Enjoy some of the most breathtaking scenery while running 26.2 miles over the Island of Catalina. The race traverses mostly dirt trails and roads through areas of the interior of the Island where very few have gone. The race starts in Two Harbors and runs to Avalon. It is a hilly, challenging Marathon, but worth every mile! Who knows, you may even run with some buffalos!
Race Date
March 12, 2011
Accolades
- USA Today picks the Catalina Marathon as one of the 10 best winter marathons. Read on....
- Runner's World names the Catalina Marathon the #1 Off Road marathon in the world. Read on.....
The NEW and IMPROVED American Trail Championship
Click HERE for more information about this great series of trail runs!
Start Times
Only the walkers may start at 6:30 am. Any other early starters are not eligible for age group awards. They will be disqualified and not receive a time. An 8 hour cut-off time will be enforced for the Marathon.
- Marathon Walkers: 6:30 a.m. in Two Harbors
- Marathon: 7:00 a.m. in Two Harbors
- Avalon 5K: 8:15 a.m. in Avalon
- Avalon 10K: 8:20 a.m. in Avalon
- Avalon Kids Run: 9:30 a.m. in Avalon
Packet Pick-Up Information
Friday, the day before the race, in Avalon:
- Packet pick-up and late registration for all races
- Avalon 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm. at the Catalina Canyon Resort & Spa, the Host Hotel of the Catalina Marathon. The Catalina Canyon Resort and Spa is located at: 888 Country Club Drive • Avalon, CA 90704 Phone: 310.510.0325 • Fax: 310.510.3542
- The Resort offers complimentary shuttle service from the Catalina Express boat dock, the helicopter landing and the Downtown Plaza (Plaza pick-up located on the green bench next to Von's Express on Catalina Street). Approximate travel time is 3 minutes.
- Walking directions: From the Green Pier walk south on Catalina Street (away from the water) 2 blocks to Tremont street.Turn right. At the intersection follow signs towards The Country Club (uphill). Follow road to the left, continue pass the Country Club and the hotel will be your right-hand side. Approximate travel time is 10 minutes. For additional information, you may contact the hotel at (310) 510-0325
Friday, the day before the race, in Two Harbors:
- Packet pick up for Marathon participants only
- 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm at the Harbor Reef Restaurant. You must select this packet pick up location on your entry form or during online registration or your packet will be in Avalon.
Saturday, Race Day in Avalon:
- 5K, 10K & Kids Run: 6:30 - 8:00 am at the Wrigley Stage, which is located on the water at the start/finish line on Sumner Avenue. From the boat docks, just walk into the center of town and you will see the registration area.
Saturday, Race Day in Two Harbors:
- Marathon only. We will have Saturday morning packet pick up for all those taking the Marina Del Rey boat directly into Two Harbors on race morning. It will start as soon as everyone gets off the boat (approximately 5:30 a.m.)
**Please note: Only Avalon 5k, 10k and Kid's run participants will be picking up their shirts on Friday night. The marathon shirts are finisher shirts and you will receive them after you finish the race. If you are having someone else pick up your packet, you must print the waiver, sign it and have that person bring it with them in order to pick up your packet. Waiver will be posted at a later date.
Host Hotel and Post Race Party
The Host Hotel and Post Race Party Host for the Catalina Marathon is at the Catalina Canyon Resort & Spa. Runners, after you've conquered the hills of Catalina, relax it's CANYON TIME!! From here, everything else is downhill. Complimentary resort shuttle service from Avalon's Catalina Express boat terminal, the helicopter terminal and the Downtown Plaza.The resort would like to extend a special rate of $109.00 to all of our Catalina Marathon Run participants. All athletes interested in the $109.00 room rate must call the hotel directly at (310) 510-0325 and mention the rate to the front office reservation agent.
- 888 Country Club Drive • Avalon, CA 90704 Phone: 310.510.0325 • Fax: 310.510.3542
- 24hr Fitness Center, Heated Swimming Pool, Hot Tub and Cedar Sauna
- On-Site Massage Therapists (Spa at Catalina)
- Restaurant (Canyon Bar & Grill)
- Complimentary Wireless Internet
- 3000 sq. ft. of Meeting/Banquet space
- 835 sq. ft. Presidential Suite
- Elevators, Safe Deposit Boxes, 83 Channels of Cable Television with Pay-Per-View Movies and Pet Friendly.
