La Jolla Half Marathon course: route, hills and race day

The race publishes one elevation number: a total elevation gain of 910 feet, about 277 m. It does not publish start and finish heights, so this page gives no net-drop figure. Its half marathon page shows the route and elevation on an embedded map.

The hill, as the race calls it when it offers a 10K to skip it, is the climb through Torrey Pines State Park to the summit of the Reserve. The race puts its First Aid Tent at mile 7, near the top of the park. After the top come rolling miles on the mesa and what the race calls a stunning descent toward La Jolla's shoreline. It bans strollers, racing chairs and hand cycles from the course because of its steep downhills.

If you want the coast without the climb, the race's 10K starts at the top of the mesa and bypasses the Torrey Pines climb, and the 5K runs the half's last 3.1 miles, which the race calls mostly downhill.

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

• Run it by effort, not by even splits. With 277 m (910 ft) of gain, a climb to the top of Torrey Pines and steep downhills, equal mile splits would mean racing the hill. Aim for even effort and accept slower miles going up and faster ones coming down.
• Miles 0 to 4: start easy. Waves leave every 60 seconds from 6:30, so the first miles through Del Mar are busy. Runners slower than 15-minute miles may be held briefly at the Amtrak crossing near mile 2.9. If that is you, do not chase the lost time.
• Miles 4 to 7: drink before the park, then climb. There is no aid inside Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, so take water or electrolytes at the station just before it. Shorten your stride, keep your effort steady and expect your slowest miles here.
• Miles 7 to 10: settle back on the mesa. The miles atop Torrey Pines Mesa roll. Use the stations at 8, 9 and 10 and let your breathing come back before the descent.
• Miles 10 to 13.1: let the descent work, but protect your quads. The race calls its downhills steep. Quick, short steps cost less than braking. If you held back on the climb, this is where it pays.
• Train for the hill and the early start. Add a weekly hill session and some downhill running in the last two months. It is a Saturday race with a 6:30 start and buses that want you in line by 5:00, so move a few long runs to early Saturday mornings to rehearse breakfast timing.

Turn a goal time into splits with the half marathon pace chart or the half marathon pace calculator, and sanity-check the goal with the race time predictor. On a course like this, treat a flat-course goal as optimistic.

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

• Aid stations: 10, with water and electrolytes at miles 2, 3, 4, 5.5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.5 and 12, and restrooms at every one.
• Inside Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve: no support stations are allowed, but there is one just before the park and one immediately after.
• Medical: a First Aid Tent at mile 7, near the top of Torrey Pines State Park by the driving range, and shuttles from every water station back to the finish if you cannot finish.
• Time limit: 3.5 hours, a 16-minute mile pace or faster.
• Pace groups: 1:30, 1:40, 1:50, 2:00, 2:15, 2:30 and 2:45. Our 2-hour half marathon pace page has the splits for one of them.
• Getting to the start: free buses run from La Jolla Cove to the start from 4:00 to 5:45 a.m., and you must be in line by 5:00. If you drive, parking at the Del Mar Racetrack is free but very busy. Allow an extra 45 minutes to an hour, and note there is no access to race parking between 6:15 and 7:00 a.m. Drop-offs go inside the main participant parking area.
• Bags and layers: gear drop is at the start line only, in the numbered cinch bag you get with your bib, and it is carried to the finish. No backpacks or duffel bags. Shed layers only at water stations; the race donates them to local shelters.
• Traffic: most of the course is on city streets shared with normal traffic, so stay inside the coned lanes.
• At the finish: a medal and a food bag with a banana, protein bar, chocolate milk, pretzels and a cookie, plus free recovery services for registered runners.

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

Runsy is not affiliated with or endorsed by the La Jolla Half Marathon. Course facts come from the race's own pages.