Surf City Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Huntington Beach, CAFebruary 7, 2027
The Surf City Marathon runs an out and back along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, past the pier, spending the entire race between about 2 and 87 feet above sea level. It's early February in Southern California, which means you get the good weather and you get the same road twice.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
The out and back shape is the thing to plan for. Whatever the wind is doing, you take it in both directions, and whatever you ran on the way out you have to look at again on the way home. In 2026, 1,963 people finished, up from 955 in 2022, and 5.7% of them ran Boston qualifying times.
135 days to race day
Surf City Marathon · February 7, 2027 · about 19 weeks out
Your plan starts with your race and works backward. Every week lands on a real calendar, with race day at the end.
When to start training for the Surf City Marathon 2027
Race day is February 7, 2027, which is 135 days from today. Counting back from that date, here is when each length of build starts.
- 30-week buildWindow has passed
- 24-week buildWindow has passed
- 18-week buildStart October 4, 2026
- 16-week buildStart October 18, 2026
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart November 15, 2026
You have about 19 weeks until race day, so there is still room for a full build. Stride reads the runway you actually have and maps every week from today to February 7, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Surf City Marathon course facts
- Course
- Mostly Out and Back · Mostly Flat · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 371 ft gain, 362 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 87 ft / 2 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,963 in 2026 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 5.7% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 53°F at the start, 71% humidity, clear
- Race day high / low
- 67°F / 49°F on average
Let’s find the plan for you.
Your race, current mileage, longest run, marathon experience, and available days decide the best fit. Stride maps the plan you choose to race day at the Surf City Marathon.
- Stride Run-Walk FinisherThree sessions a week with planned walk breaks, cover the full distance before race day.
- Stride First MarathonThe classic four-day first-marathon build: easy running and one weekly long run, no speedwork.
- Stride First Marathon PlusA first-marathon build with a little more volume and weekly race-pace miles.
- Stride 6-Day FinisherFinish your first marathon on frequency: six easy-leaning runs a week, no monster long runs.
- Stride 5-Day Pace BuilderFive days a week with race-pace runs before your long runs, built for a mid-pack time goal.
- Stride 6-Day RhythmSix days a week with three quality sessions, steady fatigue that teaches you to finish strong.
- Stride Time-Based FoundationFive time-based runs a week, mostly easy, the injury-averse way to a strong finish.
- Stride Time-Based BuilderSix time-based runs a week at a strict 80% easy / 20% hard split, chase a time goal without breaking.
- Stride 3-Day Cross-TrainThree runs plus two cross-training days over 24 weeks, marathon fitness on a busy schedule.
- Stride 3-Day QualityExactly three hard runs plus two mandatory cross-training sessions, every workout counts.
- Stride 6-Day CumulativeThe six-day cumulative-fatigue build with quality from week two, for PR chasers with a base.
- Stride Threshold 55The serious BQ/PR build to 55 miles a week: threshold work, medium-long runs, and 20-milers.
- Stride Threshold 70The high-mileage BQ/PR build to 70 miles a week for veterans with a deep base.
- Stride 2-Quality FlexTwo fixed quality sessions a week, everything else flexible easy running, fits any schedule.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Choose your Surf City Marathon training window.
Compare 12, 16, 18, and 20 weeks counted back from race day. The 18-week option includes the complete four-day schedule.
The course: Pacific Coast Highway, the pier, and the same road twice
The Surf City Marathon is a mostly out and back course along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, passing the Huntington Beach pier, with about 371 feet of climbing across 26.2 miles and a range of roughly 2 to 87 feet above sea level. The organizers call it flat and fast, and the elevation numbers back them up.
What the numbers don't show is that the profile essentially repeats itself. On an out and back you meet every rise twice, once fresh and once at the end, and the 87 foot high point that registered as nothing in the first hour is a different proposition on the way back. Pace for the second pass, not the first.
One honest caveat. The organizers publish no mile by mile description, no named climbs and no turnaround mile, so treat any specific mile marker you hear secondhand with suspicion and get the current map from the race before you commit to a pacing plan. What's reliable: it's a certified Boston qualifying course, it's coastal, and it's flat.
How to train for the Surf City Marathon
Train for the Surf City Marathon by rehearsing the return trip. An out and back at sea level asks two specific things of you: even pacing with no terrain to hide behind, and the discipline to run the second half on a road you've already seen once. Neither is a fitness problem, and both are trainable.
Build long runs as literal out and backs and make the way home the faster half. Six to eight miles out at easy effort, turn, then run home at goal marathon pace. Do it often enough that turning around and pressing feels ordinary rather than demoralizing. Runners who only ever run loops tend to find the return leg here mentally longer than it actually is.
