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Marathon Details - Big Sur Trail Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > CA > Big Sur > Big Sur Trail Marathon

Big Sur Trail Marathon

Enviro-Sports Big Sur Trail Marathon & Half Marathon, 5 Mile

Big Sur, CA USA

September 27, 2025

http://www.envirosports.com/all-trail-runs

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Race Details

You'll climb the Old Coast Rd. in Big Sur. Along the route, you'll see some of the most amazing views that the California coastline has to offer. The course is a bit challenging with the hills, which makes it all the more exciting and rewarding. All the ingredients are here for a great weekend. Bring a picnic and enjoy the picnic grounds where the run starts and finishes. The event is limited to 300 participants and sells out every year so don't wait too long to register!

Contact Information

Name:	Dave Horning
Address:	Enviro-Sports P.O. Box 1040 Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Phone Number:	(415) 868-1829
Fax Number:	(415) 868-2611
Email:	Email the organizers

Race Organizer

EVENT DESCRIPTION (11/15/06)

Enviro-Sports

The Monterey Peninsula boasts a wide range of post-race activities: From the wineries in Carmel Valley, to the eclectic art galleries and fabulous restaurants of Carmel, to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we know you'll find a reason to stay the entire weekend! Race is limited to 300 entries and sells out every year, so sign up early!

The run course follows Old Coast Road (a wide dirt road) north from Hwy. 1 to Bixby Bridge. You'll wind through the beautiful coastal forests and hills surrounding Big Sur River with redwood groves, oak and bay forests lining your path. Parts of the course will take you along the bluffs high above the Pacific Ocean, where you'll be rewarded with panoramic views of the Big Sur coastline.

Note: This course follows Old Coast Road, a dirt farm road that was the original road from Monterey to Big Sur (before the construction of Hwy. 1). This course is NOT paved.

Runner Reviews (14)

Course 4.9

Organization 4.8

Spectators 3.2

Write a review

Number of comments: 14 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

P. L. from San Francisco (9/19/2011) "Gorgeous views, challenging course" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I had a blast running this race with my dad this weekend. Great people, beautiful day and lots of hills!
s. p. from green bay, wi (10/1/2009) "Fellow runners and volunteers doubled as fans" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is beautiful, hot, and challenging. Although there were no spectators on the course, fellow runners added encouragement and the volunteers that waited hours to give us water also provided much needed support. I want to give a giant "thank you" to these very special volunteers. You made the race!!!
B. B. from Fremont, CA (9/29/2009) "As beautiful as it was difficult" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The scenery is spectacular if you can spare the strength to check out the view. It's all up/down with only a few miles of flat running. The inclines aren't too aggressive, but they're very long. Hill training is highly recommended! Envriro Sports put together a great race. The support crews were fantastic. I'll definitely hit this one again in 2010!
J. B. from San Diego (10/21/2008) "It was an amazing experience" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I read about this course and chose it because of its difficulty. I trained only on trails and mostly on hills. I was amazed how much uphill running there was on this course, and even more how steep some of it was. Beautiful though. It was my first marathon. It couldn't have been more of an accomplishment - not only to finish, but to kill my goal and come in second overall and first in my age group. It was an amazing experience.
eliza olaru from usa (10/11/2008) "fantastic views, rough race - 6000-foot elevation " (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It is a race that everyone should attempt.The scenery is exquisite, but train extensively on hills, for these hills are up going for 2-3 miles before going down. You have to hydrate and eat aggressively because it is a tough run on your body.
diane chesla from Niagara, Canada (10/4/2008) "Absolutely fantastic!" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Just finished the marathon and absolutely loved this race! It's quite tough - really tough actually, but if you love hills/mountains and stunning vistas, you HAVE TO do this race. Weather was great - rain, sunshine, cloud. Those hills - wow! My quads were like Jello when I finished.
T. C. from Mississippi (10/3/2007) "Brutal, but beautiful" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Gorgeous scenery of lush redwood forests and rural farmland. Hills were long and relentless. Count on adding at least 2 minutes per mile to your PR. Better yet: don't worry about your time, enjoy the stunning views.
Dean Clifton from Mission Viejo, California (10/2/2007) "As tough as it is beautiful!" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 There are 5700 ft. of elevation gain and 5700 ft. of elevation loss. My quads felt like hamburger meat the last 2.5 miles down. The first 2.5 are up and what a view once you get there... you wind your way through redwood groves and are either going up or down the whole way. The other runners were great; the race director was fantastic. The one and only recommendation for improvement I could make would be to have water right at the finish line for the marathon finishers. This is a first-class race put on by a first-class group.
Lloyd La Vack from Winston Salem, NC (10/12/2006) "As beautiful as it is challenging; my favorite run" (about: 2006) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 The people who put this race on are great. I ran the half last year and fell in love with the place. I had to come back this year to see if I could take the hills for a full marathon - and glad I did. Perfect weather, friendly people at well stocked aid stations and spectacular views helped me finish with a little left in the tank.
J. A. from California coast (10/11/2006) "Beautiful scenery, and hills" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Beautiful course, with redwoods and ascents; inner strength needed. Limited support is wonderful.... I have seen races 10 times the size with half the spirit and support. We counted seven big climbs... all well worth it. Brought my own water, which was a good idea.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]



