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Marathon Details - Ventura Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > CA > Ventura > Ventura Marathon

Ventura Marathon

Ventura Marathon & Half Marathon

Ventura, CA USA

February 23, 2025

http://www.VenturaMarathon.com

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Race Details

The Ventura Marathon offers runners a picturesque and dynamic experience, starting in the serene town of Ojai and winding down to the coastal beauty of Ventura. This race features a predominantly downhill course, making it ideal for those aiming to set personal records or qualify for the Boston Marathon. The journey begins with a gentle descent through Ojai, passing through scenic vineyards and bike paths, before transitioning to the urban environment of Ventura, where the finish line awaits by the beach.

The marathon is noted for its excellent organization, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience for all participants. Early morning shuttles transport runners to the starting line, providing ample time for preparation. The course is well-marked, and numerous aid stations along the way offer water, electrolytes, and energy gels to keep runners hydrated and energized. The support from volunteers and the local community is exceptional, creating an encouraging atmosphere throughout the race.

Runners are greeted with a vibrant and festive finish line, complete with a variety of post-race refreshments and entertainment. Each participant receives a unique and stylish medal, serving as a memento of their achievement. The post-race area also features delicious snacks, including waffles and fruit, along with celebratory beverages to help runners recover and celebrate their accomplishments.

Contact Information

Name:	Josh Spiker
Address:	201 Lang St Ventura, CA 93003
Phone Number:	805-258-6361
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (20)

Course 3.9

Organization 4.3

Spectators 3.3

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Number of comments: 20 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

