The 16th Star Valley Half-Marathon is this Saturday, July 11. The race starts at the Heiner Family Airfield in Turnerville and winds through the communities of Turnerville and Bedford before finishing at Thayne Elementary School.
Generally hundreds of participants take on the race with a full 199 finishing last year.
A free Kids Fun Run will take place at 7:30 a.m. at the finish line in Thayne where the community is welcome to attend or participate.
The race was started in memory of Jeremy Kunz who was killed by a drunk driver in 2009 while cheering on a teammate at a Ragnar race near Las Vegas. His family wanted to start a race to honor him where people could have a high quality event with professional timing while being in their hometown area. Star Valley is a uniquely nice place to run a July race with relatively moderate temperatures as well.
As years have passed, the race has donated more than $40,000 to area causes and helped 15 different families who are going through life challenges. In 2025, the Kunz family handed over organization of the race to Star Valley Health though they continue to be involved.
Times and Previous Winners
The race, stretching 13.1 miles, is a USA Track and Field (USATF) sanctioned event. A trio of Star Valley High School cross-country runners swept the mens podium last year with Jase Burton, Colton Cranney and Sully Wilson placing 1-2-3. Burton’s time of 1:08:28 was a new course record.
Muriel Jones of Kemmerer was the women’s winner in 2025 with a time of 1:29:26.
The women’s course record is 1:28.17 set by Kiah Leonard in 2017. The course has a gentle downhill slope overall, starting at 6,588 feet and finishing at 5,856 feet.
