The REVEL Big Bear marathon course offers the best of the San Bernardino Mountains, including breathtaking views of the cliffs and valleys of the San Bernardino National Forest. The course is entirely downhill on paved roadway and is a Boston Marathon qualifier.
The marathon begins at the Greyback Amphitheater near the base of Sugarloaf Mountain, directly south of the famous Big Bear Mountain Ski Resort. The course begins with rolling hills for the first four miles as runners make their way down historic CA 38 towards Redlands with the rising sun at their backs.
Upon reaching the mountain community of Angelus Oaks at mile nine, runners will enjoy a net elevation drop of 4,223 ft in the last 17 miles of the race, an average of a 4.7% downhill grade. Along the way runners will enjoy stunning views of Constance Peak to the west and Anderson Peak to the east.
The course gradually turns southeast in the direction of San Gorgonio Mountain, the tallest peak in Southern California, before heading west through the Mountain Home Village community. After passing the half marathon point, runners are treated to a second half elevation drop of 3,171 feet and only 10 feet of elevation gain!
The final miles take runners through the streets of Redlands, all the while continuing a strong downhill slope to the finish line at the Redlands Sports Park. Runners will get an extra boost from the 443-foot net loss in elevation in the last 3 miles.
*Weather data is from the finish line. Temperatures will be much cooler (20-30° F cooler) at the start and gets warmer as runners travel down the mountain.
The Revel Big Bear Marathon was the 34th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 34th largest in 2022.
Last year 40.5% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 38.7% of runners qualified for Boston in 2022.
This gives the Revel Big Bear Marathon the 9th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 10th highest percentage in 2022.
Its Course Score of 106.82 ranks it as the 3rd fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 1st 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 Revel Big Bear Marathon a PR Score of 106.02. This PR Score ranks it as the 3rd fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 1st fastest in California.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Revel Big Bear Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 6630 feet (2021m) Min Elevation: 1545 feet (471m)
mikeaubz's review of 2023 Revel Big Bear Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Lived up to the hype of being fast and beautiful! Be patient the first 9miles then let the gravity take you home! Race converter predicted i run 2:51:34 i ran 2:51:29 a 5min 32sec PR. REVEL races has nice small details like giving you armbands, gloves, foil blanket, post race bag tags and results card and free beer at the finish! Definately want to run another REVEL race.
This race was tremendously run and an absolute pleasure to run. My previous best was a 3:17 and I have been training for a sub 3:00 for a few years now but failed miserably in the heat and humidity of Chicago 2021 so I needed redemption. I ran an almost perfect marathon, for me, here in this race and ran a 2:54. The review that said to warm up the first 3 miles, go easy on the rollers and let the decline do the work for you was perfect. I slowed my pace a bit the last 3 miles so I still have work to do but this race was amazing!!
Race Tips
I had almost no preparation for this but optimally gym work to strengthen your quads would help a lot.
I stayed at a cheap hotel near the course which was gross, save your money a little and go to the Hilton!!!
Kerry's review of 2021 Revel Big Bear Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
I love Revel races but this is definitely my favorite. The views are gorgeous and the course is FAST! Tons of water stops along the way, but could've maybe used 1 or 2 more at the end because it got pretty hot at the finish. Love getting the finish info printout at the end and lots of food and drinks to choose from. I will be back next year to tackle the half marathon.
Race Tips
Definitely take the first 9 miles or so on the easy side, and then let it rip! I held back slightly under race pace and went easier on the rolling hills in the beginning, and then I was able to really pick up speed after that. Even with a warm finish, I was able to negative split the course, get a 13+ minute PR and my first BQ ever!
Stay at a hotel close to bus pickup so you can just walk over there in the morning. The buses take you from the finish to the pickup spot.
Andy R's review of 2018 Revel Big Bear Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Like all Revel races it was very well planned out. Plenty of support and not too big.
Race Tips
Race starts out with rolling hills for the first 8.5 miles but still is net downhill for this section. Legs feel especially heavy in a couple of the hills since you are running at altitude. DO NOT LET THIS WORRY YOU!! You can make up the difference on the steady decline which starts just before mile 9. Try to save a little for the last couple miles since it has some flat sections- Need to have a good finish stride. Overall, I recommend this course for a PR. But.. Be carefull on the downhill, my advice is to increase your cadence so you are not running your typical stride. The downhill will feel great but many runners I saw pass me with long strides were slower after mile 22. Brag section.. My previous PR was a 3:07. Here yesterday with great conditions I was able to get a 2:53 and change. Very pleased by this course!! I will be there again next year for sure.
Revel has it all planned out perfectly. Just follow their advice in the emails and it will be a good race.
Russel Y.'s review of 2018 Revel Big Bear Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Fantastic super-downhill course + the usual Revel excellence in race support, admin, and features = a great race experience and my best race ever (it was my 15th marathon, this one became my new PR, and a solid BQ!). Great communication and logistics, great support stations on the course plus mile markers every mile. We got perfect weather (canyon shade for first hour, then mostly cool & cloudy). Not quite as pretty as the old Revel Canyon City course that this one replaces but still plenty scenic and a much better elevation profile. BUT it did rain the day before, so could have easily rained the day of, that would have made it a very different day.
In the Revel swag bag you get some thowaway gloves and a space blanket to use while waiting at the top. (Was in the low 40s while we were waiting for the start.) I also brought some disposable hand warmers to stick in the gloves, those are great. I saw some folks shivering hard. Revel runs an excellent bag check, so I wore a down jacket to wait in, and stuffed it in the bag close to start time. Lots of portapotties at the top but always still a wait of course. You might want to bring some TP just in case you get the lucky one that ran out.
Race Tips
Starts with a couple of fast downhill miles, then some mild rolling and climbing, just take it easy. Miles 9 - 21 are fantastically downhill, this is where the magic happens. Last 5 are milder downhills plus a bit of flats and tiny bit of climbing. Last 0.7 mile is a straight downhill shot with the finish line visible all the way. The only very slight problem was traffic along miles 24-25 or so, it's a pretty main road there and they couldn't keep the vehicles single laned, so sometimes they crowded us a bit.
Plenty of water, gatorade, gu, and portapotties on the course.
Had nice coach buses to bring us up to the top, comfy enough for a little snooze (it's like an hour ride).
Easy to fly into Ontario then drive about 45 min. to Redlands. We stayed in an Airbnb house in Yucapia, which worked out well. University of Redlands looks very lovely, I wish we had made time to visit. We did drive all the way up to Big Bear Lake (1h+ drive), which was beautiful.
