We are committed to in-person racing in 2021. To give you the best possible in-person event we are combining the Surf City Marathon and the Surf City 10 into one massive running weekend in September. 

Both events will take place from Friday, September 10th – Saturday, September 11th, 2021. 

If you are already registered for the Surf City Marathon, you do not need to take any action. We will automatically transfer you to the September event. 

If you do not want to run in-person in 2021 you have two options. 

1. As always, we will be offering a virtual marathon and half marathon option. This option will allow for Longboard Legacy runners to retain their status if they are unable to attend the 2021 event in-person. If you’d like to transfer into the virtual race, pgslot you may do so by visiting your Active profile and following the instructions below:
   Change your category (Virtual or Distance)Log into your MyEvents.ACTIVE.com accountFind, 2021 SURF CITY MARATHON & HALF MARATHONClick the “Change category” button to make updates to your registrationSwitching from a longer distance to a shorter distance:pgslot There is no fee to switch to a shorter distance. There are no refunds for the difference in price between the two distances. If you are prompted to pay a fee difference, please email runsurfcity@motivsports.com and we will help you.Switching from a shorter distance to a longer distance: You will be prompted to pay the difference in fee from the shorter distance to the current cost of the longer distance. 
2. If the new date does not fit within your schedule, you may choose to defer your 2021 entry to 2022.pgslot The 2022 Surf City Marathon will take place on Sunday, February 6, 2022. Please note: Longboard Legacy runners who choose to defer to 2022 will lose their legacy status. If you’d like to request a deferral, please click the button below to fill out the request form before April 1, 2021. Due to limited staffing, deferral requests will not be processed until the Summer of 2021.

Other details:

Shirts. Traditionally, marathon and half marathoners receive a long-sleeve participant shirt. However, since the 2021 event will take place in September instead of February, they will receive a short-sleeve version in 2021. Those completing the 5K and Beach Mile will receive participant tank tops instead of shirts.

Beach Mile. The Beach Mile will take place the evening of Friday, September 10, 2021, in the sand outside the expo tent. Exact time TBD. 

Packet Mailing. We strongly encourage participants to utilize the Mail My Packet Option when registering. This will help to reduce congestion at the expo. If you are already registered and want to add this option:

1. Log into your MyEvents.ACTIVE.com account
2. Find, 2021 SURF CITY MARATHON & HALF MARATHON
3. Click the “Purchase Merchandise” button to make updates to your registration

Start times. We are in the process of finalizing the start times for each distance with the city and CalTrans. The start times may be adjusted to accommodate the closure of the Pacific Coast Highway on a Saturday instead of a Sunday. We will post the updated times as soon as they are confirmed. 

Medals. 2021 is our 25th birthday and we have created extra special medals to commemorate the milestone. We expect to have mockups available to show off in February. 

Capacity. Combining these two events means we will likely hit course capacity well in advance of race weekend. Once capacity is reached we will not be able to accept any additional registrations. PLEASE do not wait until the week of to attempt to register, especially if you are Longboard Legacy, we will not be able to accommodate ANY additional runners once we hit capacity.  

In case you are wondering why we are combining the events instead of keeping them separate: Both of our Surf City events require the complete closure of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Huntington Beach. Completely closing the PCH requires A LOT of coordination and cooperation with the California Department of Transportation, the city of Huntington Beach, local businesses, and the local residents. Closing it multiple times in the fall would place too heavy of a burden on those stakeholders. Attempting to host the Surf City Marathon in the spring or summer, before vaccines are widely available, was deemed too risky. Combining the events in September is our best option to ensure a live event takes place.