J. V. from Santa Barbara, CA (2/28/2023) "Very professional and fast course" (about: 2023) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Ventura Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Just enough downhill to encourage quick times. Management foresaw potential weather and flooding problems and had backup plans. The race went off without problems....course was accurate and safe. Plenty of aid and port-a-lets.Great time of year for cool weather. Thanks for a great event.
C. W. from Boulder, CO (10/27/2018) "Lovely PR course - a best kept secret!" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a super fast course, downhill most of the way, with just one hill of any note around miles 7-8. The race starts early, just before sunrise, which is good, because it can be warm, but this year there was a nice breeze and it was barely 70 by the time I finished. Plus, you're shaded most of the way, until the last 10K or so. Few spectators beyond Ojai, which I didn't mind. The bike path this runs on is a great surface, and there were tons of aid stations and ports potties along the way. Would have loved a course map and a few more details prior, plus the expo isn't remarkable, but all in all this race is totally a best kept secret - lovely, peaceful and FAST!! I PRd by 5 minutes!
W. W. from Los Angeles (11/13/2017) "A Well Organized Event" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Route and the Condition: Ventura Marathon shares a large portion of route with Mountain to Beach Marathon. M2B holds in the spring time. Ventura holds in the fall. Ventura Marathon loops around Ojai for 1.5 laps with about 9 miles distance before entering the narrower bike path. With this arrangement, there were no crowded condition after you entered the narrower bike path. This is a better arrangement in comparing with M2B. The route is mainly downhill. The first 9 miles around Ojai have a few uphill miles. Close to the end of the route, there were a few miles without shade. We were very lucky to have a normal weather on the day of the event. The temperature was high 70s and low 80s. The next day, the entire southern California reached 100 degree at noon time. The Organization: The shuttle bus in the morning was smooth as the bus station was next to Ventura Fairground parking lot. There were plenty of parking available in the fairground parking lot with $5.00 parking fee. If you have extra time, it is not hard to find a free street parking nearby. There were a number of pacers. However, the pacing time are not 3:30; 3:45; 4:00 as we commonly see. I did not understand how the pacer has a time of 3:27; 3:42, etc. There were plenty of aid stations. The placement of water in front of Gatorade or otherwise were randomly arranged in different stations. A few stations stocked with cliff shots or some cliff candy. There were volunteers guided the traffic in all traffic intersections. However, I did see a car accident near an intersection, not runners involved, though. The party with live band at the finish area were excellent and fun. The organizers provide sorted out photos to runners. The photos are free of charge if you don't need high resolution photos. The Spectators: Not many spectators. Ventura is a small town. The route is mainly bike path.
M. B. from Santa Barbara, California (10/28/2017) "Vastly Improved Course and Excellent Event" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Ventura Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I ran this race in 2015 when the course was out and back, flat and virtually shade-free. I was excited by the new course down from Ojai to Ventura, and I was not disappointed. The downhill course is fast, naturally, but even more importantly, it is often protected from direct sun until the last 10k in Ventura. Bathroom available at each aid station, and volunteers were great. Not much for spectators, but that is not for me here. Scenery is not spectacular, but certainly pleasant for most of the course. Organization was well done, and if they keep this course going forward, I think they have a winner for a good Boston qualifier.
D. L. from Southern Calif. (10/23/2016) "Boring but Fast" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Ventura can be a boring run at times but is also a fast one. I'm not running all my races for the views of the ocean. I have run ocean view marathons like Surf City and hated it. This marathon is well run from the website to the finish line. For a small race it was done right. And I did run a BQ by over 8 minutes. See you next year Ventura!
T. P. from Mpls, MN (9/19/2015) "Better choices in California" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 If you are looking for a scenic California marathon then this is not the marathon for you. If you like lots of spectators along the course then this is not the marathon for you. If you want Pacers that are reliable and accurate then this is not the marathon for you. If you want a course with plenty of aid stations/bathrooms along the course then this is not the marathon for you. Not sure how a runner helped create this marathon but failed to provide in the above mentioned areas. The few spectators that line the course were cheerful and volunteers did a spectacular job. I saw several runners needing medical attention primarily due to the lack of aid stations along the course as several seemed to have dehydration issues. I have seen marathons with 50 runners have twice as many aid stations. The positives were that the medal was cool an and the shirt was nice. No chocolate milk at the finish area that I saw, but they did at least have water and watermelon. Overall not a terrible marathon, just that in California there are dozens of better marathons to choose from.
