Big Sur International Marathon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Nash R.
San Francisco, CA

  (07-07-2011)

"Incredibly beautiful course and well organized. Wouldn't recommend doing this one as a PR attempt. It is such a beautiful stretch to run, it is worth is to enjoy the scenery. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2008

Kelly E.
San Francisco, CA

  (10-11-2010)

"Run along the most amazing stretch of highway in the world. It's hilly, but well worth it!"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2001

david B.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA

  (04-07-2010)

"Tremendous marathon (even though it was my first). The organization was well done. It is an early start as you have to be bused to the start line several hours prior to race start. The course is great and for the brief moments of sunshine that we got, the pacific ocean was gorgeous."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Kamalah C.
Pearland, TX

  (10-22-2009)

"I decided to do this race just in case I never wanted to run another marathon. It stood up to its reputation of begin scenic, well organized, and very challenging. Unfortunately, due to the location there is very little crowd support, but I was able to draw on the awesome views of the ocean for inspiration."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2008

Sandra .
San Francisco, CA

  (08-18-2009)

"Expo: Pretty small but a nice mix of vendors. Standard expo fare.

Early morning: The marathon runs shuttle buses from various locations to the start line. The buses leave from both host hotels as well as parking garages. I got dropped off at a shuttle bus pick-up point, but was told that it would be FREE to leave my car in the garage on marathon day. So I'd recommend staying at a cheaper hotel if possible and then getting dropped off or driving to a shuttle bus pick-up point. The host hotel was $200/night with a two night minimum and I found other alternatives at hotels.com for only about $90/night.

The buses were very efficient. It is humbling to get driven 26.2 miles to the start and to realize you have to run back. The bus gets very quiet when it goes down Hurricane Point because people realize you have to run back UP it.

The start: I underestimated how cold it was going to be at the start. I couldn't feel my toes by the time we got going. Bring some layers. The porta pottie lines were pretty long so line up early. They had coffee and food at the start which I thought was a nice touch.

The course: VERY hilly but VERY beautiful. I think the course elevation profile on the website is a little misleading. I rarely felt like things were flat. We were either going up or down the entire time. Up and down, up and down. But the views are amazing!!

Weather: The year I did it we had good weather. Overcast with some sunshine and cool. There was a pretty strong headwind, though. I read somewhere a headwind is the norm. Only once they ever had a tailwind on that course.

Aid stations: Overall no complaints! They had some unenthusiastic high school volunteers reading off times at the mile markers. The kids looked downright miserable in the cold, windy conditions and were sort of lackluster with their efforts. I don't think they knew what they were getting into! There was a strawberry station towards the end which was a nice treat.

Mile markers: They had all 26 of them!

Crowd Support: Non existent. The course is CLOSED so besides a few campers at the beginning, there is no one cheering until about mile 25 or so. So not so friendly for people to bring a big cheer crowd. They did have a lot of on-course entertainment, though. The most famous are the Taiko drummers before Hurricane Point and the Grand Piano player at mile 13.1. I ran running over the Bixby Bridge to the sounds of the piano as one of my top running moments. Beautiful.

The other races: Concurrently to the marathon there is a marathon relay, and a 20 something miler and maybe even a 10 miler going on at the same time. So you catch up to a lot of people walking from those other races towards the end. I was doing a fare bit of walking myself at the end with the hills so they didn't bother me. And people seemed to stay to the side when they walked so no problems there, either.

Finish: Awesome. Soup and beer. Entertainment. Picked up my sweats with no problem. Cool medal and great long sleeve tech tee.

Even with the hills I would definitely do this race again. Go into it to have fun and you won't be disappointed. Be sure to run DOWN hills in training as well as UP.

I DO NOT recommend driving the course prior to the marathon. Perhaps if you're looking to try to slam down a PR it is good to know what you're getting into, but otherwise don't do it. I drove (and videotaped) the last 13 miles of the course after the marathon and it was psychologically exhausting.

Be sure to get a picture with the green road sign at the finish line. It says, "Big Sur 26" but someone added a sticker so it says, "26.2.""

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Ashley C.
Menlo Park, CA

  (08-11-2009)

"A well-organized scenic 5K, but definitely not one for a PR. The course is hilly and partly on sand, but you get a nice sea breeze. The expo is crowded, but the 5K is not."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Karleen O.
San Francisco, CA

  (08-05-2009)

"I signed up for the Big Sur Marathon while living in Minnesota. I thought the scenery, along Route 1, would be spectacular. It was. What I did not understand were the hills. What is considered a "hill" in Minnesota does not qualify as a "hill" in California. My best advice would be to train on hills. Long ones. Like 2 mile long hills. Not necessarily steep, but long, slow hills.

The scenery, however, was breath-taking. And the crowd is amazing, from locals to a junior high pep band to interpretive dancers. Oh, and the grand piano on the Bixby Bridge is pretty cool, too. I would definitely recommend this race; just know what you are getting into."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2003

Paul G.
Belfair, WA

  (06-16-2009)

"I ran this as my first marathon in 2000. Very dumb, but I made it and it was a GREAT first one to brag about. What a beautiful course. Think ahead as you will spend money and it sells out.

I ran in again in 2008 and found out that eight years made me a minute a mile slower as the hills were hard, you'd think I'd remember. But the slower time was worth it as I enjoyed the course.

A spectacular marathon and a ceramic like medal, so encase it or buy a displayed one cause if you drop it you will need a broom. You will never forget this marathon and why I ran it again. Wow!"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2008

Tina W.
sacramento, CA

  (04-29-2009)

"This was my first Marathon and I couldn't of chosen a more specctacular one to be apart of. The view was gorgeous and the entertainment was fabulous. However for a first marathon it was probably one of the hardest and the hills were killer. I finished but I was shattered at the end of it all. The wind was rough too. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009