- Catalina Express to Hotel driving distance is 3 minute
Age Groups and Special Divisions
Avalon 5k and 10k: Divisions in both Male and Female
- 14 & under
- 15-19
- 20-24
- 25-29
- 30-34
- 35-39
- 40-44
- 45-49
- 50-54
- 55-59
- 60-64
- 65-69
- 70-74
- 75-79
- 80+
- Islander Division: (residents of Catalina)
- Open Buffalo
Marathon Age Groups: Divisions in both male and female
- 14 & under
- 15-19
- 20-24
- 25-29
- 30-34
- 35-39
- 40-44
- 45-49
- 50-54
- 55-59
- 60-64
- 65-69
- 70-74
- 75-79
- 80+
- Male Buffalo (200-220 lbs)
- Male Super Buffalo (221+ lbs)
- Male Master Buffalo (40+ years, 200+ lbs)
- Female Buffalo (140+ lbs)
- Female Master Buffalo (40+ years, 140+lbs)
- Marathon Walker
Attention Walkers: You must sign up for this special division when registering. You must start the race at the designated time of 6:30 am. If you start any earlier, you will be disqualified and you will not receive a time. An 8 hour cut-off time will be in force for the Marathon.
Please note: You can race in one category only. Your age group OR in the Islander Division OR in the Buffalo Division OR as a walker. You are eligible for only one award.
Sanctioning
The Catalina Marathon is USA Track & Field sanctioned (not certified). It is not a Boston Marathon qualifier.
Training Resources
- Catalina Marathon Frequently Asked Questions
- Active.com and Pacific Sports have combined to offer you a personalized training program to get ready for the race. Learn more about it and sign up now to get ready for the race.
- A Running Experience Club (A.R.E.C.) in Long Beach offers a training program for the Catalina Marathon and Buffalo Run Half Marathon, running select trails throughout Orange County to simulate the Catalina races. The club was founded in 1982 and has had tremendous success at prior Catalina running events with members who have been running the Catalina Marathon since 1977, including the race winner in 1983. A.R.E.C has vast experience trail running, has certified running coaches and delivers a program that combines physical preparedness with an individual strategic plan. All levels of runners are welcome. Contact Trail Coordinator Bob Filacchione at rfilacchione@earthlink.net for more information or the A.R.E.C. web site at www.arec-lb.com.
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Sole Runners (http://SoleRunners.net) - The Sole Runners Marathon and Half Marathon Training Program is the recommended training program for the Catalina Marathon. With coaches that have run this race multiple times, they know the course and understand how to train for the varied terrain, the Sole Runners program offers you the opportunity to train properly for this challenging marathon. Featuring the MarathonTraining.TV proprietary training program featuring ChiRunning® and Yoga, the Sole Runners will teach you efficient running form, post run conditioning, mental strength and the motivation of group training. For more information call Sole Runners' Head Coach, Steve Mackel at 818-414-9181 or email him at Steve@SoCalRunning.com
Awards
Special awards go to the overall male and female winners of the Avalon 5K, 10K, and Marathon. In the Avalon 5K and 10K, awards go to the top three males and females in each age division and Buffalo divisons and the overall male and female winners of the Islander Division.
In the marathon, awards go to the top three males and females in each age division, buffalo divisions, and the overall male and female winner of the Islander division.
All participants in the Kids Run receive a special finishers ribbon. Participants are eligible for awards in one category only. The awards ceremony will be at the Wrigley Stage by the finish line. The Avalon 5k/10k awards will be around 10:30 am and the marathon awards at 3:00 pm. Awards will be medallions for all top age group finishers.
Food and Drink
Gatorade Endurance Formula is the Official Fluid Replacement and Hammer Gel is the Official Gel of the marathon. There are 15 aid stations along the course. There are four stops on the course with restrooms. The aid stations will have Arrowhead water, Gatorade fluid replacement drink, Hammer Gel and other nourishing items.
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Race Goodies
Marathon finishers will receive:
- A race goody bag.
- A high quality "finishers" long sleeve T-shirt (Note: only marathon participants who finish the race will receive a t-shirt since it is a "finishers" shirt.)
- A finisher medal.
- 2010 year bar to be attached to the Catalina Island Marathon Finisher association pin. Pins can be purchased for $5.00 if you are a first time marathon participant.
- Post race refreshments and snacks
Avalon 5K, 10K and Kids Run participants will receive:
- A race goody bag.
- A high quality short sleeve T-shirt.
- 5K and 10K participants can pick up their shirts at the expo on Friday night or on race day.