S. M. from Boulder, Colorado (9/16/2015) "Fast course but drink choice needs revisiting" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I ran this race with the goal of qualifying for Boston. I just missed qualifying by a few minutes. Overall, this is a fast course. There is only one small hill at mile 9 and again at mile 19 on the return trip. For most of the course, the view is of fields rather than the ocean. However, it was still pleasant. The course is well organized and the volunteers are friendly. The pacers are excellent. I consider the sports drink that is offered along the course to be the main weakness. This is a critical factor for any marathon. I don't know what the drink brand was called and I couldn't find the name on the race's website. It was not like gatorade. It did provide electrolytes and I didn't experience any leg cramping. However, it contained little or no carbohydrates. Perhaps it was too diluted. In any case, by mile 20 I could tell that my sugar levels were running low. I lost a lot of time in the last 6 miles. I have run more than 40 marathons so I am pretty sure it was due to this. Once I got to the finish line and got some sugar back into my system I was fine. However, I felt this made the crucial difference between qualifying and not qualifying for Boston. They do serve gels at least a couple of aid stations. I should have probably taken more advantage of this. However, I am use to getting my calories as part of a sports drink. One other thing is that the temperature warmed up to around 80 F. about 3 hours after the race started. I think this year's race was warmer than normal. The race medal that doubles as a can opener is cool. Overall, I would consider running this race again if the issue that I mentioned is addressed.
C. B. from Des Moines (9/15/2015) "A Critique 2015 Marathon" (about: 2015) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Course is billed as scenic and flat. I won't argue with the flat but if scenery is what you desire, this marathon is not for you. The only scenery to be had on this is at the marathon turn around point at Point Hueneme Beach and perhaps coming back and being able to see the mountains in the far far distance. I did get a laugh on the 3:03 Pacer who appeared to falter around the 15-18 mile mark and then came bolting past me at a sub 6 minute pace around mile 25-26. Needless to say his 'group' was unable to keep up. Negatives -not scenic -boring medal (Bike event had a good one!) -aid stations (only two with nutrition) -distance issue with 1/2 marathon (.5 miles off!) -finish line amenities lacking small tent, little shade no recovery drinks (gatoraide or chocolate milk) -Photographs, although free require you to share all your facebook information with pic2go (a foreign company)to obtain. GOOD POINTS -Fantastic organization in many aspects police and traffic support was TOP NOTCH! Organization at the finish line was great and kept people moving in an orderly direction Information was clear on website Parking location and information was clear and convenient **Marathon distance was spot on -Free marathon photos (at the cost of your privacy) -Volunteers were enthusiastic -Expo was pretty good and had some children's activities on Saturday. -Ventura and Oxnard are friendly and fun communities.
D. D. from California (9/13/2014) "Small, fun end of summer race" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I was happy to PR in this marathon because it's a flat, easy course with lots of support. The only hill to speak of was a bridge around mile 9 and again around 17, but it wasn't long and the rest of the course seemed totally flat. The best part about this race was that the post-race refreshments were unequivocally the best I've seen in any of my 25+ marathons: fresh cut watermelon and pineapple, fruit cups, bagels, bananas, cookies, pretzels, candy, on and on. Also, the volunteers along the course were great, lots of medical people on hand at the end, and plenty of portable toilets. Easy parking and no traffic hassles coming or going. An unexpected bonus...the very strong and sweet frangrance of strawberries in the fields the course passes through. It turned out to be a heat wave weekend so it did get really warm, but not a lot that the organizers can do about that. Typically the coast is 10-20 degrees cooler than it was that day. The only thing that could be improved would be the timing system. Marathon results were a bit wonky for a few days, but it looks like they've since sorted it out. My times on the website now match the splits I had. I do give the race director a lot of credit for trying to help each individual marathoner on the spot get their results straightened out. I'd definitely run this again and will probably be back next year.
Joel White from San Diego, CA (9/10/2014) "A flat and fast event for setting a PR or BQ" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 18th marathon. This is a great event to do to set a PR or try to qualify for Boston. The only potential problem is because it is early September, it could be hot like it was this year. Although average weather for Ventura in early September is low to mid 60's in the morning, this year it was about 70 degrees on average. But even so, I saw many PR's and BQ's. Although the organization was great, the course itself isn't the most scenic. But from my experience, you usually either get a fast course or scenic course. Let's face it, the hills usually come with better scenery. The aid stations were plentiful with plenty of water and electrolyte beverage. They also had pace groups ranging from 3:05-4:40.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]



