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Marathon Details - Carlsbad Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > CA > Carlsbad > Carlsbad Marathon

Carlsbad Marathon

Carlsbad Marathon & Half Marathon, 5K

Carlsbad, CA USA

January 19, 2025

http://www.inmotionevents.com/event/carlsbad-marathon

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Race Details

Beautiful rolling, coastal course!

Contact Information

Name:	In Motion Events
Address:	6116 Innovation Way Carlsbad, California 92009
Phone Number:	760-692-2900
Fax Number:	760-692-2901
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (188)

Course 4.2

Organization 4.3

Spectators 3.7

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Number of comments: 188 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 19 > ]

W. M. from Phoenix (1/16/2024) "First timer here" (about: 2024) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I trained like crazy for this marathon. It was my first and I wanted to make sure I could complete the race in a relatively good time. The course is beautiful! I love Carlsbad and this was some of the best of Carlsbad in a run. As someone who has only run Rock N Roll San Diego half and Phoenix Rock N Roll half, I expected more hills. I don't know why. All of the other reviews say this was hilly, and yes, there were hills, but some of the half's I've done were much worse. I loved the spectators and the aid station volunteers all cheered my name when I ran through. I finished with a respectable 04.02.12 and this course definitely made me want to do another to break that time. My biggest issue with the course was doubling back. I got a bit discouraged after the first loop. I like new scenery. The only other issue I had was that the 4 hr pacer was ahead of pace and I could never catch up. I never even saw him except passing on the loop even though I was under pace the first half. I will def be back!
K. K. from Chicago, Illinois (1/27/2022) "Ocean view and LOTS of hills" (about: 2022) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Living in the Chicago makes this an ideal marathon. Sun, ocean views on Highway 101, shorts and a tee shirt in January. Who could ever complain. Yes, the hills are not easy on a runner used to flat courses, but we all made it through. I was blessed to run with the coach for the West Cost Road Runners, who got me through 3 rough miles. The shirt and jacket are a definite bonus. Going back next year.
N. N. from New Mexico (1/24/2019) "Beautiful Hilly Course" (about: 2019) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The views of the Pacific make this marathon amazing. While I typically don't enjoy out-and-back courses, this one wasn't annoying, and it was fun to see plenty of other runners throughout the race. I recommend highly, but the hills do make this course more challenging than many standard marathon courses.
Aaron Riddle from Winchester, Virginia, USA (1/23/2019) "A Perfect Marathon" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a perfect marathon. Every aspect of it exceeded my expectations: super organized, great swag, easy to get to everything including parking, a beautiful course, not super big (almost 1,000 marathon runners), perfect weather, and friendly and encouraging course support through the entire race. All of these elements came together to yield my (by far) best marathon PR time of WELL under the 4 hour barrier. I cannot recommend this marathon enough. What a wonderful experience! For a full detailed writeup of my review, you can visit https://runningriddles.com/races/the-2019-carlsbad-marathon-in-carlsbad-california/.
K. R. from Pasadena, CA (1/21/2019) "Run it for the ocean views" (about: 2019) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 If you enjoy running by the beach, then the Carlsbad marathon is one you'll want to run. Probably 20-21 of the miles you'll have views of the Pacific ocean. Race was well organized. Expo not very big, but this isn't a massive race. I think they get around 1k for the full marathon, and 8-9k for the half. Course support was pretty good. Not a fan of the choice for fluids they provided (Ultima), but I know everyone has their own preferences. This is definitely a race I plan to run again.
K. K. from Chicago, Illinois (1/20/2019) "Hills but the ocean view made it worthwhile" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It was a very hard marathon for me since I am from flat Chicago! I am thinking of running it again next year. It comes at the right time for training and the weather was perfect. The crowds were so supportive and we had plenty of water stops and that always adds to the spectator count. The runners were all friendly and supportive of each other.
