Bakersfield Marathon

This event held four races with 5 minutes apart to start: full, half, 10K and 5K in that order. It was about 200 runners running full in 2022. The course can be divided into three almost loop back sections. The first section is a hard up hill to a hill top, where Bakersfield College is located. Then down hill back to the town. The second section runs on a bike path along Kern River. The river runs through Bakersfield. There was some traffic congestion at the beginning of the bike path as all events cross over in this section. The third section was loop around some residential area in the town. The parking area is close to the start/finish line in Kern County Museum area. Bakersfield can be hot in summer. The race started at 7:00am with a 50 degree temperature. I finished around noontime with a 80 degree temperature. It looks that Spring season is not too hot running in Bakersfield. There were a couple of garden hose water spread stations provided by private resident in front of their house. The stations provided mist or shower upon request. There were quite a few private aid stations in front of residential houses. Most of them have water and sports drink. I saw one of them have shots! The extra aid stations are heart warming and very helpful towards the end of the run. The finish area offered free beer, burritos, live music, chairs and tables; a very friendly relax environment. A well organized local event.