Congratulations to the Palm Desert 1/2 Marathon & 5K — named #8 in California on the HalfRuns Editors' Choice 2026 list. It's an honor earned the old-fashioned way: by being the kind of race people come back to.
Why did it make our list? Small and friendly, yet runners come from 32 states for a February half in the desert. That's the whole story in one line — a hometown-feeling race with a reach far beyond its zip code. About 670 finishers a year, 24% of last year's runners had run it before, and the course is USATF-certified. The next race day is Sunday, February 14, 2027.
We're building a community for half marathon runners and collecting the best races across the country, one deserving race at a time. See where Palm Desert lands — and who else made the cut — on our full Best Half Marathons in California list, and get the race details on the Palm Desert 1/2 Marathon & 5K page.