Z. Z. from Carlsbad, CA (1/15/2018) "I am a dumbass" (about: 2018) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I decided to run the marathon about an hour before it started. I've never run a marathon, or even a half-marathon before. Actually, I've never run in any organized race that wasn't run by the Army, so I don't know how valuable my words will be for others to compare with. That being said, I do know this area very well and run a couple of miles through this part of Carlsbad a couple of times per week. So firstly, I know that this doesn't count as training for a marathon, so I did not train. Despite this, I finished in 5 hours, 41 minutes. I live along the route by the beach, so I'm very familiar with the route, and I would say that the organizers chose very well. The route itself is reflective of Carlsbad geography in general, and you just can't beat that ocean view amirite? The organization of this race is really excellent. At no point did I feel like I needed something that wasn't provided by the event. There could have been a couple more porta-potties located towards the far end of the route (by the camping area and far south beach), but otherwise the support stations were well-placed and not too far apart. Despite having run around the area for years and along this particular road for years, I found the short elevation changes (mostly by the lagoons) to be somewhat difficult, especially during the most excruciating part of the race for me (around mile 20-24). Having done most of my running either by myself or in the Army, I am a 'serious business' kind of runner and can get irritable, and so the live music, and the spectators... They got in my head. Especially the frickin' cowbells and the wooing. That of course is 100% on me and actually I could clearly see the spectators (including some of my neighbors) having an obvious positive impact on others in the race, so taking away a single star for the spectators is a reflection of my own failing in the way of the stoics lol (the spectators and support staff were actually great). Next time, I will be sure to bring headphones and music of some kind, even if it's just loud white noise. One exception is this group of high school kids that were murdering 'Eye of the Tiger' towards the end of the race. They filled my soul with determination. Anyway, I did not know that the route changed from year-to-year and I'm glad I ran it this year because I'm so familiar with the route they chose. I am a big fan of C-bad Village and so it was really nice to run through there a total of four times with the turnarounds. Lots of barbeque smells. The start/end spot was a really smart location. That mall area gets a ton of traffic and they managed to close off only a small corner of the parking lot and only a small part of a back street which was the actual route. So they minimized the disruption to Sunday shoppers while also maximizing traffic throughput for race participants and spectators to/from the race itself. Very smart. The registration process (I did day-of registration) was completely painless and the organizers thankfully had a ton of food, water, and cold drinks (chocolate milk) at the end of the race. I have heard that people really enjoy the Carlsbad Marathon, and that people find the route challenging, and I have to agree with both of those statements even though I don't really have anything to compare it to. All told, I finished the marathon, and I did not die, and I am 100% sure I am going to do more marathons (next time with a little more preparation). So thanks for giving me the bug, C-bad!
Robert Fenerty from San Jose CA (1/17/2017) "Merge improving, great crowd support." (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Mostly very happy with this race. GREAT logistics (bag check well thought out, tons of volunteers, seemed like 26 water stops!) Course markings were excellent, traffic was well managed, and start/stop at the same place helped. The course has lots of pretty ocean views, and a surprisingly high amount of enthusiastic crowd support. 2017 had 927 marathoners and 5800 half marathoners. They share the course for maybe 5? miles, at two different times. The two groups were pretty well segmented, except miles 25-26 (no pylons, no signage). By the end of the race, the half participants were all walking and it took a bit of weaving to get around them. It's minor quibble, and arguably an ego benefit, as I passed a few hundred people in the last mile and no one passed me!
C. L. from California (2/6/2016) "Ending half marathon merge ruins this race" (about: 2016) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 There are a lot of good things I can say about this marathon, but all of these are overshadowed by a very poorly managed merge with half-marathoners for the last few miles. A runner on a 9:00 minute mile pace suddenly has to fight their way through a sea of half-marathoner walkers. If they keep this course, they REALLY need to separate start times by at least another half hour.
M. L. from California (1/19/2016) "Deceptively tough" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The organization, location and ease of getting in and out of this marathon is very good. As a frequent racer, I am especially fond of having the start and finish in the same location, and I enjoy the wide variety of post race restaurants and bars. The course itself is very challenging. The first two miles are a slight decline, and it's easy to go out too fast. The climb from mile 5-10 is NO JOKE, especially from about 7-10. I trained on many hills, and would highly recommend adding steady 3-4 mile uphill grinds to your routine to be prepared. The mostly downhills south on the coast (10-18) seem to go in a flash, and then you will climb again when you turn around heading north along the coast around mile 18. If you push the early hills, you might be one of the walking dead at this point. Miles 18 to 23 seemed mostly uphill to me and I barely noticed the occasional downhills. Merging with a slew of halfers was also disturbing at mile 20, as I lost sight of the few marathoners I'd been hanging with. It's a tough, strategic course, but possible to run it fastif you are prepared and have a solid race plan.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 19 > ]



