The Surfing Madonna Beach Run is a one of a kind beach run. Although it’s run at a very low tide, make sure you wear an old pair of sneakers because its wet. The race never leaves the sand. I ran the 15k race and the route takes you from Moonlight beach to the southern tip of Carlsbad. From there you run back south all the way past Swami’s and San Elijo State Beach. From there you loop back towards home.
Guinness World Record & Moonlight Beach
This is the only Guinness World Record I’ve been a part of so far as I know which is pretty cool! Also, Moonlight Beach, where the race starts from is the beach closest to my house. This is the same beach we frequent all year round with kids. I’ve seen Moonlight Beach busy before but this was a human wall as far as the eye could see. I have no idea how many people ran this race. That said, it took three minutes from the time the gun was fired until I crossed THE START LINE. Yes, lots of folks.
The Race
I made the final decision to run this race about 10:00 a.m. on the day OF the race. At the time of this race, we were in the final stages of a remodel and I had been working around the house all morning. My training regiment for the previous 30 days had been to drink lots of beer. But, I had a half marathon to run the following weekend in Temecula and I knew that I needed a good long training run.
The run, once we got to the start line, was really fun! Its incredible to see that many people running up the coast and on the sand. The energy at this race was incredible and much different than other races I’ve run, even the Xterra Series. They had broken the distances up (I believe) to 1K, 5K, 10K and 15K. There was a race distance for everyone. About mile 3 I felt the “I didn’t prepare at all” in my lungs and legs. The race passes right by the finish line around the 8K mark and I considered stopping. But, I just don’t that gene.
The last third of the run was my favorite. The race route takes you from Moonlight Beach, down past Swami’s and through the San Elijo State Park area. Its just awesome there.
The NET NET, this is a killer race and a great time. I’ll definitely consider running this again!
