Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon

Saturday, May 11, 2024 • Solvang, CA • Course Map

Running thirteen miles through Southern California’s Santa Ynez Valley isn’t a bad way to spend a Saturday morning, or at least the more than 3,300 runners who turned out and crossed the finish line last year at the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon thought so.

Organized by the local race and event management company Destination Races (whose other events include July’s Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon & 12K and the Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathon in October), the race takes runners through some of this state’s most gorgeous countryside, past rolling farmlands and vineyards on the way to the wine and music festival at the finish line.

The point-to-point 13.1-mile course for the race starts and finishes in downtown Solvang, a small wine country town known for its western-style architecture that lies just over the mountains from nearby Santa Barbara.

From there, the course takes runners uphill and northward along Alamo Pintado Avenue, which is home to no fewer than four wineries along the way.

Once participants reach the half-way point of the race in Los Olivos, they make the turn and start heading south through Ballard Canyon along the road with the same name.

This downhill section of the course, which from mile markers 7 through 9 is considered the race’s fastest section, also features some of its best views. Runners pass field after rolling field of farmland and vineyards through this stretch, as the area’s lush green hills are framed by the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance.

After running through Ballard Canyon, the field then joins up with Chalk Hill Road as it nears the town of Solvang for the final couple of miles, passing Hans Christian Andersen Park on the way to the finish line on Copenhagen Drive.

The finish line festival, like those of its counterparts in Healdsburg and Napa, features perhaps the real reward of the race — a wine and music festival that’s just starting up in Solvang Park as runners are finishing their race.

The event time limit of 3 hours, 30 minutes — which means you’ll need to keep a pace of 16:00 minutes per mile or better.

Race Weather & Climate

Nestled along Southern California’s Pacific coastline, just over 30 miles northwest of Santa Barbara and roughly 125 miles northwest of Los Angeles, Santa Ynez typically sees cool to moderately warm weather in the late spring.

• May 11 average low temp: 49ºF
• May 11 average high temp: 66ºF

Past Results

• 2023 Results
• 2022 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2019 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2018 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2017 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2016 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2015 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2014 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2013 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2012 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results
• 2011 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

7:00 AM

Course Time Limit

3 1/2 hours

Fees

• $120 and up – half marathon
• $160 and up – half marathon team relay

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2024 running of Solvang’s Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon, register online at Active.com here.

Official Race Website

motivrunning.com

Comments

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