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W. M. from Phoenix (1/16/2024) "First timer here" (about: 2024) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I trained like crazy for this marathon. It was my first and I wanted to make sure I could complete the race in a relatively good time. The course is beautiful! I love Carlsbad and this was some of the best of Carlsbad in a run. As someone who has only run Rock N Roll San Diego half and Phoenix Rock N Roll half, I expected more hills. I don't know why. All of the other reviews say this was hilly, and yes, there were hills, but some of the half's I've done were much worse. I loved the spectators and the aid station volunteers all cheered my name when I ran through. I finished with a respectable 04.02.12 and this course definitely made me want to do another to break that time. My biggest issue with the course was doubling back. I got a bit discouraged after the first loop. I like new scenery. The only other issue I had was that the 4 hr pacer was ahead of pace and I could never catch up. I never even saw him except passing on the loop even though I was under pace the first half. I will def be back!
K. K. from Chicago, Illinois (1/27/2022) "Ocean view and LOTS of hills" (about: 2022) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Living in the Chicago makes this an ideal marathon. Sun, ocean views on Highway 101, shorts and a tee shirt in January. Who could ever complain. Yes, the hills are not easy on a runner used to flat courses, but we all made it through. I was blessed to run with the coach for the West Cost Road Runners, who got me through 3 rough miles. The shirt and jacket are a definite bonus. Going back next year.
N. N. from New Mexico (1/24/2019) "Beautiful Hilly Course" (about: 2019) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The views of the Pacific make this marathon amazing. While I typically don't enjoy out-and-back courses, this one wasn't annoying, and it was fun to see plenty of other runners throughout the race. I recommend highly, but the hills do make this course more challenging than many standard marathon courses.
Aaron Riddle from Winchester, Virginia, USA (1/23/2019) "A Perfect Marathon" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a perfect marathon. Every aspect of it exceeded my expectations: super organized, great swag, easy to get to everything including parking, a beautiful course, not super big (almost 1,000 marathon runners), perfect weather, and friendly and encouraging course support through the entire race. All of these elements came together to yield my (by far) best marathon PR time of WELL under the 4 hour barrier. I cannot recommend this marathon enough. What a wonderful experience! For a full detailed writeup of my review, you can visit https://runningriddles.com/races/the-2019-carlsbad-marathon-in-carlsbad-california/.
K. R. from Pasadena, CA (1/21/2019) "Run it for the ocean views" (about: 2019) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 If you enjoy running by the beach, then the Carlsbad marathon is one you'll want to run. Probably 20-21 of the miles you'll have views of the Pacific ocean. Race was well organized. Expo not very big, but this isn't a massive race. I think they get around 1k for the full marathon, and 8-9k for the half. Course support was pretty good. Not a fan of the choice for fluids they provided (Ultima), but I know everyone has their own preferences. This is definitely a race I plan to run again.
K. K. from Chicago, Illinois (1/20/2019) "Hills but the ocean view made it worthwhile" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It was a very hard marathon for me since I am from flat Chicago! I am thinking of running it again next year. It comes at the right time for training and the weather was perfect. The crowds were so supportive and we had plenty of water stops and that always adds to the spectator count. The runners were all friendly and supportive of each other.
Z. Z. from Carlsbad, CA (1/15/2018) "I am a dumbass" (about: 2018) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I decided to run the marathon about an hour before it started. I've never run a marathon, or even a half-marathon before. Actually, I've never run in any organized race that wasn't run by the Army, so I don't know how valuable my words will be for others to compare with. That being said, I do know this area very well and run a couple of miles through this part of Carlsbad a couple of times per week. So firstly, I know that this doesn't count as training for a marathon, so I did not train. Despite this, I finished in 5 hours, 41 minutes. I live along the route by the beach, so I'm very familiar with the route, and I would say that the organizers chose very well. The route itself is reflective of Carlsbad geography in general, and you just can't beat that ocean view amirite? The organization of this race is really excellent. At no point did I feel like I needed something that wasn't provided by the event. There could have been a couple more porta-potties located towards the far end of the route (by the camping area and far south beach), but otherwise