Monterey Bay Half Marathon to return
MONTEREY >> For the Monterey Bay Half Marathon, the past five years have been a lesson in endurance — on and off the course. Contesting fires and health crises, the annual race has only been held once since 2017. But now, organizers are ready to get back to the routine.
Returning this weekend, the Monterey Bay Half Marathon will bring thousands of runners back to its familiar shoreline course Sunday for a race wrought with sites iconic to the Monterey Peninsula.
“We're just really excited to be back to racing and back with the community,” said Josh Priester, executive director and race director for the Big Sur Marathon Foundation.
First held in 2003, the Monterey Bay Half Marathon is organized by the Big Sur Marathon Foundation (of the Big Sur International Marathon held in April each year). For both 2020 and 2021, the half marathon, along with its associated 5K and 3K races, was canceled because of COVID-19 safety concerns — just after making a comeback in 2019.
Impacted unhealthy air quality from the Camp Fire in Butte County — the most destructive wildfire in California history — officials canceled the Monterey Bay Half Marathon in 2018. Some entrants returned the year after while others deferred to 2020 or 2021, only to have the event put on pause again.
At least two, if not three or four years of waiting later, it's finally time to get the course up and running.
Just under 7,000 participants are registered for this year's half marathon, which leaves room for any last minute additions to the roster, Priester said. He assured that there is “no restriction on registration right now.” Another 2,000 are signed up to tackle a shorter version of the 13.1-mile route this weekend, in either the By-the-Bay 3K or the Pacific Grove Lighthouse 5K.
Opening the weekend of races, the 3K will begin Saturday at 8 a.m., shortly followed by the 5K at 8:30 a.m. Both will begin — and end — at Lovers Point Park in Pacific Grove. The road will be closed in both traffic directions on the waterfront on Ocean View Boulevard and Sunset Drive from Lovers Point to Point Pinos from about 6 to 10 a.m. for the races Saturday.
Using the same route established in years past, the 2022 Monterey Bay Half Marathon starts Sunday at 6:50 a.m. on Del Monte Avenue at Camino El Estero before traversing the Peninsula's coastline to Asilomar State Beach, where runners will turn around and head back.
Entrants to look out for in Sunday's race include Bay Areabased runner Maya Weigel, who has previously qualified for the Olympic Trials and is poised to run a podium performance at this year's half marathon; Kristen Zaitz, a three-time marathon Olympic Trials qualifier from Colorado; Shadrack Biwott, who has placed third in the Boston Marathon and secured multiple top 10 finishes in the New York City Marathon; and Parker Stinson, known as an aggressive runner and the current 25K American record holder.
For locals, Adam Roach — fivetime winner of the Big Sur International Marathon from Pacific Grove — will also be in the mix Sunday, Priester said.
A total prize purse of over $30,000 will be offered to runners entered in the race's elite category. The top finisher among the elite men and the elite women will each win a $4,000 top prize. The first three male or female runners to cross the finish line will receive a bonus of $3,000, $1,500, and $500, respectively, in addition
to the open prize money.
Beyond professional runners making Sunday's race a part of their race season, Priester said the diverse field will also feature participants taking on a half marathon for the first time.
“That's what is so unique about these types of events,” he explained. “You get so many different types of people together — runners of all ages and ability levels.”
After completing the race Sunday, runners will funnel out into the Finish Festival at Custom House Plaza, where live music, hot soup, a beer garden (for those 21 and older) and a merchandise tent will be available to all finishers.
Free parking will be available at the East and West garages in downtown Monterey until 11 a.m. Sunday, though attendees must arrive at the garages by no later than 5:30 a.m to park. All day free parking will also be available at Monterey Peninsula College and the Del Monte Shopping Center. Free shuttles will take runners from both locations to a drop-off near the half marathon's start every 10 minutes from 5-6:15 a.m.
With larger ground to cover Sunday, road closures will stretch a little farther, and longer, than Saturday. The Highway 1 southbound off-ramps to Casa Verde Way and Del Monte Avenue will close from 4 until 9 a.m. The east and westbound lanes of Del Monte from Sloat to Figueroa will be closed from 3:30— 8:45 a.m. The westbound lanes of Del Monte from Figueroa to the Custom House Tunnel (toward Pacific Grove) will be closed from 5:30— 8:45 a.m. Meanwhile, Lighthouse Avenue and the Pacific Street connector southbound (from New Monterey to Downtown) will remain open all day.
In Pacific Grove, Ocean View Boulevard and Sunset Drive will be closed between 6 and 10 a.m.
More information about this year's Monterey Bay
Half Marathon, including other activities happening throughout the race weekend,