Big Sur International Marathon 2027: The Most Beautiful Hard Race in America

At roughly the halfway point of the Big Sur International Marathon, you come around a bend on Highway 1 and see the Bixby Bridge — the concrete arch spanning a canyon above the Pacific, one of the most photographed structures in California.

And there, on the bridge, is a grand piano. Someone is playing it. The ocean is a few hundred feet below you, the cliffs run away in both directions, and you have just come off a two-mile climb into a headwind coming straight off the water.

That’s Big Sur. It is not a fast marathon and it makes no attempt to be one. It is, by fairly broad consensus, the most beautiful marathon in the United States — and one of the hardest races that most runners will genuinely enjoy.

The 2027 edition takes place on Sunday, April 25, 2027, and the entry drawing opens shortly. Here’s what you need to know.

Big Sur 2027: Race Overview

Date: Sunday, April 25, 2027
Start Time: 6:45 AM
Course: Point-to-point on Highway 1, from Big Sur to Carmel
Finish: Crossroads Shopping Center, Carmel
Start Elevation: 356 ft · Finish Elevation: 10 ft
Total Elevation Gain: +2,182 ft · Total Loss: −2,528 ft
Time Limit: Approximately 6 hours — the road reopens to traffic at 1:00 PM
Certification: USATF certified; official Boston Qualifier
Field Size: Around 4,500 participants
Established: 1986
Organizer: Big Sur Marathon Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Other Distances: 21-Miler, 11-Miler, 12K, 5K, Marathon Relay

Registration: The 2027 Timeline

This is the section to act on, because the dates are close.

The random drawing

• Opens: Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 8:00 AM PT
• Closes: September 2, 2026 (a two-week window)
• Winners announced: September 8, 2026

This is the cheapest way into the marathon. Entry is through Haku, the race’s registration platform, and requires full credit card details at the time of application. If you change your mind before the draw, you can generally withdraw by contacting athlete services — check the current deadline on the official site.

Guaranteed entry paths — no drawing required

All of these open on August 19, 2026, first-come, first-served:

• Big Sur VIP, presented by HOKA — $899 for 2027, limited to 400 entrants. Includes guaranteed entry, exclusive coaching programs, a private group, enhanced gear, and — genuinely useful on this course — private motor coach transport to the start with a bathroom on board.
• Race Benefactor Program (formerly Youth Fitness)
• Charity bib entries — the foundation has disbursed over $2 million in grants since 1986
• Marathon Tours & Travel — the official travel agency, offering a limited number of entries bundled with hotel packages

The other distances

The Relay, 21-Miler, 11-Miler, 12K, and 5K all open first-come, first-served on September 10, 2026. These don’t go through the drawing at all — if the marathon lottery doesn’t go your way, the 21-Miler covers most of the same spectacular coastline.

Boston 2 Big Sur

General registration for the Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge presented by HOKA opens October 14, 2026, first-come, first-served. You don’t need to enter the drawing for this route — but you must also be an official entrant in the 2027 Boston Marathon.

More on why anyone would do this below.

The Course

Twenty-six miles of Highway 1 — the nation’s first nationally-designated Scenic Highway — closed to traffic, running north from Big Sur to Carmel with the Pacific on your left the entire way.

The numbers tell a specific story: 2,182 feet of climbing against 2,528 feet of descent. Net downhill on paper. Emphatically not downhill in the legs.

Miles 1-5: Redwoods

You start at 6:45 AM in the dark under redwoods, at 356 feet of elevation, and drop away from the start through forest before the road opens out toward the coast.

Strategy: It’s cold, it’s dark, and it’s downhill. All three encourage you to run faster than you should. Don’t. The hardest part of this course is still ahead.

Miles 5-10: The coast opens up

The redwoods give way and you’re on the cliffs, with the ocean below and the road curving ahead. Rolling terrain, spectacular views, and the point at which most runners realise what they’ve signed up for.

Miles 10-12: Hurricane Point

The defining feature of the race: a sustained two-mile climb up to the highest point on the course, fully exposed to whatever the Pacific is doing that morning.

The wind here is the variable that makes or breaks people’s races. Some years it’s benign. Some years it is a headwind strong enough to stop conversation.

Strategy: Hike it if you need to. Genuinely — plenty of experienced runners walk portions of Hurricane Point, and it is not a failure. Hold your effort steady, shorten your stride, and accept that your split for these miles will look terrible. Fighting the wind to protect a pace target is how people ruin the second half.

Mile 13: Bixby Bridge and the piano

Off the top of Hurricane Point, you descend to the Bixby Bridge — the halfway point, the postcard image of the entire race, and the spot where a grand pianist plays as the field comes through.

It’s the moment people remember for the rest of their lives. Take it in.

Miles 13-26.2: The long grind north

Here’s the part first-timers underestimate. The second half is not a downhill cruise to Carmel. It’s a series of rolling climbs and descents, one after another, on legs already worked over by Hurricane Point.

The hills are individually modest and cumulatively brutal. There’s a well-known short climb late in the race, around mile 25, that has broken plenty of people who thought they were home.

Strategy: Save something. Whatever pacing plan you make, make it with the knowledge that the last ten miles are harder than the elevation profile suggests.

The entertainment

Beyond the Bixby Bridge pianist, the course features Taiko drummers and Samba dancers among other performers — a genuinely thoughtful set of interludes on a course where crowd support is otherwise, by necessity, almost nonexistent. There are no towns out there. That’s the point.

The Six-Hour Limit — Read This Carefully

Highway 1 reopens to traffic at 1:00 PM. That’s a hard operational deadline, not a soft target, and it produces an effective six-hour cutoff from the 6:45 AM start — roughly a 13:45 per mile pace.

