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California > Mountains to Beach Marathon & Half Marathon
Ventura, CA  •  Sunday, May 26, 2013  •  Course Map


 
Towering mountains, green hillsides and valleys, and the waves crashing along the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean are just some of the scenery runners will see at the Mountains to Beach Marathon & Half Marathon, which is set for its third annual running between Ojai and Ventura just as spring is transitioning to summer here in Southern California.

(Note: Previously, the Mountains to Beach Marathon was named the Ojai to Ocean Marathon & O2O Half Marathon. Its name was changed for 2013.)

While the 26.2-mile full marathon will follow the course quite literally according to the race's name -- runners will start the full in the Ojai Valley, which lies roughly 17 miles north of Ventura, and make their way southward through the mountains along Highway 33 to the finish line near the ocean -- those running the half will start at the half-way point of the full marathon.

First built in 1872 as a pier for steamships that once transported passengers in and out of Pierpont Bay, the Ventura Pier today is a mecca for fishermen and women, tourists and locals out for a walk or a run or just to soak up the sun. The nearly 2,000-ft.-long pier also is home to a restaurant, snack shop and a bait shop for those fishing here, and plenty of stations for cleaning what they catch.

Runners in the half marathon will start their race at 6:00 AM along the Ventura River Trail that parallels the Ojai Freeway/Ventura Avenue for much of the first several miles of the half marathon, the same time as those starting miles away at the full marathon start. From there, runners head first along the paved trail south toward Ventura, in the direction of Emma Wood State Beach and the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

Once runners reach the shoreline, the course then turns to the left and heads east along Harbor Boulevard, and runners follow the bend in the road as it curves along with Highway 101 and brings them into the park along San Buenaventura State Beach. After a right turn on San Pedro Street and a left turn on Pierpont Boulevard, runners then head into the residential neighborhoods that line the beach here, heading straight along the palm-tree-lined Pierpoint for the next two miles down to the turnaround point at the end of the road.



After making the turn and heading back along Pierpoint in the opposite direction of what they just ran, runners then turn left when they hit San Pedro and head through the San Buenaventura Beach area until they meet up with the trail that brings them back toward the starting line area.


Race Weather & Climate

Located along the Southern California coastline, just over 65 miles west of downtown Los Angeles and about 17 miles south of Ojai, Ventura typically sees mild to moderately warm weather virtually year-round, as May temperatures average between 53°F and 68°F while rainfall is scarce, averaging less than a tenth of an inch for the month.

On the day of the race (May 26), the average low is 54°F and the average high is 68°F.


Course Map

View the race route map for the Mountains to Beach Half Marathon


Fees

$50 for the half marathon, if registered before December 1, 2012
$60 between Dec. 2 - March 21, 2013
$65 between March 22 - May 9


Registration

To reserve your spot in the late spring/early summer 2013 running of Ventura's Mountains to Beach Marathon or Half Marathon, register online at Race360.com.


Official Race Website

www.ojai2oceanmarathon.com



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