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J. V. from Santa Barbara, CA (2/28/2023) "Very professional and fast course" (about: 2023) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Ventura Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Just enough downhill to encourage quick times. Management foresaw potential weather and flooding problems and had backup plans. The race went off without problems....course was accurate and safe. Plenty of aid and port-a-lets.Great time of year for cool weather. Thanks for a great event.
C. W. from Boulder, CO (10/27/2018) "Lovely PR course - a best kept secret!" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a super fast course, downhill most of the way, with just one hill of any note around miles 7-8. The race starts early, just before sunrise, which is good, because it can be warm, but this year there was a nice breeze and it was barely 70 by the time I finished. Plus, you're shaded most of the way, until the last 10K or so. Few spectators beyond Ojai, which I didn't mind. The bike path this runs on is a great surface, and there were tons of aid stations and ports potties along the way. Would have loved a course map and a few more details prior, plus the expo isn't remarkable, but all in all this race is totally a best kept secret - lovely, peaceful and FAST!! I PRd by 5 minutes!
W. W. from Los Angeles (11/13/2017) "A Well Organized Event" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Route and the Condition: Ventura Marathon shares a large portion of route with Mountain to Beach Marathon. M2B holds in the spring time. Ventura holds in the fall. Ventura Marathon loops around Ojai for 1.5 laps with about 9 miles distance before entering the narrower bike path. With this arrangement, there were no crowded condition after you entered the narrower bike path. This is a better arrangement in comparing with M2B. The route is mainly downhill. The first 9 miles around Ojai have a few uphill miles. Close to the end of the route, there were a few miles without shade. We were very lucky to have a normal weather on the day of the event. The temperature was high 70s and low 80s. The next day, the entire southern California reached 100 degree at noon time. The Organization: The shuttle bus in the morning was smooth as the bus station was next to Ventura Fairground parking lot. There were plenty of parking available in the fairground parking lot with $5.00 parking fee. If you have extra time, it is not hard to find a free street parking nearby. There were a number of pacers. However, the pacing time are not 3:30; 3:45; 4:00 as we commonly see. I did not understand how the pacer has a time of 3:27; 3:42, etc. There were plenty of aid stations. The placement of water in front of Gatorade or otherwise were randomly arranged in different stations. A few stations stocked with cliff shots or some cliff candy. There were volunteers guided the traffic in all traffic intersections. However, I did see a car accident near an intersection, not runners involved, though. The party with live band at the finish area were excellent and fun. The organizers provide sorted out photos to runners. The photos are free of charge if you don't need high resolution photos. The Spectators: Not many spectators. Ventura is a small town. The route is mainly bike path.
M. B. from Santa Barbara, California (10/28/2017) "Vastly Improved Course and Excellent Event" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Ventura Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I ran this race in 2015 when the course was out and back, flat and virtually shade-free. I was excited by the new course down from Ojai to Ventura, and I was not disappointed. The downhill course is fast, naturally, but even more importantly, it is often protected from direct sun until the last 10k in Ventura. Bathroom available at each aid station, and volunteers were great. Not much for spectators, but that is not for me here. Scenery is not spectacular, but certainly pleasant for most of the course. Organization was well done, and if they keep this course going forward, I think they have a winner for a good Boston qualifier.
D. L. from Southern Calif. (10/23/2016) "Boring but Fast" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Ventura can be a boring run at times but is also a fast one. I'm not running all my races for the views of the ocean. I have run ocean view marathons like Surf City and hated it. This marathon is well run from the website to the finish line. For a small race it was done right. And I did run a BQ by over 8 minutes. See you next year Ventura!
T. P. from Mpls, MN (9/19/2015) "Better choices in California" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 If you are looking for a scenic California marathon then this is not the marathon for you. If you like lots of spectators along the course then this is not the marathon for you. If you want Pacers that are reliable and accurate then this is not the marathon for you. If you want a course with plenty of aid stations/bathrooms along the course then this is not the marathon for you. Not sure how a runner helped create this marathon but failed to provide in the above mentioned areas. The few spectators that line the course were cheerful and volunteers did a spectacular job. I saw several runners needing medical attention primarily due to the lack of aid stations along the course as several seemed to have dehydration issues. I have seen marathons with 50 runners have twice as many aid stations. The positives were that the medal was cool an and the shirt was nice. No chocolate milk at the finish area that I saw, but they did at least have water and watermelon. Overall not a terrible marathon, just that in California there are dozens of better marathons to choose from.
