Big Sur International Marathon Reviews & Race Reports
17 reviews from runners who've completed this race
Big Sur International Marathon reviews and race reports
Hurricane Point, miles 10 to 12 — The two-mile climb to the high point is the stretch everyone trains for. Its first mile is the steep one. Taiko drummers partway up gave several runners a lift.
The piano at Bixby Bridge — The descent off Hurricane Point drops to Bixby Bridge near halfway, where a grand piano plays and many runners stop for photos. One runner thought the piano a bit overhyped.
Rolling miles above the ocean after Bixby — Past the bridge, hill follows hill along the cliffs with almost no spectators, since the highway is closed. The repeated descents wore out quads, and one 2025 runner ended up preferring the climbs.
The Carmel Highlands, miles 22 to 25 — Rolling climbs on a steeply tilted road make this stretch harder than many expect, and one 2019 runner rated it tougher than Hurricane Point. One last short hill near mile 25 comes before the drop to the finish.
Struggled with nutrition and fatigue on a stunning course
It was a rainy start with a consistent drizzle. I ran at goal pace through mile 8 till the first hill and slowed down a bit. This was to be expected. I could not stomach any more gus though and only managed 3 gus throughout the course.
Struggled up Hurricane Hill but recovered to finish strong
Mile 11-12: fighting up hurricane hill. I did my best to measure my heart rate and walk whenever I went over 165, until I was back down below 150. Jogged/ran more than I expected to but still slowed down significantly. By mile 12 I was starting to feel miserable as I was soaked through and my clothes were sticking to me, tried rolling my sleeves up and down and fussing with it mostly made it worse. Ate fourth xact bar and a couple of fruit snacks on the hill.
Ignored injury, ran strong first half, struggled after mile 20
At the start of the race the sun had just come up. The beginning of the course I was surrounded by fog rising from the redwoods. I felt no pain in my foot. I hit my first mile at 7:30 but I felt like I was trotting. Second mile: 7:06, still felt nothing. I knew I shouldn't be running a 7:06 at mile 2, but I couldn't help it.
Struggled mentally after hitting 16 miles, but pushed through.
Mile 17-19: These were my hardest miles mentally. While training, the max milage I had gotten to was 16 miles and my body felt better then than it did in this moment. My mantras were smudged cause of the rain and sweat but I kept looking to them to remind me to keep it up. I didn't feel horrible but these miles did feel longer than the rest for me.
Overcame hamstring cramp to secure 4th overall and Master's win
Since I had no real idea of my ultimate fitness, I went totally by feel through the ups and downs of the beautiful, wet, windy, hilly course! Started with 4 downhill in foggy redwoods, then cutting to the coast with a gentle uphill with a mighty headwind, quick downhill then a steep 2mile climb to hurricane point, Bixby Bridge, and many miles of rolling hills on the way to Carmel.