Monterey Bay Half Marathon 5k & 3k

Runners start the half marathon in downtown Monterey along Del Monte Avenue, and from there follow the course first through the more touristy parts of the city, especially along Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which overlooks the ocean right on the edge of downtown. Once runners make it through the early miles in this section — right after they’ve made their way through the Custom House Tunnel along Lighthouse Avenue — the course then heads into Pacific Grove and Point Pinos, where it really shows off this city’s scenic beauty. The course hugs the coastline for the next several miles of the race all the way around to the turnaround point in Asilomar State Beach, giving runners a view of the waters of Monterey Bay the entire way. They’ll pass by the Point Pinos Lighthouse and the Pacific Grove golf course through this section twice, on the way out and on the way back, and then turn off Ocean View Boulevard and onto the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail just after passing the mile 11 marker. They’ll follow it all the way back to Cannery Row, which they’ll rejoin for a stretch before heading back onto the trail, which will carry them all the way to the finish line at Custom House Plaza.