The San Luis Obispo Marathon + Half Marathon is a point-to-point course with a 750 ft. elevation gain. There are a few challenging hills but they make the accomplishment that much sweeter. We have four incredible races to choose from—Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K and Kids Races—along with a finish line …
MORE
The San Luis Obispo Marathon + Half Marathon is a point-to-point course with a 750 ft. elevation gain. There are a few challenging hills but they make the accomplishment that much sweeter.
We have four incredible races to choose from—Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K and Kids Races—along with a finish line party highlighting the best of the Central Coast to celebrate each and every one of you.
We’re also proud to provide great on-course support and safety for everyone’s enjoyment and wellbeing. You will enjoy—Aid Stations every 2 miles that include water, sports drink, race fuel foods and medical supplies; on-call medical care; clean sanitary stations at Start, On-course and at Finish Line; Police, Sheriff, Highway Patrol and Course Marshals; 800 enthusiastic volunteers cheering your every step! At the finish line treat yourself to the Recovery Tent hosted by Jamba Juice and San Luis Sports Therapy then enjoy the SLO Life Party!
New, Faster Course in 2017! The new, beautiful loop course for 2017 is a fast and scenic tour of San Luis Obispo starting and finishing near the Madonna Inn. Runners will enjoy by heading out toward the beautiful Irish Hills Natural Preserve and then loop toward historic downtown San Luis Obispo. You’ll enjoy the Fremont Theatre, Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed building. Runners will also experience the Railroad District, Islay’s Streets charming bungalows and Victorians and, finally, a scenic downhill finish line at the Madonna Inn where the SLO Life Expo will be in full swing to celebrate your finish! Expect ideal running weather with coastal fog and an average starting temperature of 54 degrees. High temperatures usually hover between 66-69 degrees.
LESS
Organized, fun, scenic, Great support.
This race is awesome. Starts and finishes at the Madonna Inn. Parking available within walking distance to start line. Nice cool morning, but the wind did pick up a bit … MORE
This race is awesome. Starts and finishes at the Madonna Inn. Parking available within walking distance to start line. Nice cool morning, but the wind did pick up a bit as the day went on. I got 611 feet of gain. Course right at 13.1. A lot of aid stations (water, electrolytes, gels) every 2 miles. Beautiful course that runs through downtown SLO with a lot of locals cheering you on. Very well marked course. Age group awards available for many Age Categories(Got 1st in my Age group😀).
Nice course, but it started late
This is a beautiful course, and I love SLO, but I was disappointed that the race started late (more than 20 minutes late). That is the cardinal sin of putting … MORE
This is a beautiful course, and I love SLO, but I was disappointed that the race started late (more than 20 minutes late). That is the cardinal sin of putting on races. The race swag was awesome, and the post-race festivities were good considering the number of participants. I would do it again.
Great race!
This is a challenging course, but very scenic. It's well organized and the festivities are fantastic. And the volunteers at the aid stations and throughout the course are fantastic! One … MORE
This is a challenging course, but very scenic. It’s well organized and the festivities are fantastic. And the volunteers at the aid stations and throughout the course are fantastic! One thing I liked best of all was that the entire family can be involved, from kids races, to the ninja course. Just be prepared for the second half of the marathon to be much harder than expected.
Cool, sunny, hilly.
I liked that the race started right on time at 8:15am. Parking was easy to get to and was right next to bib pick up and and start line. This … MORE
I liked that the race started right on time at 8:15am. Parking was easy to get to and was right next to bib pick up and and start line. This was my first time running the 5k race and got 1st place overall. The only medal I got was 1st place in age group and that was it. I was expecting something else for winning the race. Course is very well marked with a lot of volunteers and 1 aid station around mile 1 or race.
Definitely Endurance Town USA
This is the hardest race I've have ever participated in. Race didn't start until just after 730am and with temperatures reaching ~82 degrees this made it a tough race. Very … MORE
This is the hardest race I’ve have ever participated in. Race didn’t start until just after 730am and with temperatures reaching ~82 degrees this made it a tough race. Very cool scenery and it was awesome running through my old Cal Poly neighborhood 😉 What made this course difficult was after leaving downtown and heading out into the countryside, rolling hills and high heat with very little support in terms of aid stations made this tough. Between miles 21 and 25 there were no aids stations and I literally saw a guy puke next to me and my friend told me he watched a guy collapse at mile 24. Hopefully they get this right in future races, early start time for marathoners and more aid stations on the back end miles.
The hills were challenging!
Cowbell medal was nice. Prison grey shirt, not so nice. Didn't care for running over a walking bridge. It shook real bad with all the weight of the runners and … MORE
Cowbell medal was nice. Prison grey shirt, not so nice. Didn’t care for running over a walking bridge. It shook real bad with all the weight of the runners and made me a little dizzy and unsteady. New course in 2017 and I plan to run it again
Small town race
The marathon was much smaller than I had anticipated. The race was sold out for the half and full but I was disappointed with the number of people actually running. … MORE
The marathon was much smaller than I had anticipated. The race was sold out for the half and full but I was disappointed with the number of people actually running. The volunteers were great, very enthusiastic, and encouraging. A great overall experience. I wish there had been more professional photographers. I only saw 1 at the very beginning and 1 at the finish line. It has been almost a week and I haven’t had an opportunity to purchase any pictures, kind of a bummer.
Challenging course
The San Luis Obispo marathon is a challenging course. Lots of rolling hills. The second half was compounded by wind gusts. Overall, a good race, but be prepared to run … MORE
The San Luis Obispo marathon is a challenging course. Lots of rolling hills. The second half was compounded by wind gusts. Overall, a good race, but be prepared to run hard.