The downhill point-to-point marathon course starts in Ojai and ends in Ventura. The course winds along the paved paths of the Ojai Valley Trail and Ventura River Trail bringing runners toward the coast and one of Southern California's most popular surf destinations.
The Ventura Marathon was the 94th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 88th largest in 2022.
This year 26.4% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 24.8% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Ventura Marathon the 25th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 10th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 101.36 ranks it as the 23rd fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 2nd fastest course in California.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Ventura Marathon a PR Score of 101.36. This PR Score ranks it as the 20th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 2nd fastest in California.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Ventura Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 1010 feet (307m) Min Elevation: 18 feet (5m)
This was a terrific course - it was downhill enough to take the edge off without being dramatic enough to really notice you were going downhill most of the time. The volunteers were fantastic and I had plenty of water on the course.
Race Tips
Keep in mind that the race also has a half marathon as well and it finishes in the same location. This means faster marathoners will need to pass the back of the pack half marathoners at the end, and this takes more energy than one wants to give in order to move around them.
I stayed at the Clocktower Inn which is perfectly located for the buses to the start and the finish. The hotel itself is fine and the location is ideal. The night before I ate at the Lure Fish House which was great for me - I don't really "carbo load" but instead prefer a moderately sized meal of protein, carbs, and veggies so this fit the bill.
Aaron's review of 2018 Ventura Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
This is very well organized for a small race. The top part of the new course in 2018 is a loop and a half around the beautiful town of Ojai. The next section is on a bike/walking path and last section of a mile or two are in Ventura. There were adequate bathrooms at the start, plenty of water stations, and no course issue.
Race Tips
The course is very similar but slightly easier than mountain 2 beach (M2B). I ran M2B in May. In both cases, I had a great time and ran fast on the first half. In both cases, my legs got beaten up and my body couldn't handle the pounding from the downhill. I BQed in both races, but ran second half 15+ minutes slower than first half. Prepare for the downhill. Though difficult, try to find practice runs with 12+ miles of downhill.
I stayed in downtown Ventura for Ventura Marathon and M2B. I had a short walk to buses up to Ojai. I prefer to simplify post race logistics by staying close to finish.
CR Simmons's review of 2017 Ventura Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
The Ventura Marathon was organized well. It was an easy downhill until the last few miles where it was a slight uphill. Late in the marathon, that slight upgrade was like Everest to me. It is probably because I went out to fast at first. If I had managed my pace better it probably would not have been as daunting.
Race Tips
Even though it is for the most part downhill. Try and conserve your energy/effort until the end. A negatively split race would help on this course.
The porta-potties were a long way from the start area. And, the line was extremely long. Race was delayed a little to accommodate getting all the runners out of the porta-potties.
WH's review of 2016 Ventura Marathon.
3 /
5 Stars
Review
Weather is generally great, ideal in 2016 but unfavorable the year prior.
Whether this is a good marathon depends on your goal. Not necessarily a small town marathon but one that has a great community feel which is nice.
Some bigger issues though if your goal is to BQ. They promote it as a fast BQ qualifying race and at 16% of finishers hitting that it's not decent. But isolate Men 30-39 and that group underperformed at ~12%. A more difficult time cap for sure, but the director failed in two key areas to help people qualify. First - they promoted pace groups which is sought out by many trying to attain a BQ. However, after listing 3 and 3:05 nobody actually showed up to pace at those times. The fastest pacer was 3:10. Considering you need to pad yourself by a few minutes this really means no male under the age of 40 actually had a pacer that helped them attain a time to get into Boston. I chose this race solely to BQ and they falsely promoted what they were providing.
Second, also a BQ issue - they ran the half and full over the same course. Only the last few miles overlapped the lead marathoners with the half walkers. Meaning, as a marathoner you were literally having to run the last 3 miles weaving around people walking and at times having to shout at them to get out of the way because it was completely blocked. Incredibly poor planning. I BQ'd but imagine a few people missed theirs because of this. Not fun to have to manage around people like this after 23 miles.
Not sure if it was short sightedness, ignorance or laziness to why this happened the way it did. Really poor planning.