- Post race refreshments and snacks
Event Champions
- Male Course Record: Bill McDermott: 2:39:58 (1991)
- Female Course Record: Heather Fuhr: 3:07:00 (2010)
Race Winners
1978
Bill McDermott 2:55:10 and Paulette Halel 3:54:28
1979
Bill McDermott 2:45:12 and Jacqueline Hansen 3:26:00
1980
Bill McDermott 2:47:34 and Paulette Halel 3:37:02
1981
Charlie Vigil 2:37:00 and Jacqueline Hansen 3:23:40
1982
Bill McDermott 2:40:05 and Jacqueline Hansen 3:26:19
1983
Joe Carlson 2:48:19 and Bjorg Austrheim-Smith 3:24:24
1984
Joe League 2:48:50 and Bjorg Austrheim-Smith 3:28:52
1985
Bill McDermott 2:42:35 and Sue Miller 3:44:50
1986
Bill McDermott 2:46:05 and Judith Vivian Tanzer 3:33:21
1987
Bill McDermott 2:56:15 and Harolene Walters 3:29:40
1988
Bill McDermott 2:52:36 and Ann Trason 3:19:27
1989
Bill McDermott 2:53:40 and Katherine Gustapson 3:32:00
1990
Bill McDermott 2:45:33 and Christie Spahr 3:18:14
1991*
Bill McDermott 2:39:58 and Colleen Gallagher 3:18:03
1992**
Jose Ortiz 2:33:31 and Colleen Gallagher 3:10:26
1993
Bill McDermott 2:48:48 and Mary Ryzner 3:26:06
1994
Richard Verney 2:42:46 and Schristie Spahr 3:28:26
1995#
Rob McNair 2:59:36 and Leslie Lewis 3:35:49
1996
Eoin Fahy 2:50:03 and Maria Gallardo 3:30:57
1997
Bill McDermott 2:53:08 and Danelle Ballengee 3:15:20
1998
Daniel Droski 2:51:19 and Lisa Marie Goldsmith 3:23:55
1999
Gordon Duff 3:09:53 and Kay Embrey 3:54:40
2000
Gordon Duff 3:02:06 and Maria Gallardo 3:29:50
2001
Gordon Duff 2:56:28 and Paula Newby-Fraser 3:28:58
2002
Jeff Atkinson 2:56:08 and Rebecca Grissom 3:25:49
2003
Hector Lopez 3:05:58 and Kristin Eddy 3:32:18
2004
Jason Kolb 2:52:28 and Kristin Eddy 3:17:00
2005
Jeff Atkinson 3:05:27 and Micaela Brandt 3:38:56
2006
Willie Stewart 3:14:05 and Annie Seawright-Newton 3:35:48
2007
Ben Brown 2:57:37 and Karalee Morris 3:29:37
2008
Ben Brown 2:48:25 and Julie Allen 3:31:14
2009
Chris Charles 3:00:09 and Jennifer Enge 3:37:58
2010
Joshua Loren 3:02:04 and Heather Fuhr 3:07:00
* Two Harbors to Avalon course records
** Avalon out and back rain course - paved
# Avalon out and back rain course - paved and dirt
Marathon Cut-off Time
An 8 hour cut-off time will be enforce for the Marathon. After that, your time will not be officially recorded.
Pre-Race Dinner in Avalon and Two Harbors
Attention Runners! Need to carb up before the big day?! Visit Café Metropole in Avalon for a Pasta Dinner on Friday night. For only $9.95, you get pasta, veggies and garlic bread. You can either enjoy it on the patio outside the restaurant, or take it as a Grab 'N Go...perfect to take to the beach for a pre-race picnic, or to simply take back to your hotel room to relax. They also have gluten-free pasta!
Café Metropole is located at 205 Crescent Avenue in the Metropole Marketplace in Avalon. There are many restaurants in Avalon to choose from (including the one above), although you should make your reservations ahead of time. It is a very busy evening for them. The restaurant in Two Harbors will be open for those of you staying in Two Harbors on Friday night; it is the only restaurant in Two Harbors.
Important Travel Information
Please see our travel page for information about the race day boat, Saturday morning arrival, camping and the Safari Bus.
Bag Transportation from Two Harbors
There will be a truck that will transport clothing, camping equipment, etc. from Two Harbors to Avalon once the race starts. You should have your items clearly marked in a bag with your name and race number. You can pick up your clothing in Avalon by the stage at the finish line. If you leave any items at an aid station, we cannot guarantee that they will be returned to Avalon.
Information on Catalina
If you need information on anything about travel, hotel or the island in general, check out the Catalina Island
Chamber of Commerce and Visitor's Bureau: 310.510.1520. They can tell you hotels that have vacancies at the time you call. You can also check vacancies online on their web site. Also check out eCATALINA.com, which is an excellent source of information about Catalina Island.
Friends of the Catalina Marathon
Help support the rich tradition of this race with a special donation making you a "Friend of the Catalina Marathon". You will receive the following with each level of donation:
- Gold Level: $500 donation. Two marathon entries, one Avalon 5K/10K entry and one Avalon Kids Run entry, 2 round trip boat fares to Avalon, and two tickets on the race day boat to Two Harbors the morning of the race.
