Rocky Ridge Half Marathon, 10K & 5K

Saturday, September 23, 2023 • San Ramon, CA • Course Map

Runners will need to be ready for a challenging trail run filled with hills, single-track dirt trails, fire roads and the occasional stretch of paved trail through the 5,342-acre Las Trampas Regional Wilderness area, which lies near the small city of San Ramon in the hills on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, at the 14th annual running of the Rocky Ridge Half Marathon, 10K & 5K.

First off, runners in the half marathon will need to know they’ll actually be running a distance that’s slightly longer than the standard half marathon distance — this race’s half is 13.7 miles. Also, for this year’s race, the Rocky Ridge Half will serve as the Brazen Racing Half Marathon Championship Race (see more details on the event website, shown below).

That will likely feel like a longer distance thanks to the hills and trails that take runners up toward the peak of the Rocky Ridge Trail inside the park area in the race’s second half, from which they’ll be able to view stunning vistas all around including the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains, Mount Diablo to the east and Mount Tamalpais to the west, off in the distance near the Marin Headlands across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

For runners in all three races, the event will follow an out-and-back route that starts and finishes just off Bollinger Canyon Road, near the park’s Little Hills Picnic Ranch and Las Trampas Stables areas.

From there, runners in the half marathon make what is roughly a figure-8 style pair of loops through the park’s trails, heading first through the northern sections of the Las Trampas Wilderness along the Calaveras Ridge trail, the Madrone trail and the Sulphur Springs trail.

Once runners make it back nearly all the way to the starting line, near the Bollinger Creek, the race route then crosses over the path near the start and then heads through the southern section of Las Trampas.

Runners next head uphill along the Rocky Ridge trail toward the peak where they’ll be able to take in magnificent views of the mountains all around, and then head back northward and down along the Elderberry trail in toward the finish line.

Race Weather & Climate

Located in the San Francisco Bay area, just over a 30-mile drive east from San Francisco across the bay, San Ramon typically sees mild to moderately warm and occasionally rainy weather in September, which has brought record temperatures here as low as 41ºF (in 1960) and as high as 104ºF (in 1979).

On race day (Sep. 23), the average low is 54ºF and the average high is 76ºF.

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Rocky Ridge Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

7:00 AM – half marathon hikers
8:00 AM – half marathon
8:15 AM – 10K
8:30 AM – 5K

Fees

$83 – $93 for the half marathon
$67 – $77 for the 10K
$58 – $68 for the 5K
runners wishing to skip the shirt may deduct $5 at registration

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2023 running of San Ramon’s Rocky Ridge Half Marathon, 10K or 5K race, register online at RaceRoster.com here.

Official Race Website

www.brazenracing.com

Comments

Ever run in the Rocky Ridge Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.

See more races in: September, California

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