Avenue of the Giants Marathon course: route, elevation and race day

The race does not publish an elevation figure. Its course page describes the route that runs up Bull Creek Road and back, then out and back on the Avenue. The USA Track and Field certificate for that route is CA24017TEB, effective May 1, 2024 and valid until the end of 2034. It puts the start at 52 m and the finish at 53 m above sea level, with the lowest point at 37 m and the highest at 108 m (about 354 ft). That is a 71 m (about 233 ft) band, and the finish is 1 m higher than the start.

A certificate gives the start, finish, lowest and highest points, not the total climb in between, so read 71 m as the range the course stays inside. The race's own description points to where the climbing is: the last mile plus before the Bull Creek Road turnaround is a gradual uphill, and the second out and back has only one significant hill, at Weott.

One thing to check before you lean on those numbers. The race's marathon page lists certification number CA-23014-TEB. That certificate is for the 2023 Avenue of the Giants Marathon (Alternate Course), run as the same out and back twice, with a highest point of 60 m and a 23 m (about 75 ft) band. Both certificates are valid until at least the end of 2033. The figures above follow CA24017TEB, because the race describes two different out and backs, Bull Creek Road and then the Avenue, and the alternate course repeats one. If the alternate course is used in 2027, the high point is 60 m instead of 108 m.

For Boston qualifiers: the race says the marathon is a Boston qualifying event and that Boston qualifying times are based on chip time. The B.A.A. accepts qualifying times only from certified courses, and it adjusts times only from courses with a net downhill of 1,500 ft (457.2 m) or more. On either certificate this course finishes 1 m higher than it starts, so a time here goes in as run. The B.A.A. also tells runners to confirm certification with the race itself, which is worth doing here. The standards are on our Boston qualifying times page, and the BQ Course Index compares other certified courses.

This section is Runsy's advice, not the race's. It is how we would run this course from the facts above.

• Run the first half by effort. The race puts the climbing on Bull Creek Road, with a gradual uphill for the last mile plus before the turnaround at 6.55, and the certificate's high point is 108 m, 56 m (about 184 ft) above the start. Let your pace slip a little on the way up and take it back on the way down, rather than forcing goal pace uphill.
• Miles 1 to 6.55: hold your line on the bends. Sharp curves and short hills come after the first mile, and the first half is open to limited traffic under police escort. Run the curves where you can see ahead, not on the inside edge.
• Miles 13.1 to 26.2: this is where the race is run. The Avenue is mostly shaded with one significant hill, at Weott, which you meet just past 15 and again near 23. Hold effort through Weott, where the road is open and heavily cambered, and do not let the overpass near 14 and 25 talk you into slowing: the race says the steep look is mostly an illusion.
• Do not pace off your watch. The race warns that the redwoods sometimes block GPS, so instant pace will wander under the trees. Check elapsed time at the aid stations instead. Miles 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and onward make a ready set of split points.
• Six-hour runners: plan for halfway. Runners who do not pass halfway in 3 hours are sent to the half marathon finish. That is about 13:44 per mile, the same pace as the 6-hour limit, and the first half holds the climb. Use the run down from 6.55 to 13.1 to get ahead of it.
• Train for the climb. Put some of your long runs on rolling roads that climb for the first few miles and come back down, so the Bull Creek Road leg is not the first time your legs meet a climb at that point in a run.

Turn a goal time into splits with the marathon pace chart, or sanity-check the goal with the race time predictor.

From the race's 2027 marathon page, its course page and its FAQ.

• Aid: 13 aid stations, at miles 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16.5, 17.5, 19, 22, 24 and 25.5, all serving Gatorade, oranges and bananas. Power bars or gel are at select stations; the race does not list which.
• Time limit: 6 hours. Runners who do not reach halfway by 3 hours are diverted to the half marathon finish and receive a half marathon medal. The race also says it will have to open the course to traffic earlier than the cutoff times.
• Traffic and headphones: the course is not completely closed to traffic, and the first half of the marathon has limited traffic under police escort. Headphones are strongly discouraged, and wearing them makes you ineligible for any awards, age group prizes included.
• Getting there: the race day exits are Highway 101 exit 667A southbound and exit 667 northbound. The race says all Sunday race traffic must use exits 5 miles north of the start and finish, and the Honeydew, South Fork Eel and Rockefeller Forest exits are not used for race day traffic.
• Parking: on the gravel flats of the Eel River just north of the staging area, 1/4 mile from the start. Cars parked along the roadsides will be ticketed, and traffic can back up close to the start time, so allow plenty of time.
• Packets: at the staging area on Saturday from noon to 4:00 p.m., or on Sunday from 7:00 to 7:40 a.m. The race asks you to pick up at least thirty minutes before your start, which for the 7:45 marathon means by 7:15. Packets are not mailed.
• Timing: chip timing, with mats at the start, the finish and each turnaround. Boston qualifying times use chip time; overall and age group awards use gun start and chip finish. The start mat is open for less than ten minutes.
• Lodging: the race calls it a rural area where lodging is limited and advises making plans as early as possible.
• Spectators: the race names the staging area and the Dyerville Bridge as the best place to watch, since every runner passes through at least twice. There is also an open area near Weott, about two miles south of the start.
• Course records: the fastest times on the race's course records page are 2:17:03 for men, set in 2022, and 2:45:40 for women, from 1983.
• Before or after: the Founders Tree and the Dyerville Giant are on a short trail around Founders Grove, about 100 yards down the Avenue from the Dyerville Bridge.

Training for it: our intermediate marathon plans are the base the plan bridge above builds from. The 16-week beginner plan suits a first marathon, and the advanced plans suit runners chasing a qualifying time.

Runsy is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Avenue of the Giants Marathon. Course facts come from the race's own pages and its USATF certificate.