Overview The Surf City Marathon is a marathon, half marathon, 5K and Beach Mile run along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach on the first Sunday of February, and its producer bills it as Orange County's largest annual running event. The course is flat and Boston-qualifying, past the pier, through Huntington Central Park and along Bolsa Chica State Beach. The race runs on what it calls its four P's: PCH, palm trees, the pier and people. Motiv Sports produces it, alongside Bay to Breakers, the Long Beach Marathon and the Vancouver Sun Run. On site Race weekend opens with a free public expo in the beach parking lots on Pacific Coast Highway, where every runner collects a bib, shirt and tote and local vendors and active-lifestyle brands set up among the photo spots. The Beach Mile runs on Saturday. The marathon goes off at 6:30 on Sunday morning, with cheer zones and local surf bands along the course and surfers in the water beside it. Runners finish near the sand into a beachfront festival, where finishers get a beer. Audience In 2026 the runners came from 47 states and 18 countries. Many come back: about 1,900 were expected that year through the Longboard Legacy Program, open to anyone who has run the marathon or half three years in a row or more. Track record The first race ran in 1997, and the 30th ran on February 1, 2026, with the marathon and half marathon both sold out before race day. That edition honored local surf culture, including Peter Townend, the first IPS world surfing champion. Dorothy Strand, 86, finished her 30th Surf City that morning, the only runner who had started every edition. Brand presence Biofreeze presented the 2026 race and sent its Cooling Crew onto the course to mist runners with its spray, sampling through the weekend; TruMoo poured chocolate milk at the finish line and Michelob Ultra poured at the post-race festival. An official partner takes a footprint in the sponsor section of the expo and finish festival, space on course if it wants it, its logo on the start and finish line fencing, product in the runner bags, PA reads at the expo and the start and finish, and editorial slots in emails to the registered-runner list. The partnership on offer is written as two years with a first right of refusal on the third.