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Mountains 2 Beach Marathon

Ventura, CA
Sunday, April 28, 2024

  3.3 Stars from 22 Reviews

Description

Starting in beautiful downtown Ojai California, the course begins at just over 700 feet, gradually descends to sea-level over 22 miles, and finishes near the historic downtown Ventura, California Pier.

The course starts off with a 6 mile loop through east Ojai. This loop brings runners back by the start area which makes for great spectating as it heads towards mile 7 and the community of Meiners Oaks. After several miles, the course takes a right onto the Ventura River Bike Path to Santa Ana Blvd, a beautiful country road. After several miles trending downhill, runners begin to see civilization again on Ventura Ave. At Shell Rd turning onto the final section of our paved bike path and continues to Downtown. After a tour of downtown Ventura, runners make one of the final turns and come face to face with the famous Ventura Beach front. More than a mile of beach side running brings you to the finish line and festival.

The Mountains 2 Beach Marathon is one of the fastest marathon courses in the United States and Canada. If the weather is cooler and less humid than normal for race day, PRs and BQs are very achievable. Otherwise, the reasonably warm and humid race day averages may make it a little more challenging - especially for those not acclimated to the temperature on this very fast marathon course.

Pace Band  |   Race Details  |   Rankings  |   Course Elevation Chart  |   Race Hotels  |   Time Converter  |   Reviews

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Race Information

Race Dates

2024: Sunday, April 28, 2024
2023: Sunday, May 21, 2023


Course Information

Profile: Downhill
Type: Point to Point
Surface: Road/Pavement

Boston Qualifier?: Yes


Race Day Weather

Mean Temp.: 60°F (15°C)
Average High: 68°F (20°C)
Average Low: 52° F (11°C)




PR Score & Course Score

PR Score: 99.93
Course Score: 100.64


Race Size

2023: 1,423 Finishers
2022: 1,314 Finishers
2021: No Results
2020: No Results
2019: 1,723 Finishers
2018: 1,888 Finishers


BQ Percentages

2023: 28.3%
2022: 19.9%
2021: N/A
2020: N/A
2019: 31.2%
2018: 33.4%

Miscellaneous Information

Pace Groups?: Yes


Weather Averages for Last 11 Years


Race Day Temperatures

High: 67°F  (19°C)
Low: 56°F  (13°C)

Race Start Conditions

56°F  (13°C)
Humidity: 87%

Overcast
SW 4 mph

PR Score

49.67

Course Score

100.79



BBBB1714284000 --- 1711692962 ---- 29.988865740741 --- 2024-04-28 -- 2024 --- date_2024 --- 2024-04-28 --t- 04-28-2024


How does the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Rank?


The Mountains 2 Beach Marathon was the 50th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 42nd largest in 2022.

Last year 28.3% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 19.9% of runners qualified for Boston in 2022.

This gives the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon the 20th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 49th highest percentage in 2022.


Its Course Score of 100.64 ranks it as the 33rd fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 4th fastest course in California.

The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are slightly above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon a PR Score of 99.93. This PR Score ranks it as the 34th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 5th fastest in California.

Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.


Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Elevation Chart

Max Elevation: 941 feet (286m)
Min Elevation: 8 feet (2m)

Elevation Gain: 536 feet (163m)
Elevation Loss: 1260 feet (384m)


Mountains
Course updated 12/23/2023



Hotel & VRBO Accommodations for the
Mountains 2 Beach Marathon

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How Fast Can You Go?


If you ran the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon in 4:48:00, what would your time in other marathons be?

See how your race times would compare on other marathon courses with our time conversion tool.




Recent Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Reviews

3.3 Stars from 22 Reviews
View all Reviews





KS's review of 2023 Mountains 2 Beach Marathon.   

5 / 5 Stars

Review

Downhill nature much appreciated. Not overcrowded. Organized start. I wasn't running for this but 28% qualified for Boston! One water station ran out of cups around mile 18, rest after did not though, not a big deal got water poured in cupped hands.


Race Tips

First few miles slight uphill (not bad at all), then mostly downhill (one noticeable hill around 16 and another at like 23.5 which was not too long but tough after all those miles). Was misting just before start. Near the water generally high humidity in am, true here as well, but temp was comfortable for me anyway.


Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

Stay at the Crowne plaza the night before so you have just a short walk to the shuttle that takes you to the start, book the 5am shuttle unless you want extra time at the starting line.


Mike D.'s review of 2022 Mountains 2 Beach Marathon.   

