Sub marathon races?

With so much focus on ultra racing in online trail running communities, I’m curious how many people prefer shorter distance trail races?

I’m looking at a handful of half marathon to 20 ish mile races while planning out my year, am I the only one interested in focusing on these shorter distances? Seems like a lighter overall training load while still being a nice endurance challenge.

Bonus points if folks want to shout out their favorite races in CA/ western US, always looking for new ones.