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California > Avenue of the Giants Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K
Weott, CA • Sunday, May 5, 2013 • Course Map
The first of two marathon & half-marathon events that take place each year among the majestic redwood forests of California's Humboldt Redwoods State Park (October's Humboldt Redwoods Marathon & Half Marathon is the other), the Avenue of the Giants Marathon offers much of the same breathtaking scenery as its autumn counterpart, along a course that Runner's World once described as one of the nation's most beautiful running routes.
The race course for both the half and the full marathons is a simple one, though that is far from saying it's ordinary. From the starting and finish line at the park's Dyersville Bridge on Bull Creek Road, the out-and-back course for the half marathon follows the second out-and-back of the 26.2-mile race, heading south along the Avenue of the Giants (Highway 254), all the way along six and a half miles of paved roads to the turnaround point near Hammond Grove and Truss Creek, where runners then make the turn and retrace their steps back toward the start.
All along the course, which starts out flat for roughly the first mile and then becomes hillier and more challenging as runners move into the middle miles of the race, the scenery changes from a mix of redwoods to wide open spaces, where you can get a glimpse of the majesty of the surrounding mountains, and back again to canopies of redwoods overhead. Organizers say that even in the non-shaded portions of the course, the elevation and the season of year combine to provide cool temperatures in most years along the entire race course.
Runners will encounter three aid stations along the course and should expect a course that climbs gradually but steadily over the first half of the race, and then descends slowly and steadily along the second half of the race to the finish line at the Dyersville Bridge. More than 2,000 runners come out to take part in all three races combined most years, including more than 1,000 runners in the half marathon alone.
Scheduled starting times for each race: 7:45 AM for the full marathon, 8:45 AM for the half marathon and 9:00 AM for the 10K, which follows a different course from the half and full marathons -- instead of running west-east along Bull Creek Flats Road, those running the 10K will run a north-south route along the Avenue of the Giants.
Race Weather & Climate
Located on the eastern edge of Northern California's Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which lies about a 4 1/2-hour drive up the coast from San Francisco, Weott typically sees somewhat warmer and drier weather in the late spring than the early spring, when temperatures can dip into the 30s.
In May, average monthly temperatures range between 64°F and 46°F -- on the day of the race (May 5), the average high is 63°F and the average low is 45°F -- while rainfall totals average about 2.2 inches for the month.
Course Map
View the race route map for the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon
Fees
$50 for the half marathon, if registered by December 31, 2012
$70 on January 1, 2013 and after
Registration
To reserve your spot in the late spring 2013 running of Weott's Avenue of the Giants Marathon, Half Marathon or 10K race, register online at SignMeUp.com.
Official Race Website
www.theave.org
Leave a Comment
Ever run in California's annual Avenue of the Giants Marathon or Half Marathon? Share your impressions and read fellow runners' stories and tips for the event.
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