Jackson Hole Marathon Wyoming

The Jackson Hole Marathon runs beneath the Grand Teton range — arguably the most dramatic mountain skyline in North America, where the Tetons rise sheer from the flat valley floor with no foothills, creating a jaw-dropping vertical rise impossible elsewhere. The course winds through the National Elk Refuge (home to the world's largest elk herd, 11,000 animals), along the Snake River with moose regularly visible, through Grand Teton National Park, past Jenny Lake, and alongside the sage-and-wildflower valley floor.

Mid-September in Jackson averages 8-18C (46-64F). Grand Tetons razor-sharp. Elk rut beginning. 6,200 ft valley.