Critically: only participants finishing under six hours on chip time receive the finisher’s medallion, the online certificate, and a place in the official results.

Six hours is generous for most trained marathoners on a flat course. On this course, into a possible headwind, with Hurricane Point at mile 10 and rolling hills for the entire back half, it is a real constraint for slower runners. Be honest with yourself about it before you enter, and train accordingly.

Boston 2 Big Sur: Two Marathons in Six Days

In 2027, the Boston Marathon falls on Monday April 19 and Big Sur on Sunday April 25 — six days apart.

The Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge exists for runners who want to do both. You need an official entry to Boston as well, and registration for the challenge opens October 14, 2026.

Should you? A few honest points:

• These are two of the most quad-punishing marathons in America. Boston’s downhills wreck you early; Big Sur’s rolling second half finds whatever survived.
• Six days is not enough recovery to race both. Nobody does. The standard approach is to race one — usually Boston — and treat Big Sur as an experience rather than a time trial.
• It requires real durability and a training block built with this in mind, not a normal marathon build with a bonus race tacked on.
• For runners who can manage it, it’s one of the great achievements in American amateur road running.

If you’re going to attempt it, decide in advance which race you’re racing and commit to running the other one for the view.

Weather and Conditions

Late April on the Monterey coast is typically cool, often foggy at dawn, and frequently windy.

• A cold, dark start. You’ll be standing in redwoods at 6:45 AM. Bring a throwaway layer.
• Marine layer. Coastal fog is common early and usually burns off during the race.
• Wind is the wildcard. Onshore winds off the Pacific can turn Hurricane Point from difficult into genuinely punishing. There’s no way to predict it and no way to avoid it — just don’t let it wreck your pacing discipline.
• Cool temperatures overall, which is the one thing working in your favour.

Race Morning Logistics

This is a point-to-point race on a highway with no parking at the start, which means everybody takes a bus.

Buses depart from the Carmel area extremely early — expect a start to your day somewhere around 3:00-4:00 AM. You’ll then be standing in the dark under the redwoods for a while before the gun.

Practical implications:

• Plan your sleep and pre-race meal around a very early wake-up
• Bring warm throwaway layers for the wait
• Know your bus assignment and departure time, and don’t be late — there is no alternative way to reach that start line
• The VIP program’s private coach with an onboard bathroom exists precisely because of this, and is a large part of why people pay for it

Where to Stay

The Monterey Peninsula — Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, and Pacific Grove — is the natural base, near the finish and near the bus departure points.

Two warnings. First, this is an expensive area and race weekend does not make it cheaper. Second, availability is limited: it’s a small, popular region hosting 4,500 runners plus families. Book as soon as your entry is confirmed, not in the new year.

Training for Big Sur

This course rewards specific preparation more than most.

• Hills, and lots of them. Not one long climb — repeated rolling hills, run back to back, at marathon effort. That’s what the second half actually is.
• Downhill running. There’s more descent than ascent here, and quad damage from the early miles compounds badly by mile 20.
• Practise running into wind. Deliberately do some sessions on exposed ground in bad conditions.
• Train effort, not pace. Your splits on this course will vary enormously. Learning to run by feel is the single most useful skill you can bring.
• Rehearse the early start. Do a long run or two that begins before dawn after a short night.
• Timeline: A 16-18 week block for April 25, 2027 means starting around late December 2026.

Beyond the Race

You’ll have seen the coastline from the road, which is the best possible introduction. Then:

• Carmel-by-the-Sea — the finish town, walkable, and a genuinely lovely place to recover
• Point Lobos State Natural Reserve — short coastal trails, sea otters, and cypress
• Monterey Bay Aquarium — one of the best in the world
• 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach
• Big Sur itself — drive back south at your own pace and stop wherever you want, which you couldn’t do while running
• The Monterey Bay Half Marathon in November, run by the same foundation, if you want to come back

Is This Race For You?

Great choice if you:

• Want the most scenic marathon in the United States and are willing to pay for it in effort
• Are comfortable running a hard course without chasing a time
• Can comfortably finish inside six hours on difficult terrain
• Are drawn to the Boston 2 Big Sur challenge
• Want a mid-sized, well-organised, nonprofit-run event
• Are combining the race with a California coastal trip

Look elsewhere if you:

• Are chasing a PR or a marginal Boston qualifier — this is a BQ course, but a very hard one to qualify on
• Are near the six-hour cutoff on a flat course
• Need crowd support to get through a marathon — there’s almost none out there
• Can’t manage a 3 AM start to your race day
• Are on a tight budget for accommodation

The Bottom Line

Big Sur is a difficult marathon. Hurricane Point, the wind, the relentless rolling second half, the six-hour cutoff, and the pre-dawn bus all make sure of it.

It’s also the race that people describe years later in a different tone of voice from every other marathon they’ve run — because there is genuinely nowhere else you can run twenty-six miles of closed coastal highway above the Pacific and hear a piano playing on a bridge at halfway.

Enter it for the experience, set a goal that respects the course, and be prepared to walk a hill without feeling bad about it.

The 2027 Big Sur International Marathon takes place Sunday, April 25, 2027. The random drawing opens August 19, 2026 at 8:00 AM PT and closes September 2, with winners announced September 8. Guaranteed entry paths open the same day; the other distances open September 10; Boston 2 Big Sur opens October 14.

Ready to add Big Sur to your race history? Track your goals and results at RunningLog — set a target that fits the course, log your finish, and keep the race you’ll be talking about for years.

Have you run Big Sur, or the Boston 2 Big Sur double? Share your story on Instagram or Threads.