Upcoming 5K, 10K and Other Ventura County Area Running and Fitness Events

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Start training for upcoming 5K, 10K, half marathon and other Ventura County running and fitness events! We've made it easy for you to find a local race by tracking local events right here. So go on, get moving, lace up those shoes and start training!

Training for a marathon? Check out 26.2 Training Tips for Your First Marathon!

Running Clubs in the Local Area

Ventura Running Club www.venturarunningclub.com Sunday beach runs at the Ventura Pier, Wednesday track workouts and social event.

Inside Track Running Club www.insidetrackrunningclub.com Club has been training in Ventura since 1976. Saturday long runs, Tuesday intervals, Thursday hills and Sunday easy runs.

Thousand Oaks Pacers www.runpacers.org/thousandoaks/about Running club founded in 2014.

Future Track Running Pack futuretrackrunningpack.org Founded in 1988 in Agoura Hills. Tuesday night track workouts at Oak Park High School and more.

The Pacific Coast Track Club hosts training sessions on Sunday mornings at the Camarillo High School track and Ojai community track. Individual training sessions also available. Email mgenebyme@gmail.com for more information or visit www.facebook.com/genebyrne101.

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For great running shoes from local businesses that know a lot about them, try the following:

Led By Overall Winner Nico Young, Newbury Park Boys Cross Country Team Wins National Championship at Nike Cross Nationals (NXN)

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Yesterday, the boys cross country team from Newbury Park High School won the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) title at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon.

Led by NPHS Senior, Nico Young, who handily won the race in the 5K course record time of 14 minutes, 52 seconds, the team edged out two other outstanding teams from Temecula, California (Great Oak High School) and Draper, Utah (Corner Canyon High School) by just 4 points and 14 points, respectively.

NXN is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the “unofficial” (unsanctioned) team national championship for U.S. high school cross country. Nike invites the top 22 teams in the country and the top 50 individuals not included on those teams in this prestigious event. This was the 2nd time the NPHS boys team was invited to the event, following a 6th place showing in their initial 2018 appearance.

The NPHS girls team, which also was invited to NXN after winning the California State Championship last Saturday, finished 17th in the country yesterday.

Course conditions for both races were wet, rainy, muddy and slippery.

Congratulations also go out to the girls team in the first time invitation to this prestigious event, finishing 17th in the country!

Newbury Park Head Coach Sean Brosnan led the teams with the help of assistant coaches Tanya Brosnan and Steve Hawkins.

NP boys team in scoring order: Nico Young (senior), Jace Aschbrenner (senior), Colin Sahlman (sophomore), Nick Goldstein (junior), Daniel Appleford (sophomore), Leo Young (freshman), Thomas McDonnell (junior).

NP girls team in scoring order: Hailey Golmon (senior), Sam McDonnell (sophomore), Fiona Hawkins (junior), Archana Mohandas (senior), Ailish Hawkins (freshman), Hannah Rounds (freshman), Gretchen Slattum (senior).

Additionally, Thousand Oaks High School Senior Michael Mireles was invited to run at the event as an individual and finished 25th overall. Jace Aschbrenner of NP was 18th. Way to go guys!

Newbury Park High School Boys Cross Country Team Wins Woodbridge Classic in Record Time, Led by Record-Shattering Nico Young

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Record-setting Newbury Park High School Boys Cross Country Team receiving post-race accolades.

Record-setting Newbury Park High School Boys Cross Country Team receiving post-race accolades.

I had the good fortune to witness first-hand last night’s record shattering performance by the Newbury Park High School Boys Cross Country Team at the 39th Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic at the Silverlakes Sports Complex in Corona.

Newbury Park, along with several other local area teams, was invited to participate in the Sweepstakes finale, featuring 32 top teams.

(Truth be told, I wouldn’t miss this event as I have a son that runs on this fantastic team!).

Nico’s Performance

Senior Nico Young obliterated the previous course record time of 13:58 with a time of 13:39.70, a time that MileSplit notes is the nation’s fastest high school 3 mile cross country effort of ALL TIME. Yes, you heard it right. He didn’t just break the record. He stomped all over it by over 15 seconds!

Nico is a certified rock star! I can certify that as I was witness to numerous fans requesting photos with this standout who also won the Woodbridge Invitational last year along with the California Division II cross country and 3200 meter track championships.

The Team’s Performance

The rest of the team last night included senior Jace Aschbrenner (2nd overall in 14:04.8), junior Nick Goldstein (7th in 14:25.6), sophomore Colin Sahlman (10th in 14:26.9), junior Daniel Appleford (24th in 14:36.7), freshman Lex Young (25th in 14:37.4) and junior Thomas McDonnell (33rd in 14:44.9). There were 240 participants in the race.