the support stations were well-placed and not too far apart. Despite having run around the area for years and along this particular road for years, I found the short elevation changes (mostly by the lagoons) to be somewhat difficult, especially during the most excruciating part of the race for me (around mile 20-24). Having done most of my running either by myself or in the Army, I am a 'serious business' kind of runner and can get irritable, and so the live music, and the spectators... They got in my head. Especially the frickin' cowbells and the wooing. That of course is 100% on me and actually I could clearly see the spectators (including some of my neighbors) having an obvious positive impact on others in the race, so taking away a single star for the spectators is a reflection of my own failing in the way of the stoics lol (the spectators and support staff were actually great). Next time, I will be sure to bring headphones and music of some kind, even if it's just loud white noise. One exception is this group of high school kids that were murdering 'Eye of the Tiger' towards the end of the race. They filled my soul with determination. Anyway, I did not know that the route changed from year-to-year and I'm glad I ran it this year because I'm so familiar with the route they chose. I am a big fan of C-bad Village and so it was really nice to run through there a total of four times with the turnarounds. Lots of barbeque smells. The start/end spot was a really smart location. That mall area gets a ton of traffic and they managed to close off only a small corner of the parking lot and only a small part of a back street which was the actual route. So they minimized the disruption to Sunday shoppers while also maximizing traffic throughput for race participants and spectators to/from the race itself. Very smart. The registration process (I did day-of registration) was completely painless and the organizers thankfully had a ton of food, water, and cold drinks (chocolate milk) at the end of the race. I have heard that people really enjoy the Carlsbad Marathon, and that people find the route challenging, and I have to agree with both of those statements even though I don't really have anything to compare it to. All told, I finished the marathon, and I did not die, and I am 100% sure I am going to do more marathons (next time with a little more preparation). So thanks for giving me the bug, C-bad!
Robert Fenerty from San Jose CA (1/17/2017) "Merge improving, great crowd support." (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Mostly very happy with this race. GREAT logistics (bag check well thought out, tons of volunteers, seemed like 26 water stops!) Course markings were excellent, traffic was well managed, and start/stop at the same place helped. The course has lots of pretty ocean views, and a surprisingly high amount of enthusiastic crowd support. 2017 had 927 marathoners and 5800 half marathoners. They share the course for maybe 5? miles, at two different times. The two groups were pretty well segmented, except miles 25-26 (no pylons, no signage). By the end of the race, the half participants were all walking and it took a bit of weaving to get around them. It's minor quibble, and arguably an ego benefit, as I passed a few hundred people in the last mile and no one passed me!
C. L. from California (2/6/2016) "Ending half marathon merge ruins this race" (about: 2016) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 There are a lot of good things I can say about this marathon, but all of these are overshadowed by a very poorly managed merge with half-marathoners for the last few miles. A runner on a 9:00 minute mile pace suddenly has to fight their way through a sea of half-marathoner walkers. If they keep this course, they REALLY need to separate start times by at least another half hour.
M. L. from California (1/19/2016) "Deceptively tough" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The organization, location and ease of getting in and out of this marathon is very good. As a frequent racer, I am especially fond of having the start and finish in the same location, and I enjoy the wide variety of post race restaurants and bars. The course itself is very challenging. The first two miles are a slight decline, and it's easy to go out too fast. The climb from mile 5-10 is NO JOKE, especially from about 7-10. I trained on many hills, and would highly recommend adding steady 3-4 mile uphill grinds to your routine to be prepared. The mostly downhills south on the coast (10-18) seem to go in a flash, and then you will climb again when you turn around heading north along the coast around mile 18. If you push the early hills, you might be one of the walking dead at this point. Miles 18 to 23 seemed mostly uphill to me and I barely noticed the occasional downhills. Merging with a slew of halfers was also disturbing at mile 20, as I lost sight of the few marathoners I'd been hanging with. It's a tough, strategic course, but possible to run it fastif you are prepared and have a solid race plan.

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Marathon Details - Carlsbad Marathon