Overview The Yosemite Half Marathon is a point-to-point half marathon through the Sierra National Forest, just south of Yosemite National Park. Vacation Races, the national-park race series now run by Motiv Sports, stages it each May on a single Saturday morning, when Bass Lake is full and the waterfalls in the park are running high. The most recent race sold out and went to a waitlist. On site Runners are bussed before dawn from Oakhurst and the Bass Lake resorts to a start line lit by floodlights in the pines. The first five miles roll along fire roads and trail, the next five drop fast on pavement, and the last three follow the Bass Lake shoreline to the finish at Recreation Point, where many runners wade straight into the lake. Cups are banned. Aid stations sit near miles 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, and runners bring a bottle or a folding cup. The day before, the race expo and bib pickup run from mid-morning to early evening at Recreation Point, where every runner collects a shirt and bib. Spectator shuttles run from Oakhurst to the finish area once the race is underway. Audience Most runners travel in and make a Yosemite trip of it. Across the Vacation Races series, 70% of runners identify as female, the main age group is 30 to 40, and nine in ten visit a national park while in town. The course suits first-timers as well as runners chasing a fast downhill time. Talent and Influencers There is no paid elite field. The front of the race is quick, with the leaders holding close to five-and-a-half-minute miles on the long paved descent. Pacers run in the field for time goals, and charity runners race on Wander Project bibs, raising money for the communities and wild places around the parks that host the series. Track record Published results for the race go back through many editions at Bass Lake. A recent race had more than 2,600 finishers, and the series as a whole draws over 30,000 runners a year across events in and around the national parks. Brand presence Series partners include Honey Stinger, whose gels are handed out at every aid station, along with Grüns, HotelPlanner, Runna, Siete Foods, Kate's Real Food, That's it., Zico and Rowdy Legend. Sponsors can put their logo on the finish arch, the race shirt and the Vacation Races website, sample products at aid stations and the expo, run their own expo booth, and reach runners through race emails, the digital race guide, blog posts and social posts.