Best Scenic Races

www.envirosports.org

Every course in an EnviroSports race is chosen for its scenic qualities. The contests are held on trails in Muir Woods, Tennessee Valley, Big Basin, and various other parks in the Bay Area; most are offered in three distance options -- seven miles, 13 miles (a half-marathon), or a full 26.2-mile marathon. Regardless of which you choose, you'll be cresting delirious vistas, jogging past gushing waterfalls, and, in one case, climbing up a 7-foot redwood ladder. Get a runner's high, and you may hallucinate that you're a wild deer running through the forest. But be careful not to wipe out and roll down a steep ravine: At least one person in every EnviroSports race crosses the finish line victoriously covered in bloody abrasions.