Surf City Marathon

All participants in the marathon, half-marathon, 5K, and beach mile are required to pick up their race packets at the Surf City Marathon presented by 361° A Snail’s Pace Race Expo, which is free and open to the public. Participants will pick up their race bib, event shirt, race tote bag, and other goodies. Date: Friday, January 31st Time: 12:00pm – 6:00pm Location: Huntington Beach Parking Lots – 21291 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Who: Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K, and Beach Mile participants Date: Saturday, February 1st Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm Location: Huntington Beach Parking Lots – 21291 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Who: Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K, and Beach Mile participants (10:00am — 10:30am)

If you are unable to attend the Race Expo, you may send a proxy to pick up your race packet on your behalf. If you'd like to have a proxy pick-up on your behalf, you must have signed your digital participant event waivers when registering for the event.

The start line line is located at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Huntington Street (use 21291 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach for reference). There are multiple ways to get to the start line - parking lots that are walking distance or parking lots that have shuttle pick-ups to bring you to the start.

Yes, you can always switch race distances if there is still capacity in the event you are looking to switch into. The deadline is December 29, 2025. Switching from a longer distance to a shorter distance: There is no fee to switch to a shorter distance. There are no refunds for the difference in price between the two distances. Switching from a shorter distance to a longer distance: You will be prompted to pay the difference in fee from the shorter distance to the current cost of the longer distance. If you miss the January 25, 2026, deadline, you will be able to make the change at the Expo for an administrative charge plus any additional price difference for longer distances. You must run the race for which you are registered for, or you may be disqualified.

All registration fees are non-refundable. This race, in accordance with management executives, city officials and local law enforcement has the authority to cancel any of the events for emergency purposes such as, but not limited to, inclement weather, a pandemic, or threat of terrorism. If such emergency conditions force cancellation, refunds cannot be provided. This policy applies to all registrants whether you are injured, have an unexpected family/business emergency, have a medical emergency, or anything else. Race entry fees and ancillary purchases are non-refundable and non-transferable under any and all circumstances.

The official course time limit for the Marathon is 6.5 hours (14:53 minute/mile pace) and 4.5 hours for the half-marathon (20:36 minute/mile pace). The course will have a rolling reopening that will be strictly enforced by the Huntington Beach Police Department and Surf City Marathon staff. Participants will be required to pass certain points on course by a specific time, or they will have the option to either be a pedestrian and obey all traffic laws or be moved up on course by the marathon Sag Wagon. 5K: has a course time limit of 1.5 hours. Participants will need to maintain a pace of 29:00 minutes per mile in order to complete the race. Due to the nature of our event permit, if a participant falls behind the established pace time, they may be asked to join the sweep vehicle to be moved ahead on course.

For the safety of all participants and the animal, we do not permit dogs to participate in any of the distances at the Surf City Marathon unless they're a service dog (must be clearly marked as such). We ask that dogs not be brought to the race expo due to the crowds.

Strollers are allowed only for the Half Marathon and 5K race distances, but we require that those participating with a stroller start in the final corral for the safety of the other participants. Strollers are not allowed for those competing in the Marathon or the Beach Mile.

Defer Your Entry: You may defer your entry to the 2027 event. Deferrals must be processed by the registration team and an administration fee of 50% of the 2027 registration fee will be charged. You will pay this fee when you register for the 2027 race. The deferral will expire after the 2027 event, and you will not be able to defer your registration again. Deferrals must be requested by email prior to January 18th, 2026. Additional purchases (iTab, FinisherPix, race day pick-up, etc) will be refunded at the time of cancellation. You will need to purchase these items again when registering for 2027.