Hoover Dam Marathon
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Hoover Dam Marathon: Event overview
The Hoover Dam Marathon takes place on December 6, 2025, at Boulder Beach Picnic Area, Lake Mead, Boulder City, NV. The event includes the following distances:
- Marathon
- Half marathon
- 10K
- 5K
The marathon and half marathon courses have been remeasured and certified for accuracy and are listed as official qualifiers.
Course and logistics
The race course starts at Boulder Beach Special Events BBQ area. The route begins with a gradual uphill for the first 1/4 mile, then turns onto the paved River Mountains Loop Trail, which is described as about 12 feet wide and runs parallel to Lakeshore Drive. The course joins the Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail before mile 3, moving onto a hard-packed dirt trail that goes through several old railroad tunnels and sits on a ridge overlooking Lake Mead and the marina. After the tunnels, the route passes an area with power plants, then descends six switchbacks to the upper-level parking garage at Hoover Dam and follows a counterclockwise loop along the dam edge with views of the bypass bridge. The marathon and half marathon retrace these sections back to Boulder Beach; marathoners complete two loops. The course does not go over the dam.
Packed-dirt trail makes up roughly 14 miles of the full marathon and 7 miles of the half marathon; the rest is paved asphalt. The organizer recommends a sturdy road running shoe; trail shoes are not necessary. Packet pick up is at the Boulder Beach Picnic Area parking lot on race day. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
