The U.S Bank OC Marathon is considered one of the best full and half marathon courses in California. More than 20,000 runners will participate in the marathon, half marathon, Wahoo’s OC 5K and the Kids Run the OC.
Full Marathon Course starts on Newport Center Drive loop in front of our Official Start Line Hotel, the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa just south of Santa Barbara Drive and travels through the beautiful coastal communities of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana. The OC marathon can be used as a qualifier for any marathon in the country, including the Boston marathon.
Course highlights
The first mile of the Marathon course includes a breathtaking panorama of the Pacific Ocean before winding through the seaside village of Corona del Mar including the spectacular Ocean Blvd. with cliff side views of Big Corona del Mar State Beach. It traverses down Bayside Drive, past the Newport Harbor Yacht Clubs and homes and boats of Newport Harbor. Exceptional views await runners at the bluffs overlooking the Upper Newport Bay Estuary Reserve as are the supportive cheers of neighborhood residents. Marathoners continue into the heart of Orange County, Costa Mesa, passing by the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, around South Coast Plaza. New for this year, runners hear the cheers from students as you go past one of our largest participating schools in our kids program with over 400 kids, then run through the campus of Segerstrom High School. One more mile in Santa Ana before turning onto the Santa Ana River Trail for 1.5 miles before exiting at Gisler foot-bridge. Also new this year, runners will go through beautiful Mesa Verde neighborhoods and then the "Bird Streets", providing you with that much needed support on the home stretch towards the OC Fair & Event Center.
The Full Marathon course is net downhill in elevation from start to finish. The first 6.5 miles will be extremely fast with only minor inclines. Mile 6.5 to 7.0 is the only significant hill on the course taking the runners from 15 feet to 75 feet. The course is then mostly flat through mile 10.5 with a couple rolling hills to 11.5. There is another 45' incline at mile 14.5 over the 405 overpass and a 40' incline slightly over 1/4 of a mile in length at mile 23 after. These are all relatively small hills.