- Silver Level: $250 donation. One marathon entry, one Avalon 5K/10K entry, one Avalon Kids Run entry, 1 round trip boat fare to Avalon, and one ticket on the race day boat to Two Harbors the morning of the race.
- Bronze Level: $100 donation. One Avalon 5K/10K entry, and one Avalon Kids Run entry.
If you are interested, please email Kylee Belflower at Kylee@PacificSportsLLC.com
Proceeds Go To:
A percentage of all proceeds from the Catalina Marathon will help support the Protection and Restoration of Santa Catalina Island Conservancy’s wildlands. By participating in this recreational event, you are aiding in the preservation of numerous rare and endangered species found on the Island and nowhere else in the world. The race also benefits the Avalon Schools, Little Red Schoolhouse at Two Harbors. Pacific Sports LLC has donated over $125,000 to Catalina Island Charities through our events on Catalina Island since 1995.
Multiple Marathon Participants
If you have completed more than 5 consecutive Catalina Marathons and would like to be recognized, please email Katie Caress.
- Bobby Lopez: 32 consecutive marathons
- John Boyle: 32 consecutive marathons
- Wayne McMahon: 32 consecutive marathons
- Wayne Wirth: 32 consecutive marathons
- Bill McDermott: 32 consecutive marathons
- Gary Ruttenberg: 32 consecutive marathons
- John Stewart: 31 consecutive marathons
- Courtand Mumford: 27 marathons
- Carol Mortier: 29 marathons
- Irwin Baker: 29 consecutive marathons
- Chris Cole: 28 consecutive marathons
- Lon Clearwaters: 25 marathons
- Zab Mosenifar: 27 marathons
- Jim Hurley: 24 marathons
- Kent Holder: 29 consecutive marathons
- Thomas Davis: 23 consecutive marathons
- Rob Mcnair: 22 consecutive marathons
- Tony Parinello: 21 consecutive marathons
- Sally Byram: 21 consecutive marathons
- Loren Leonard: 20 consecutive marathons
- Donna Stewart: 21 consecutive marathons
- Kristin Leaf: 21 marathons
- Bill Thompson: 23 marathons
- Jack Perrodin: 20 marathons
- Martin Quintero: 19 consecutive marathons
- John Ganahl: 19 marathons
- Joanie Matheson: 18 marathons
- Andy Quin: 18 consecutive marathons
- Leah Mirsch: 17 marathons
- Jim Curtis: 16 consecutive marathons
- Robert Armstrong: 16 marathons
- Jim Eisenhart: 15 marathons
- Maurice Waters: 15 marathons
- William Scott: 15 marathons
- Curtis Lintvedt: 15 marathons
- Jim Eisenhart: 15 marathons
- Calvin Lau: 14 marathons
- Dan Shulstad: 14 marathons
- Mark Katchigan: 13 consecutive marathons
- Douglas Spencer: 13 marathons
- James Maxwell: 13 marathons
- Marilyn Ganahl: 13 marathons
- Harry Cordellos: 15 marathons
- Kevin Ganahl: 12 marathons
- Chris Hall: 12 marathons
- Shawn Quirk: 13 marathons
- Redmond Gleeson:12 consecutive marathons
- Terri Quirk: 11 marathons
- Joe Marino: 10 consecutive marathons
- Frank Lee: 10 consecutive marathons
- Michael (Mike) Chiu: 10 consecutive marathons
- Maria Vangilder: 10 consecutive marathons
- Robert Vangilder: 10 consecutive marathons
- Skip Eastman: 11 consecutive marathons
- Anne Martinez: 11 consecutive marathons
- Steve Noble: 10 marathons
- George Suematsu: 9 consecutive marathons
- Diva Burns: 9 marathons
- Faith Dennis Morris: 9 marathons
- John Ronge: 9 marathons
- Raymond Schneider: 8 marathons
- Nancy Vertiz: 8 marathons
- Karen Wells: 8 marathons
- Frank Deogracias: 8 marathons
- Leslie Hallimore: 7 marathons
- Mark Fell: 9 marathons
- Jacinta Lucero: 6 marathons
- Mike Hoffman: 7 consecutive marathons
- Dennis Barrett: 7 marathons
- Tony Lin: 6 consecutive marathons
- Melanie Lemons: 6 consecutive marathons
- Mike Friedl: 10 consecutive marathons
- Mike Shafai: 6 consecutive marathons
- Jim Tyler: 5 consecutive marathons
- Corinne Hoffman: 5 consecutive marathons
- Brendan Nelson: 5 consecutive marathons
- Harvey Chapman: 5 marathons
- Robert Armstrong: 5 marathons
- Benjamin Gaetos: 8 marathons
- Angela Brunson: 3 marathons