The top 5 scoring members of the team set a course record of 1:11:10.0, or an average of 14:14 per runner. This was not just the course record. It is the fastest high school 3 mile team time ever run on California soil!

This group of Newbury Park athletes has been training diligently all summer long for this season. And it shows. A second team of outstanding runners competed in the Rated race and finished in 4th place.

And let’s not forget the up and coming girls team, which competed in the 3 Mile Girls Sweepstakes event immediately preceding the boys event Saturday night. A fantastic showing by the girls resulted in 5th place, just 38 points away from the 1st place team. The top 5 scoring members of the girls team included junior Fiona Hawkins (18th overall in 16:53.7), senior Archana Mohandas (31st in 17:08.5), sophomore Sam McDonnell (35th in 17:12.3), freshman Ailish Hawkins (63rd in 17:39.8) and senior Gretchen Slattum (64th in 17:40.6).

Kudos to Coach Sean Brosnan, who is in his 4th year coaching at NPHS. He correctly predicted the strong team showing the day before the race in this runnerspace.com interview.

Record-setting Nico Young joyful immediately after the race with Coach Sean Brosnan.

Other local top 25 showings in the Sweepstakes races included Thousand Oaks High School senior Michael Mireles (4th place overall in 14:17.6) and Moorpark High School senior Keith Murray (23rd in 14:35.9). Junior Jill Walker from Simi Valley High School finished 13th overall in 16:49.6.

Rankings

On August 23rd, DyeStat/RunnerSpace published pre-season national high school cross country team rankings. Newbury Park was ranked 4th on this list, behind Great Oak, CA (#1), Corner Canyon, UT (#2) and Loudoun Valley, VA (#3).

Well guess what…Newbury Park beat the #1 ranked Great Oak last night by a score of 36 to 69. Great Oak is a fantastic program and last year’s winner at this event as well as reigning 2018 Division 1 state champions.

This could be interesting.

Cross Country Scoring

For those unfamiliar with how cross country scoring works, teams are allowed up to 7 runners in the race, but only the top 5 are included in the scoring. First place receives 1 point, 55th place receives 55 points, and so on. The fastest 5 runners on each team are added together for the score.

So no matter how fast an individual runs, for the team, what counts the most is the placing. The lowest possible point total is 1+2+3+4+5 for 15 points. Newbury Park scored 38 last night.

The Future

Aside from setting personal records, Nico and his team are focused on winning the California Division 2 state championship for the 2nd year in a row. Then they want to compete in the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) and win the national title. Newbury Park finished 6th in last year’s NXN in its first appearance at that invitation-only event.

Congratulations, team! For updates, visit www.newburyparkcrosscountry.com.

26.2 Miles or Bust: Marathons Within a One Hour Range of Ventura County

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The marathon has an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards). Most of us marathoners refer to it as a 26.2 mile race. Let's put some perspective on that. We're talking roughly the distance from the Muvico Theater in Thousand Oaks to Downtown Ventura (Main St at California St).

FindMyMarathon.com shows that there have been over 500,000 marathon finishers annually in the United States in recent years. That’s a lot of mileage!

Until fairly recently, there were no marathons run on Ventura County soil. When I began running in the mid 1990s, the closest marathons to us were in Los Angeles, Santa Clarita and Culver City. Now there are marathons in Ventura, Ojai and Camarillo.

While it's fun to travel to faraway lands to run a marathon, there's something to be said for sleeping in your own bed, waking up early, and driving out to run a local marathon. So how about a rundown of local marathons within a one hour range of Ventura County!

Los Angeles Marathon (www.lamarathon.com)

  • Time of Year: A Sunday usually in March

  • Course Description: The course route has changed a number of times over the years, but most recently the point to point "Stadium to the Sea" route from Dodger Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier has proved extraordinarily popular. The course takes you through sections of Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, West Los Angeles and Santa Monica. There are race day shuttles that take runners from Santa Monica to the start.

  • Other Events: 5K

  • Pricing: Registration starts at $175 for the 2020 event on March 7, 2020.

  • Other: On a personal note, I set my personal best time on this course back in 1997. This is THE race to do if you enjoy lots of crowd support along the course.

Mountains to Beach Marathon (www.mountains2beachmarathon.com)

  • Time of Year: Late May; generally last Sunday of May.

  • Course Description: Point to point course that starts with a 10K loop in Ojai, then 10 miles of bike path to the Ventura oceanfront, down the Ventura Keys to Marina Park and back to the Ventura Pier. Net downhill of 700 feet makes this a fast course.

