La Jolla Half Marathon & 5k
May 17, 2025
Del Mar
Road
Distances
Half-Marathon, 5k
Starting Time
6:30 AM
Fees
$89+
Perfect For
Beginner Friendly, Destination Race, Large Crowds, Big Finisher Party, Well Organized
1,000-10,000
Challenging
Oceanfront
High: 67°
/ Low: 60°
Overview
Gorgeous, hilly and challenging, the La Jolla Half Marathon welcomes more than 5,000 runners each year for a race that unfolds along one of Southern California’s most scenic stretches of coastline, as well as on city streets and through parks like Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.
The race — which also includes the La Jolla Shores 5K — has “several major hills,” organizers report, and takes runners through some of the state’s most scenic views anywhere along its coast, including Torrey Pines Golf Course, the site of the 2008 United States Open golf championship as well as an annual PGA Tour golf tournament.
Course Description
Where does it start? North of La Jolla at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the point-to-point race course begins. It follows paved city streets from Del Mar to La Jolla, taking runners first on a counter-clockwise circle around Jimmy Durante Boulevard and Viva de la Valle to Camino del Mar, passing by the Jimmy Scripps Bluff Preserve along the way.
The course follows through the city of Del Mar for the next couple of miles, along Coast Boulevard, Ocean Avenue and Stratford Court before rejoining Camino del Mar and heading closer to the coast.
Amazing scenery. The race’s next few miles, as the course follows along North Torrey Pines Road and heads into the Torrey Pines State Reserve, are some of the most scenic of any road race in America. Runners will pass by gorgeous, steep and rocky bluffs that peer over into the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing below, as the sails of hang gliders and ultralite flyers pass through the sky in the distance.
