2027 Big Sur International Marathon - Apr 25

2027 Big Sur International Marathon - Apr 25 Countdown

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Race Information

Race2027 Big Sur International Marathon - Apr 25
CityBig Sur
Date2027-04-25 at 06:45
Field Size~4,500 runners
Time Limit6 hours
Cutoff pace8:32/km
TimezoneAmerica/Los_Angeles
Official SiteBig Sur Marathon Foundation

Race Day Weather

Average Temperature12.5°C / 55°F
Humidity84%
Wind17.4 km/h
Rain Chance10%
Typical ConditionsCool, humid coastal morning with frequent marine-layer fog

What to Prepare: Late April on the Big Sur coast starts cool (~51°F / 11°C) with high humidity off the Pacific and a common morning marine layer. The real wild card is wind — Highway 1 headwinds can bite, especially after the climb to Hurricane Point. Wear light layers you can shed, ease the downhills, and run this one by feel for the views, not the clock.

Based on historical averages for race week. Use our Weather Score Calculator and What to Wear Guide for personalized advice.

Wind Impact on Race Day

Wind at 17.4 km/h can affect your marathon pace by 5-15 seconds per kilometer. Headwinds slow you down exponentially — a 20 km/h wind costs more than twice a 10 km/h wind.

Calculate your wind-adjusted pace →

Race-Week Climate

Based on 20 years of race-week weather (2005-2024), MERRA-2 reanalysis

Cooler Typical Warmer
Temperature 10.6°C 12.3°C 14.5°C
Dew point 7.4°C 9.5°C 11.3°C
Wet-day chance: 10% Runnability: 74/100

Data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), NASA Langley Research Center

Course Profile

Course TypePoint-to-point
Elevation Gain665m
TerrainRoad (coastal highway)
ProfileA bucket-list scenic point-to-point from Big Sur to Carmel along Highway 1, fully closed to traffic on race morning. The signature 2-mile climb to Hurricane Point (miles 10-12) and the Bixby Bridge at the halfway mark are the centerpiece; +2,182 ft of total climbing on a net-downhill route. It is an official Boston qualifier course, but entry is by random drawing — not a qualifying time — so you come for the coastline, not a PR.
Boston QualifierYes — Check your BQ time

Prepare for 2027 Big Sur International Marathon - Apr 25

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Featured In

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Frequently Asked Questions

When does registration open for the 2027 Big Sur Marathon, and how do you get in?

The random drawing for 2027 runs August 19 to September 2, 2026 and closes at 11:59 PM PT on September 2; winners are announced September 8. It is not first-come — an application filed on the last night carries exactly the same chance as one filed the minute it opens, so there is nothing to win by racing the clock. (The official pages do not even agree on the opening hour: the registration page says 8 AM PT, the registration FAQ says 9 a.m. PT.) Applying costs nothing, but if you are drawn the card on file is charged the $325 entry fee automatically, and the Foundation holds a strict no-refund, no-transfer policy — so only enter if you intend to run. Other races’ windows are on the marathon registration calendar.

The guaranteed paths skip the drawing, and unlike the drawing they genuinely are first-come. All open August 19 except B2B:

  • Big Sur VIP presented by HOKA — $899, capped at 400 entrants
  • Race Benefactor (formerly the Youth Fitness entry) — $650, limited entries
  • Official charity partners — no set price; each charity sets its own fundraising minimum (around 20 charity partners in 2026)
  • Marathon Tours & Travel — entry bundled with lodging, priced by the operator
  • Boston 2 Big Sur — $649, opens October 14; you must also be an official entrant in the April 19, 2027 Boston Marathon
What are the odds of getting into the Big Sur Marathon lottery?

Nobody can give you a real number, because the Foundation has never published how many people apply. Its registration FAQ answers how many entries it will accept and stops there, and the sell-out press releases it issued for the 2025 and 2026 races both describe the drawing without printing a single application count. Percentages quoted elsewhere trace back to no official source.

The supply side is verifiable: the official marathon page caps the field at "about 4500 total entrants" (its registration FAQ separately says "close to 5,000" — the race's own two pages disagree; we cite the marathon page), and that ceiling covers everyone — the 400 VIP places, Race Benefactor, charity, Marathon Tours and Boston 2 Big Sur entries all come out of it before the drawing distributes what is left, so the pool the drawing actually fills is meaningfully smaller than 4,500. Both the 2025 and 2026 races sold out every distance. The useful takeaway is a decision rather than a percentage: the drawing is a free ticket you can file any time before September 2, and if missing 2027 is unacceptable, buy certainty through a first-come guaranteed path on August 19 instead of waiting on September 8.

How hard is the Big Sur Marathon and how much climbing is there?

It is a challenging course — about +2,182 ft of total climbing on a net-downhill, point-to-point route. The signature test is the two-mile climb to Hurricane Point around miles 10-12, often straight into a Pacific headwind. Most runners treat it as a scenic, run-by-feel day rather than a PR attempt.

What is the Big Sur Marathon time limit?

The course has a 6-hour limit (about a 13:45 per-mile pace), with Highway 1 reopening to traffic at 1 PM. Runners who fall off that pace are picked up and shuttled to the finish so the road can reopen on schedule.

Is Big Sur a Boston qualifier, and what is the Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge?

Yes — Big Sur is a certified Boston Marathon qualifier, though the hills make it a tough place to chase a time. The Boston 2 Big Sur (B2B) Challenge is a dedicated program for runners who complete the Boston Marathon and then Big Sur in the same spring. For 2027 it opens separately from the drawing on October 14, 2026 at $649, and requires you to be an official entrant in the April 19, 2027 Boston Marathon — six days before Big Sur.

What is the weather like, and what should I wear?

Late-April mornings on the coast start cool (around 51°F / 11°C) with high humidity and a frequent marine-layer fog, and wind off the Pacific is the wild card. Dress in light layers you can shed and plan for damp, breezy conditions rather than heat.

How big is the Big Sur Marathon field?

The marathon is capped at about 4,500 entrants, and recent editions have produced around 3,200 marathon finishers — the small field is part of why entry runs on a drawing. Keeping it small protects the point-to-point course on two-lane Highway 1.

Where does the Big Sur Marathon start and finish?

It is a point-to-point race: runners start near Big Sur and finish in Carmel, heading north on Highway 1, which is closed to traffic for the morning. The Bixby Creek Bridge marks roughly the halfway point.

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