S. M. from Boulder, Colorado (9/16/2015) "Fast course but drink choice needs revisiting" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I ran this race with the goal of qualifying for Boston. I just missed qualifying by a few minutes. Overall, this is a fast course. There is only one small hill at mile 9 and again at mile 19 on the return trip. For most of the course, the view is of fields rather than the ocean. However, it was still pleasant. The course is well organized and the volunteers are friendly. The pacers are excellent. I consider the sports drink that is offered along the course to be the main weakness. This is a critical factor for any marathon. I don't know what the drink brand was called and I couldn't find the name on the race's website. It was not like gatorade. It did provide electrolytes and I didn't experience any leg cramping. However, it contained little or no carbohydrates. Perhaps it was too diluted. In any case, by mile 20 I could tell that my sugar levels were running low. I lost a lot of time in the last 6 miles. I have run more than 40 marathons so I am pretty sure it was due to this. Once I got to the finish line and got some sugar back into my system I was fine. However, I felt this made the crucial difference between qualifying and not qualifying for Boston. They do serve gels at least a couple of aid stations. I should have probably taken more advantage of this. However, I am use to getting my calories as part of a sports drink. One other thing is that the temperature warmed up to around 80 F. about 3 hours after the race started. I think this year's race was warmer than normal. The race medal that doubles as a can opener is cool. Overall, I would consider running this race again if the issue that I mentioned is addressed.
C. B. from Des Moines (9/15/2015) "A Critique 2015 Marathon" (about: 2015) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Course is billed as scenic and flat. I won't argue with the flat but if scenery is what you desire, this marathon is not for you. The only scenery to be had on this is at the marathon turn around point at Point Hueneme Beach and perhaps coming back and being able to see the mountains in the far far distance. I did get a laugh on the 3:03 Pacer who appeared to falter around the 15-18 mile mark and then came bolting past me at a sub 6 minute pace around mile 25-26. Needless to say his 'group' was unable to keep up. Negatives -not scenic -boring medal (Bike event had a good one!) -aid stations (only two with nutrition) -distance issue with 1/2 marathon (.5 miles off!) -finish line amenities lacking small tent, little shade no recovery drinks (gatoraide or chocolate milk) -Photographs, although free require you to share all your facebook information with pic2go (a foreign company)to obtain. GOOD POINTS -Fantastic organization in many aspects police and traffic support was TOP NOTCH! Organization at the finish line was great and kept people moving in an orderly direction Information was clear on website Parking location and information was clear and convenient **Marathon distance was spot on -Free marathon photos (at the cost of your privacy) -Volunteers were enthusiastic -Expo was pretty good and had some children's activities on Saturday. -Ventura and Oxnard are friendly and fun communities.
D. D. from California (9/13/2014) "Small, fun end of summer race" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I was happy to PR in this marathon because it's a flat, easy course with lots of support. The only hill to speak of was a bridge around mile 9 and again around 17, but it wasn't long and the rest of the course seemed totally flat. The best part about this race was that the post-race refreshments were unequivocally the best I've seen in any of my 25+ marathons: fresh cut watermelon and pineapple, fruit cups, bagels, bananas, cookies, pretzels, candy, on and on. Also, the volunteers along the course were great, lots of medical people on hand at the end, and plenty of portable toilets. Easy parking and no traffic hassles coming or going. An unexpected bonus...the very strong and sweet frangrance of strawberries in the fields the course passes through. It turned out to be a heat wave weekend so it did get really warm, but not a lot that the organizers can do about that. Typically the coast is 10-20 degrees cooler than it was that day. The only thing that could be improved would be the timing system. Marathon results were a bit wonky for a few days, but it looks like they've since sorted it out. My times on the website now match the splits I had. I do give the race director a lot of credit for trying to help each individual marathoner on the spot get their results straightened out. I'd definitely run this again and will probably be back next year.
Joel White from San Diego, CA (9/10/2014) "A flat and fast event for setting a PR or BQ" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ventura Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 18th marathon. This is a great event to do to set a PR or try to qualify for Boston. The only potential problem is because it is early September, it could be hot like it was this year. Although average weather for Ventura in early September is low to mid 60's in the morning, this year it was about 70 degrees on average. But even so, I saw many PR's and BQ's. Although the organization was great, the course itself isn't the most scenic. But from my experience, you usually either get a fast course or scenic course. Let's face it, the hills usually come with better scenery. The aid stations were plentiful with plenty of water and electrolyte beverage. They also had pace groups ranging from 3:05-4:40.

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Marathon Details - Ventura Marathon