Marathons in California

The California International Marathon (CIM) in Sacramento is widely regarded as California's fastest road race. Its point-to-point course drops gently from the Folsom foothills to the State Capitol with a flat closing 10K, which is why it draws a large, competitive field each December. The Mountains 2 Beach Marathon near Ojai, run in April, is the leading spring alternative on a similarly fast, BQ-friendly course, and flat coastal options like LA (around 100 m of climb) and Surf City (near sea level) are honest qualifying roads too.

By participation, the Los Angeles Marathon is the largest, with a field of roughly 21,000 runners on its Stadium-to-the-Stars point-to-point route (Dodger Stadium to Century City) in March. The California International Marathon is the next largest at around 8,500, followed by the San Francisco Marathon at roughly 6,500.

The core season runs from late fall through spring, when the coast is at its coolest and driest — ideal for fast times, which is why CIM sits in December and most flat coastal races fall between January and April. Summer races such as San Francisco in July use early-morning starts and lean on the Bay's natural fog and cool air to manage the heat. Inland Sacramento can be crisp on a December morning, while coastal SoCal starts are typically mild.

The list above is always sorted by date with a live countdown on each card, so the soonest upcoming race is always at the top. Through the rest of 2026 the calendar runs San Francisco in July, Long Beach in October and CIM in December, before the new year opens with Carlsbad in January, Surf City in February and LA in March.

For a forgiving debut, the flat coastal courses are the friendliest: Surf City along the Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach and Carlsbad all keep the climbing minimal, and big-energy LA carries you on crowd support. For pure spectacle, Big Sur is the bucket-list run — a closed Highway 1 along the cliffs, with about 665 m of climb that makes it a scenery-over-speed day.

Most California marathons — CIM, LA, San Francisco, Long Beach, Carlsbad, Surf City and Mountains 2 Beach — use standard first-come online registration, and faster fields like CIM can sell out months ahead. Big Sur is the exception: because its course is capped, most entries come through a free random drawing, with guaranteed spots available via its VIP first-come tier, official charity partners, or a Marathon Tours & Travel package. International runners need an ESTA or a B1/B2 visa to travel to the U.S.