My marathons

Hoag OC Marathon

Start 05:305:30 AM Newport Beach

The Hoag OC Marathon is a course of 42.2 km (26.2 miles) with 92.2 m (302 ft) of climbing. Its lowest point is 4 m (13 ft) and its highest 73 m (240 ft) above sea level. Next race: Sunday 2 May 2027, starting at 5:30 AM.

Newport Beach
Newport Beach. Photograph by Don Ramey Logan, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

At a glance

Race day
The 2027 race
Start
05:305:30 AM
Distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
Marathon · Half marathon · 5K
Total climb
92.2 m302 ft
Highest point 69 m226 ft above lowest
Time limit
7 hours

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

The organiser calls the course net downhill with three hills: mile 6.5 to 7, mile 11 and a 55 ft rise at mile 14.5 over the 405 freeway overpass.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Photo: Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0

km 5mile 3.1

Corona del Mar State Beach

The organiser describes the first mile as an ocean panorama before the seaside village of Corona del Mar and the cliffside views over the beach on Ocean Boulevard.

Photo: Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0

Height drawn many times taller than life · GEDTM30

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 4 and 73 metres, a range of 69 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there. The dashed stretches are bridge decks: Pacific Coast Highway, km 10.7 to 11; Red Hill Avenue, km 20.3 to 20.4; Red Hill Avenue, km 22.8 to 23; (unnamed span), km 26.2 to 26.4. A bare-earth model reads the ground or the water beneath a bridge, not the deck the runner is on, so those runs are interpolated between the ground either side rather than measured, and they under-report the real climb across a span.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge

Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

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  • Net downhill, with three hillsFast first 6.5 miles, a hill from 15 to 75 ft at mile 6.5, a last rise over the 405 at mile 14.5.
  • From Newport Center down to Costa MesaThe high point comes at 1.7 km; the low, 3.9 m, at 10.7 km near the Pacific Coast Highway.
  • Corona del Mar, three miles of Santa Ana, the river trailOcean Boulevard first, then Santa Ana, a mile and a half of river trail, and the Bird Streets home.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GradientNet downhill, with three hillsFast first 6.5 miles, a hill from 15 to 75 ft at mile 6.5, a last rise over the 405 at mile 14.5.

The organiser says the first 6.5 miles are extremely fast with only minor inclines. Mile 6.5 to 7.0 is the first significant hill, taking runners from 15 feet to 75 feet. The course is then mostly flat to mile 10.5, with the second hill at mile 11. The last hill can be seen for half a mile but is only a 55 ft incline at mile 14.5 over the 405 freeway overpass. The rest is relatively flat with a couple of minor inclines.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2GradientFrom Newport Center down to Costa MesaThe high point comes at 1.7 km; the low, 3.9 m, at 10.7 km near the Pacific Coast Highway.

The marathon starts in Newport Beach, about 54 m above sea level, and ends at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa at about 19 m. The highest point, 72.6 m, comes early, at 1.7 km. The lowest, 3.9 m, is at 10.7 km, just before the road crosses the Pacific Coast Highway.

The course climbs 92.2 m in total, so a watch on the day will count more small rises than this from overpasses and ramps. The figures are for the organiser’s 2027 course map.

Measured

km 0 to 42.2GeometryCorona del Mar, three miles of Santa Ana, the river trailOcean Boulevard first, then Santa Ana, a mile and a half of river trail, and the Bird Streets home.

The organiser describes a first mile with a panorama of the Pacific, then the seaside village of Corona del Mar and Ocean Boulevard with cliffside views of Big Corona del Mar State Beach, down Bayside Drive past the Newport Harbor yacht clubs. Runners then touch Irvine and come back into Costa Mesa past the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, around South Coast Plaza and through the Segerstrom High School campus.

They cover three miles in Santa Ana before turning onto the Santa Ana River Trail for 1.5 miles, leaving it at the Gisler foot-bridge in Costa Mesa. Mesa Verde neighbourhoods and the “Bird Streets” lead to the OC Fair and Event Center, just off the 55 freeway.

Sourced

Race weekend

Friday 30 April Expo

  1. 15:003:00 PM–19:007:00 PM

    OC Lifestyle and Fitness Expo and packet pick-up OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Dr, Costa Mesa. Every runner picks up a bib and shirt at the expo on Friday or Saturday. There is no packet pick-up on race morning.

Saturday 1 May Expo

  1. 10:0010:00 AM–17:005:00 PM

    OC Lifestyle and Fitness Expo and packet pick-up OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Dr, Costa Mesa. Open to the public.

  2. 17:305:30 PM–18:306:30 PM

    Hoag OC 5K OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Dr, Costa Mesa. Saturday evening 5K with a post-race festival.

Sunday 2 May Race day

  1. 05:305:30 AM

    Marathon start Fashion Island, 1001 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. Start time on the organiser's weekend schedule.

  2. 06:306:30 AM

    Half marathon start Fashion Island, 1001 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. Same start area as the marathon, an hour later.

  3. 07:007:00 AM–12:0012:00 PM

    Finish line party OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Dr, Costa Mesa. At the finish lines of the full and half marathon.

  4. Time not published

    Marathon time limit Seven hours, a 16-minute mile pace. Runners who have not reached mile 12 by 9:00 are diverted to the half marathon finish. After the limit the roads reopen and runners continue as pedestrians. 7:00 limit: 9:57/km for 42.195 km7:00 limit: 16:01/mi for 26.2 mi

Times as published by the organiser, in Newport Beach time, checked . Confirm on their site before you travel.

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Newport Beach time

Entry

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Newport Beach, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

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In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
A small balm stick
Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

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We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

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We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
A pack of blister plasters
Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Questions about the Hoag OC Marathon

Is the Hoag OC Marathon course flat?
Not entirely. It has 92.2 m (302 ft) of climbing over 42.2 km (26.2 miles). The highest point is 69 m (226 ft) above the lowest. It finishes 36 m (118 ft) lower than it starts.
When is the Hoag OC Marathon 2027?
Sunday 2 May 2027. The start is at 5:30 AM.
What is the time limit at the Hoag OC Marathon?
Runners have 7 hours to finish.
Where does the Hoag OC Marathon start?
Start: Fashion Island, 1001 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.
Runner talk Questions, tips and race reports from other runners about the course and the city.

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