Best Run / Race

MINDY SCHAUER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Women rejoice at the finish of the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020.

1. Surf City Marathon

Huntington Beach; runsurfcity.com

Normally a Super Bowl Sunday tradition, this year’s Surf City Marathon took place Sept. 11. At the same time, it combined with the Surf City 10, a cousin of the perennially popular marathon.

The Surf City 10 offers runners the choice of a 10-mile run, 10-kilometer or 5-kilometer run. Combining the two events on Sept. 11 was a COVID-related byproduct of logistics. Putting on the landmark race requires a complete closure of Pacific Coast Highway and coordination with CalTrans, the City of Huntington Beach, local businesses and residents. Race organizers felt closing PCH on two separate weekends “would place too heavy of a burden on those stakeholders,” according to the race’s web site.

A Boston Marathon qualifying race, the Surf City Marathon offers runners a fast, flat, picturesque course that takes them along the city’s signature coastline.

The marathon opens at the juncture of the Huntington Beach Pier and Main Street, before turning inland just past Mile 2. From there, you spend the next 7 miles en route to Huntington Central Park, taking the race’s only incline along the way.

Just past Mile 9, the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and its numerous wildlife and birds keep you company for the next 6 miles. At Mile 16, you leave PCH and spend the next 9 miles running along a beachfront running path back toward the pier. Once you hit the pier, the last mile gives you a spectator-lined path to the finish line.

2. Komen O.C. More than Pink Walk

Fashion Island, Newport Beach; komen.org

This year’s Komen Orange County More Than Pink Walk is virtual, but it kept its traditional date of the fourth Saturday of September.

After a virtual opening ceremony, walkers were asked to #WalkWhereYouAre. The goal for each walker was at least 6,000 steps. As always, walkers were asked to raise funds for breast cancer health care, education, awareness and research.

Individuals often form teams that solicit donations from family members and/ or businesses. From there, they pile up the miles, raising money with every step and every mile. The More Than Pink Walk is one of the Komen Foundation’s biggest Orange County fundraisers.

The Komen website has plenty of information on fundraising tips and tools, as well as background information on the event and its mission. That mission goes beyond mere research into ending the disease. It helps provide quality and vital access to breast health care and research.

3. Dana Point Turkey Trot

Dana Point; turkeytrot.com

How can you not like an event that proudly carries the motto “Run the race before you stuff your face”? Then again, how can you not take to a 44-year Thanksgiving tradition that comes with a built-in, guilt-free license to stuff your face?

After a one-year, COVIDmandated hiatus, the Turkey Trot returns live to the picturesque Dana Point Harbor at a 5k, 10k, combo 10k and 5k or 1 mile kids “Gobble Wobble.” Registration continues through Nov. 13.

The event’s roots are as quaint as the current event’s status is impressive. The Turkey Trot went from a 300-participant event to becoming the sixth largest turkey trot event in the country.

Upward of 17,000 participants hit the harbor and nearby Doheny State Beach Thanksgiving morning before hitting the table that afternoon.

Fodor’s Travel named the Turkey Trot one of the top three Thanksgiving Day destinations in the world.