  • Other Events: Half Marathon, 5K

  • Pricing: 2019 event pricing ranged from $99 (early bird) to $134.

Camarillo Marathon (www.camarillomarathon.com)

  • Time of Year: The Camarillo Marathon is now in the mid-August time frame.

  • Course: Starts at Pleasant Valley Fields, goes along the Camarillo Bike Path and nearby roads. New course.

  • Other Events: Half Marathon, 5K, 10K

  • Pricing: $130 for the August 11, 2019 event.

Lexus Ventura Marathon (www.venturamarathon.com)

  • Time of Year: The inaugural event was Sunday, September 8, 2013. The event now takes place in mid to late October on a Sunday.

  • Course Description: The course starts in Ojai down the bike path to finish at the Ventura Pier. There were 687 finishers in the 2018 event

  • Other Events: Half marathon, 5K, kids fun run, bike rides.

  • Pricing: Pricing for 2019 event currently $120 to $130.

Finish line of the Inaugural Ventura Marathon on September 8, 2013.

Finish line of the Inaugural Ventura Marathon on September 8, 2013.

Santa Clarita Marathon (www.scmarathon.org)

  • Time of Year: Generally runs on the 1st Sunday in November

  • Course Description: The course starts and finishes at the Valencia Town Center and has a number of out and back turns, mostly along bike paths. One of the more low key marathons in the area, with around 350 to 400 finishers.

  • Other Events: Half marathon, 5K, Kid K

  • Pricing: Usually in the $80 to $100 range. Registration opens July 1st for 2019 event on Nov 3rd

Seaside Marathon (www.seasidemarathon.com )

  • Time of Year: Mid-February

  • Course Description: Two out and back runs along the boardwalk and bike path and shoulder of Highway 1 in Ventura. (Same course as Surfer's Point Marathon.)

  • Other Events: Half marathon, 5K

  • Pricing: Pricing for the 2020 event ranges up to $130 depending on timing.

Surfer's Point Marathon (www.surferspointmarathon.com)

  • Time of Year: Sunday in mid-November

  • Course Description: Course is along the ocean/Highway 101, starting at Emma Wood State Beach Group Campground in Ventura.

  • Other Events: Half marathon, 5K, 10K

  • Pricing: Ranges from $95 to $130 for the 2019 event on November 10th

Just a little farther but still possible to commute to if you are an early riser:

jetBlue Long Beach Marathon (www.motivrunning.com/run-longbeach)

  • Time of Year: Early to mid-October range on a Sunday

  • Course Description: I've run the Long Beach Marathon several times and it is probably the most twisty, turny course I've ever run, yet it is still a reasonably flat and fast course. It starts and finishers in the heart of downtown Long Beach near Shoreline Village. There are sections along the beach, then it turns inland, up and around Cal State Long Beach, and back to the finish. Generally over 2,000 finishers.

  • Other Events: Half marathon is hugely popular

  • Pricing: $129 for the 2019 race

Surf City Marathon (formerly Pacific Shoreline Marathon) (www.runsurfcity.com)

  • Time of Year: Generally run on the 1st Sunday of February

  • Course Description: Much of course runs on PCH, streets and bike paths in and around the Huntington Beach Pier with views of the Pacific Ocean. This race generally sells out each year with between 2,000 and 2,500 participants.

  • Other Events: Half marathon

  • Pricing: $100 for 2019 race

OC Marathon (www.ocmarathon.com)

  • Time of Year: Generally takes place the first Sunday of May

  • Course Description: The marathon starts in Newport Beach, runs past Balboa Island in kind of a figure eight-ish pattern in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and adjacent cities. The race generally has around 2,000 participants. The race finishes at the OC Fair and Event Center.

  • Other Events: Half marathon and 5K

  • Pricing: 2019 event starts at just $80!

Marathons No More

There was a Pasadena Marathon in recent years but organizers announced it has been cancelled.

Malibu Marathon was cancelled in 2014, though the half marathon and 5K continue on (www.malibuintmarathon.com).

The Santa Barbara International Marathon also ran its final event in 2014, though a Veterans Day Half Marathon continues. www.sbmarathon.com

Looking for marathons around the world? My favorite place to find them is www.MarathonGuide.com. They do a great job of compiling a massive amount of information strictly about marathons.

CLICK HERE for other local races...5K, 10K, half marathon, etc.

I've run over 30 marathons or so through the years and periodically babble on about my training, experiences and other random running and training related items THIS LINK.

And last but not least, here are 26.2 training tips for running your first marathon.

