The OC Marathon Course will start in front of our Official Start Line Hotel, the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa just south of Santa Barbara Drive. You will run through the beautiful coastal communities of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana finishing off at the OC Fair and Event Center conveniently located just off the 55 freeway in the heart of Costa Mesa. THE OC MARATHON CAN BE USED AS A QUALIFIER FOR ANY MARATHON IN THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING THE BOSTON MARATHON. The first mile of the OC Marathon course includes a breathtaking panorama of the Pacific Ocean before winding through the seaside village of Corona del Mar including the spectacular Ocean Blvd. with cliff side views of Big Corona del Mar State Beach. It traverses down Bayside Drive, past the Newport Harbor Yacht Clubs and homes and boats of Newport Harbor. Exceptional views await runners at the bluffs overlooking the Upper Newport Bay Estuary Reserve as are the supportive cheers of neighborhood residents. Marathoners continue into the heart of Orange County, Costa Mesa, passing by the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, around South Coast Plaza. Runners hear the cheers from students as you go past one of our largest participating schools in our kids program with over 400 kids, then run through the campus of Segerstrom High School. One more mile in Santa Ana before turning onto the Santa Ana River Trail for 1.5 miles before exiting at Gisler foot-bridge. Runners will go through beautiful Mesa Verde neighborhoods and then the “Bird Streets”, providing you with that much needed support on the home stretch towards the OC Fair & Event Center. The Full Marathon course is net downhill in elevation from start to finish. The first 6.5 miles will be extremely fast with only minor inclines. Mile 6.5 to 7.0 is the only significant hill on the course taking the runners from 15 feet to 75 feet. The course is then mostly flat through mile 10.5 with a couple rolling hills to 11.5. There is another 45′ incline at mile 14.5 over the 405 overpass and a 40′ incline slightly over 1/4 of a mile in length at mile 23 after. These are all relatively small hills. The Half Marathon course starts 45 minutes after the marathon from the same location, with a breathtaking panorama of the Pacific Ocean before winding through the seaside village of Corona del Mar including the spectacular Ocean Blvd. with cliffside views of Big Corona del Mar State Beach. The Half Marathon course is net downhill in elevation from start to finish. The first 6.5 miles will be extremely fast with only minor inclines. Mile 6.5 to 7.0 is the only significant hill on the course taking the runners from 15 feet to 75 feet. The course is then mostly flat through mile 10.5, a couple rolling hills to 11.5 with a flat and fast final stretch into the OC Fair & Event Center. The OC 5K will take place on Saturday at 5:30 PM. The Full and Half Marathon events will take place on Sunday morning. With the 5K on Saturday, you can enjoy the festival and great music (you won’t be disappointed) on the main stage and still get home early enough to do the half or full on Sunday. The Combo for Overachievers is called the “OC COMBO CRUSH.” All runners that complete the 5K and half or full will get the OC COMBO CRUSH medal. Two Races/Two Shirts/THREE Medals.