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P. L. from San Francisco (9/19/2011) "Gorgeous views, challenging course" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I had a blast running this race with my dad this weekend. Great people, beautiful day and lots of hills!
s. p. from green bay, wi (10/1/2009) "Fellow runners and volunteers doubled as fans" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is beautiful, hot, and challenging. Although there were no spectators on the course, fellow runners added encouragement and the volunteers that waited hours to give us water also provided much needed support. I want to give a giant "thank you" to these very special volunteers. You made the race!!!
B. B. from Fremont, CA (9/29/2009) "As beautiful as it was difficult" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The scenery is spectacular if you can spare the strength to check out the view. It's all up/down with only a few miles of flat running. The inclines aren't too aggressive, but they're very long. Hill training is highly recommended! Envriro Sports put together a great race. The support crews were fantastic. I'll definitely hit this one again in 2010!
J. B. from San Diego (10/21/2008) "It was an amazing experience" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I read about this course and chose it because of its difficulty. I trained only on trails and mostly on hills. I was amazed how much uphill running there was on this course, and even more how steep some of it was. Beautiful though. It was my first marathon. It couldn't have been more of an accomplishment - not only to finish, but to kill my goal and come in second overall and first in my age group. It was an amazing experience.
eliza olaru from usa (10/11/2008) "fantastic views, rough race - 6000-foot elevation " (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It is a race that everyone should attempt.The scenery is exquisite, but train extensively on hills, for these hills are up going for 2-3 miles before going down. You have to hydrate and eat aggressively because it is a tough run on your body.
diane chesla from Niagara, Canada (10/4/2008) "Absolutely fantastic!" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Just finished the marathon and absolutely loved this race! It's quite tough - really tough actually, but if you love hills/mountains and stunning vistas, you HAVE TO do this race. Weather was great - rain, sunshine, cloud. Those hills - wow! My quads were like Jello when I finished.
T. C. from Mississippi (10/3/2007) "Brutal, but beautiful" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Gorgeous scenery of lush redwood forests and rural farmland. Hills were long and relentless. Count on adding at least 2 minutes per mile to your PR. Better yet: don't worry about your time, enjoy the stunning views.
Dean Clifton from Mission Viejo, California (10/2/2007) "As tough as it is beautiful!" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 There are 5700 ft. of elevation gain and 5700 ft. of elevation loss. My quads felt like hamburger meat the last 2.5 miles down. The first 2.5 are up and what a view once you get there... you wind your way through redwood groves and are either going up or down the whole way. The other runners were great; the race director was fantastic. The one and only recommendation for improvement I could make would be to have water right at the finish line for the marathon finishers. This is a first-class race put on by a first-class group.
Lloyd La Vack from Winston Salem, NC (10/12/2006) "As beautiful as it is challenging; my favorite run" (about: 2006) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 The people who put this race on are great. I ran the half last year and fell in love with the place. I had to come back this year to see if I could take the hills for a full marathon - and glad I did. Perfect weather, friendly people at well stocked aid stations and spectacular views helped me finish with a little left in the tank.
J. A. from California coast (10/11/2006) "Beautiful scenery, and hills" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Big Sur Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Beautiful course, with redwoods and ascents; inner strength needed. Limited support is wonderful.... I have seen races 10 times the size with half the spirit and support. We counted seven big climbs... all well worth it. Brought my own water, which was a good idea.

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Marathon Details - Big Sur Trail Marathon