Ventura County Area Finishers at Last Sunday's Los Angeles Marathon

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There were over 21,500 finishers at the 2014 Los Angeles Marathon, including 559 finishers from the Ventura County area and adjacent cities. The marathoners highlighted below ran, jogged and walked 14,646 miles last Sunday at the 29th annual event over a cumulative time equating to approximately 124 days.

Special mentions go out to top age group finishers, Thomas McMahon of Newbury Park, 9th in the 30 to 34 age group and 51st place overall, not to mention top finishing Ventura County resident; Ben Atkins of Thousand Oaks, 9th in the 40 to 44 age group and 57th place overall; Jose Lastre of Camarillo, who finished 74th overall; Mike Malinzak, 10th in the 50 to 54 age group; Gabriella Brignardello, 4th in the 19 and under age group; and Courtney Novak of Oak Park, 9th in the 19 and under age group. Elizabeth Duran, 25, of Simi Valley, was the top placing woman from all of Ventura County and 75th female overall. Way to go!

Next year's event is March 15, 2015. Learn more at www.lamarathon.com.

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26.2 Training Tips for Your First Marathon!

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NOW is the time to start training for a fall or spring marathon!  There are hundreds to choose from at MarathonGuide.com.

I've run a few marathons myself. 26 of them at last count. So I have about 26.2 thoughts and opinions to impart on training for your first marathon:

1. Don't Procrastinate! The first thing you need to do is get out there and start running. Talking about it is fine, but start making it happen! Today!

2. Start Slow and Go Steady: Don't try to prove something by running 10 miles your first time out. You'll injure yourself! Unless you're already a runner with solid base mileage, start out easy, maybe 10 to 15 miles in 3 to 4 runs per week. Increase weekly mileage no more than 10%.

3. Pick a Marathon Now and Set Your Goals: Always helps to establish a goal to train for. Sign up for a marathon 6 months out now (don't wait) and you'll have the end goal in mind. You'll need the motivation as you train through the warm summer months or colder winter months

4. Buy Decent Shoes and Change Them Often: Running is a very inexpensive in terms of equipment. So don't go cheap on the shoes. Change them often...the lesser of every 300 miles or 3 months. Your limbs and tendons will thank you for that.

5. Ramp up the Mileage: To run your first full marathon, plan to peak your weekly mileage at 30 to 35 miles per week. But once again, get there gradually, not all at once.

6. Rest as Needed: For those of us past the motivation hurdle to train, the next biggest marathon training issue is fending off injuries. Don't be fearful of taking days off when needed. Rest benefits you as much as training.

7. Train With Others: The best thing to motivate one to wake up at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning for a 20 miler is knowing you'll be letting someone else down.  Click here for some local Ventura County running groups.

8. Share Your Goals: Tell your friends and family about your marathon commitment and your training. You'll need the support system and they'll keep you motivated.

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What Does It Take to Gain an Entry Into the 2014 Boston Marathon?

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Dating myself a bit with this photo....ran the 100th Boston Marathon quite some time ago :)The 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings and subsequent pursuit of the culprits this past week overshadowed the race itself. Approximately 23,000 people were signed up for the 2013 race but because of the bombings, thousands of runners were unable to complete it.

On Thursday, Boston Marathon organizers indicated via Facebook that they will "address the issue of those who could not cross the finish line on Boylston Street due to the tragic events which occurred near the finish line," which tells me that perhaps they may offer up entries to the 2014 race to these people. But we shall see.

All of this tragedy and publicity will make 2014 quite an interesting year for the Boston Marathon, which is run on the 3rd Monday of April, Patriots' Day, each year. In 2014 that date will be April 21st.

Will people steer clear or will demand skyrocket in support of those who lost lives and limbs last Monday? Well my opinion is, we're talking Americans....I think everyone and their mother will be trying to get into the 2014 Boston Marathon.  So what will it take to gain an entry into the 2014 race? Let's review the qualifying standards for 2014:

  • Qualifying times must be run on or after 9/22/12.
  • Runners must be 18 or older on race day.
  • By 7/1/13, marathon organizers will announce specific  registration dates in September 2013.
  • Organizers allow faster runners, those who finished well under the qualifying standards shown below, to register first.
  • 2014 qualifying times are as follows:
    • Ages 18-34: Men 3:05; Women 3:35
    • Ages 35-39: Men 3:10; Women 3:40
    • Ages 40-44: Men 3:15; Women 3:45
    • Ages 45-49: Men 3:25; Women 3:55
    • Ages 50-54: Men 3:30; Women 4:00
    • Ages 55-59: Men 3:40; Women 4:10
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