Then train flat, and train wind. Sea level, unvarying terrain hands your legs the same stride for the whole race, so put your long runs on genuinely flat ground instead of rolling routes. Race morning here is usually calm, near 53F with a light easterly, but coastal mornings aren't guaranteed, and on an out and back a bad wind day costs you an entire leg. Run some homeward halves into a headwind on purpose.
Getting in
Surf City doesn't sell out the way a marquee city race does, and the marathon field has grown steadily, from 955 finishers in 2022 to 1,963 in 2026. Registration runs through the race's own site, and the entry price climbs steeply as race weekend approaches, so signing up early is worth real money here. Huntington Beach in February isn't a difficult lodging market either.
Where does the Surf City Marathon get hard?
The return leg after the turnaround, where you re-run every rise you took fresh and the 87 foot high point arrives a second time on tired legs. The organizers publish no turnaround mile, so the exact location is unconfirmed.
What is the weather like at the Surf City Marathon?
Race morning in Huntington Beach typically starts near 53F with humidity around 71%, clear skies and a light easterly, warming to an average high near 67F. That's comfortable racing weather and part of why the race sits in February. If you're training through a real winter, run some long runs in the warmer part of the day so 67F at hour four isn't a shock.
Is the Surf City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Surf City is a certified Boston qualifying course with about 9 feet of net rise, so no downhill adjustment applies and the terrain won't be your excuse. The qualifying rate is modest: 5.7% of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026 and 5.8% in 2025, down from 11.5% in 2022. Flat and legal, but not a course that hands you the time.
Is the Surf City Marathon a good first marathon?
It's a reasonable first marathon. The course is flat and at sea level, February conditions in Huntington Beach are mild, and 1,963 finishers in 2026 means company without a crush. The honest caveat is that the organizers don't publish a course time limit anywhere public, so confirm the cutoff with the race directly if you expect a long day.
Surf City Marathon questions, answered.
Is the Surf City Marathon flat?
Yes. The Surf City Marathon runs along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach between roughly 2 and 87 feet above sea level, with about 371 feet of climbing and 362 feet of descent across 26.2 miles. The organizers describe it as flat and fast, and the elevation data supports that description.
Is Surf City a good Boston qualifier?
It's certified and eligible, with about 9 feet of net rise, so no downhill adjustment applies to a time run there. But 5.7% of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026 and 5.8% in 2025, down from 11.5% in 2022. The course won't be your excuse, and it also won't do the work for you.
What is an out and back marathon like to run?
It's a pacing test. Surf City sends you out along the coast and brings you back the same way, so every rise gets run twice and the second half offers no new scenery to distract you from how you feel. Train by running long out and backs where the return leg is deliberately the faster half.
Is the Surf City Marathon good for a first marathon?
Yes, with one thing to check first. The course is flat and at sea level, February weather in Huntington Beach averages a 53F start and a 67F high, and 1,963 people finished in 2026. The organizers don't publish a course time limit publicly, so confirm the cutoff before entering if you'll be out a while.
Where does the Surf City Marathon get hard?
The return leg after the turnaround, where you re-run every rise you took fresh and the 87 foot high point arrives a second time on tired legs. The organizers publish no turnaround mile, so the exact location is unconfirmed.
What is the weather like at the Surf City Marathon?
Race morning in Huntington Beach typically starts near 53F with humidity around 71%, clear skies and a light easterly, warming to an average high near 67F. That's comfortable racing weather and part of why the race sits in February. If you're training through a real winter, run some long runs in the warmer part of the day so 67F at hour four isn't a shock.
Is the Surf City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Surf City is a certified Boston qualifying course with about 9 feet of net rise, so no downhill adjustment applies and the terrain won't be your excuse. The qualifying rate is modest: 5.7% of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026 and 5.8% in 2025, down from 11.5% in 2022. Flat and legal, but not a course that hands you the time.
Is the Surf City Marathon a good first marathon?
It's a reasonable first marathon. The course is flat and at sea level, February conditions in Huntington Beach are mild, and 1,963 finishers in 2026 means company without a crush. The honest caveat is that the organizers don't publish a course time limit anywhere public, so confirm the cutoff with the race directly if you expect a long day.
When should I start training for the Surf City Marathon 2027?
Race day is February 7, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around September 20, 2026, a 16-week build around October 18, 2026, and a 12-week build around November 15, 2026. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's Surf City Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the Surf City Marathon as your race, and answer a few questions about your recent running and your weekly schedule. Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans, maps every week from today to February 7, 2027, adjusts when life gets in the way, and puts you in a feed of runners training for the same race.
Choosing a training app?
A Surf City Marathon buildup is months of your life. See how Stride compares before you commit it to an app.
Find your plan.
Your race, current mileage, recent longest run, goal, and run days determine which plans rank first. Choose one and subscribe, then open every workout in Stride.