If you wish to hike the 21-mile course instead of run it, please request prior approval by clicking here before you register.
This event has a rolling start. If you want a live event type of atmosphere for this event, we recommend the following start times:
8.5-mile: 9:00am
21-mile: 8:30am
Course Records
8.5-mile: Steve White (M, 2022) 1:19:54, Graciela Wilcox (F, 2022) 1:33:07
21-mile: Robert Beverly (M, 2022) 3:20:57, Jenny Jacox (F, 2021), 3:22:34
This course is an adventure sure to delight any long distance runner, offering varied terrain, sweeping panoramic views, many different ecosystems, multiple creek crossings, and a journey across pristine conserved lands. The full 21-mile course is not for the faint of heart, boasting a little over 4,250 feet of elevational gain and including some steep ascents and descents. The 8.5-mile version begins near the turnaround for the 21-mile course and still captures several thousand feet of elevation gain. These lands are not open to the public, so this is a unique opportunity to explore these conserved areas.
Parking is located at the Palo Corona Regional Park Discovery Center, with portalets and an aid station. The 21-mile course trailhead begins here too, while 8.5-mile course participants will take a shuttle to their starting point on Williams Canyon Road. An additional portalet will be located on Williams Canyon Road.
This is a live, self-supported event with a rolling start line. It is expected that participants will carry their own aid (i.e., at least 1L hydration and adequate nutrition) while on the course, although limited-supply aid stations will be offered. Runners and hikers are most likely to successfully complete this course if they have previously completed a similar-length event on trail or a longer-length event on road.
You will be required to select a starting time slot for this course between 7:30am and 9:00am. You should aim to finish the course within 6 hours. The cut-off time for reaching the Mitteldorf Preserve checkpoint is 12:30pm, after which participants will be held at Mitteldorf Preserve and not permitted to complete the course. The Race Team may elect to alter the course or limit the participation of individuals should safety concerns arise due to weather or otherwise.
Registration for the 21-mile or 8.5-mile course is $75 and closes on May 25.
For 8.5-mile participants:
For 21-mile participants:
Palo Corona Regional Park is one of the Central Coast’s most significant undeveloped open spaces. In the largest land conservation project in Monterey County history, Big Sur Land Trust, the State of California, Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District (MPRPD), and The Nature Conservancy partnered to acquire the 10,000-acre Palo Corona Ranch. The acquisition was finalized in 2004. The 10,000-acre ranch was then divided between the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and MPRPD to be protected in perpetuity. MPRPD created the new Palo Corona Regional Park with the northern 4,350 acres of the former ranch. In 2018, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, California Wildlife Conservation Board, CDFW, California State Coastal Conservancy, California Natural Resources Agency and Santa Lucia Conservancy, an additional 190 acres of the former Rancho Cañada Golf Course was added to the park.
Beginning at near sea level and rising to over 3,400 feet in elevation, Palo Corona is home to over 500 species of plants as well as several federally-endangered and threatened species including steelhead trout, California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Smith’s blue butterfly, golden eagle, and California condor. Palo Corona also provides habitat connectivity for several previously-protected conservation properties, including Garrapata State Park, Joshua Creek Ecological Preserve, Mitteldorf Preserve, Glen Deven Ranch, Point Lobos State Reserve, Santa Lucia Conservancy lands, and the Ventana Wilderness.
The Santa Lucia Conservancy is a nonprofit dedicated to the protection, study, and stewardship of the unique natural resources of the Santa Lucia Preserve. The Santa Lucia Preserve is a unique and forward-thinking conservation community that weaves the human community into a large-scale conservation landscape. As a science-guided land trust, the Conservancy conducts novel and essential land management, landscape level habitat restoration and conservation research to support rare and at-risk species and ecological processes. In partnership with the Preserve community of nearly 300 families, the Ranch and Golf Clubs, and the Community Services District, the Conservancy manages 8,000 acres of conservation easements and 10,000 acres of Conservancy fee-owned lands. Contiguous both in geography and spirit, the Preserve is one 20,000-acre conserved landscape with 18,000 acres permanently protected and cared for by the Conservancy and an engaged residential community.
Mitteldorf Preserve is a 1,057-acre property in Carmel Valley, bordered to the west by Palo Corona Regional park, to the south by Joshua Creek Ecological Reserve, and to the north and east by Santa Lucia Preserve. Home to Monterey County's largest redwood tree, this amazing landscape was protected from industrial logging when Harriet and Arthur Mitteldorf provided funds for Big Sur Land Trust to purchase the property in 1990. This land features riparian and oak woodlands, chaparral, grasslands, and a rare stand of madrone, all contributing to the beauty of this important watershed and habitat for several protected wildlife species. In addition to hosting hikers, Mitteldorf Preserve may also become home to youth overnight wilderness camps. In 2016, during the record-setting Soberanes Fire, Mitteldorf Preserve served as a critical access point to the backcountry in and around Santa Lucia Preserve. The scars of this fire can be seen on many of the surviving redwoods, as well as at the empty platform where a beautiful barn once stood.
Elevation profile for the 21-mile route:
Click here to view the 21-mile course in Strava. If you are participating in the 8.5-mile run/hike, your course will begin roughly around Mile 11.
Below is a georeferenced and printable PDF version of the 21-mile course map. The 8.5-mile route begins at the "Portalet" icon in the Santa Lucia Preserve area and generally heads north. If you use the Avenza app on your phone, you can upload this map to display your GPS location on the course.
Click the icon below to download the attached PDF.
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