came to earth.
Fun Facts
- 12% of you are running your first half marathon
- For 29% of you, this is your first time visiting Joshua Tree
- We have runners from 46 states and 8 countries