1 / 5 Stars

Review

Anything good about this race is negated by it being .4 miles too long. And, no, it's not just my Garmin; EVERYBODY had this problem. The mistake is within the first 5 miles, so we all spent the race complaining and wondering if the course would correct itself. It did not. The posted mile markers were consistently .4 miles late.

Note from the Race Organizers:

Message for the full marathon runners: After weeks working for you and you training hard for your race, we were in disbelief when we learned that the Sheriff had mistakenly led the marathon runners off the course resulting in adding 0.38 miles to your marathon race.

We share your frustration, believe us! There’s nothing more important to us than our amazing athletes. We know how hard you worked for this!

The good news is that we re-cerified the course immediately and USATF has confirmed that anyone who BQ today has qualified for the Boston Marathon!!!!

For the people who did not qualify, we will continue to address the issue tomorrow. However, we were told that by USATF standards we’re not allowed us to adjust the timing.

We hope you can understand that this was not an oversight on our part, and that you can still cherish your big accomplishment!


Race Tips

Don't do this event unless they 1) acknowledge there was a problem, and 2) swear, if not give evidence, that the course distance has been corrected.


Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)


AG's review of 2022 Mountains 2 Beach Marathon.   

2 / 5 Stars

Review

Net Downhill. Could have been a screamer under right weather conditions.. perhaps do this early May or late April. Net average temp for a 4hr duration is about 65-66F with a dew pt of 56-58F... a 13s heat offset for the race. In addition the sheriff misled the marathon runners for a full 0.38mi extra right in the beginning. Organizers were able to recertify the course with USATF.. however no relief for runners who were narrowly missing BQ.


Race Tips

Prepare for the weather.. Could become warmer than you can handle.. particularly spring training will be in cooler climate and then you end with summer like conditions


Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)


KH's review of 2022 Mountains 2 Beach Marathon.   

2 / 5 Stars

Review

The org changed/delayed the race date just over a month before the race, the race was delayed for 20 mins with no explanation other than constantly saying we're starting soon, and we were directed on a wrong turn which resulted in an additional 0.5 mile before we hit 3 miles, but they haven't taken responsibility for any of it, blaming most on other parties.

That aside, the course was on the bike path forever and that sucked. It was also a very sunny day with temps in the mid 60s and little shade (definitely didn't help that we started late).


Race Tips


Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)


AAA's review of 2022 Mountains 2 Beach Marathon.   

1 / 5 Stars

Review

Here are the facts: Six weeks before the event, the race director notifies all runners that the race has to be moved from May 29th to June 5th. They claim that the police department forced them to move the race. They also claim that hotels should be cheaper since the race is no longer on a holiday weekend.

Hotels jacked up prices for race weekend higher then what they were Memorial Day weekend. We were forced to pay the higher prices too even though we already had reservations made through the race travel agency.

Race is scheduled to start at 6am. After we get in the corrals, the race director continually states that we are delayed due to something entirely out of their control. Also heard reports of police removing runners hats during the national anthem. We finally started running at 6:20 (so extra time standing, extra time in the sun later).

The course leader took the wrong direction about 3 miles into the race, causing everyone to run an additional .4 miles. No one was really certain what was going on during the race since all of our watches said we were .4 miles longer than what the mile markers showed throughout the remainder of the course. Race officials have since said that this was the Sheriff's fault.

Here are my opinions: If the race director is to be believed (all three items were someone else's fault) then you shouldn't run this race. If the race can get this messed up out of the organizer's control, then how can anyone trust this race can be run properly? I personally don't believe the race director. I think this organization dropped the ball and did a lackluster job and the rest of us paid the price. Speaking of, they offered no refunds after moving the event until the social media backlash. Unless they can get their act together in the future, don't run this race.

This race is not meant for anyone but those from southern California. I spent a small fortune on flights, cars, and hotels to be there. After the news of the race moving by a week, I had to spend another small fortune to change all our plans and dates. I figured I was already in the hole so much already, might as well make it work for a BQ. Turns out not attending the event would have been the better use of my time. After I realized the course was wrong and not my watch, I had to try to make up for nearly 4 minutes of lost time and wound up burning myself out in the last few miles which is purely uphill.

From start to finish, this race took the fun out of marathoning. I've never finished a race and seen so many people angry in the finisher's area. Being a marathoner is something to celebrate, and somehow this race ruined that's all while taking zero responsibility.


Race Tips


Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)