Beer City Half™ OC

Join us Saturday, November 7, 2026 at Centennial Park in Santa Ana for Beer City Half™ Orange County!  See the sights, run the trails, and drink the brews. Beer City Festival is a full day of fun. Drink local and dig it!

What. Is. THIS?!

Beer City is a traveling circus of beer, running, and fun. Our Festivals offer great beer from local brewers you know and from new ones we have come in know our travels. Join us in Alameda, Orange County, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, San Jose with new cities coming all the time. 

All Beer City events start with a run from our Beer City Half Series. You’ll also find a Beer Stroll, a 1-mile journey that starts and finishes with a taste. Shaking your booty is fun and it builds up a good thirst.

Once you’re done running there’s beer tasting. Then, the whole thing roars into festival mode with brewer sampling, games, entertainment and the best local food trucks you can find. 

Will there be beer? What else will be at the finish?

There will be beer tastes for racers over 21 years of age as well as non-alcoholic beer and other drinks like bubbly water and soda pop. There will also be post-race treats including Bellwether Farms yogurt, cookies, and fruit as well as fruit. Post-race beer drinking last until 12pm.

Your friends and family can enjoy the post-run beer from 9:45 to 12 with a Buddy Pass, which you can purchase during registration. 

Family and friends are also welcome to come at no charge if they don't want to drink beer or try snacks. This is a family-friendly event. 

Runners who want to stick around for beer tasting, music and fun at the Beer City Festival can purchase Second Shift tickets, which are 30% off a regular Beer City Festival pass. These are good until 2pm.

What kind of schwag is there?

Each finisher receives a comfy shirt, The Key Beer City OC medal (which doubles as a bottle opener). Hold it close! All finishers also receive a custom Beer City Half shirt and a special Beer City tasting glass made from recycled plastic. Yay sustainability!

What are the courses, cuttoff times, etc.

All the races take place the Santa Ana River Trail which is a mix of gravel path and paved trail. 

We don't like cutting people off. You've earned your race. That said, the Half Marathon only has a cutoff at 3:30 minutes. This is not a hard cutoff. Everyone on the course gets a finish. If a runner is significantly behind a 3:30 pace they'll be encouraged to return to the Start.

Is there packet pickup? When is it? Where is it? Can I pickup race day?

There will be packet pickup on Friday, October 31 at Sports Basement Orange County  (10800 Kalama River Ave Fountain Valley) from 4-8pm. You can pick up for friends. No problem.

On race day, there is bib pickup starting just after 7am at Centennial Park.

Where does the race start and finish?

All races start and finish at Centennial Park in Santa Ana (3000 West Edinger).  There is parking on site. 

Where do I park?

Parking is available at Centennial Park for a fee.

What's your refund policy?

You can defer or transfer your entry any time up to race day. Check out our policy and how to defer or transfer here. We don't offer cash refunds. If you think you may need a cash refund, consider buying race insurance.  That's what it's here for.

Beer City practices radical acceptance of deferrals and transfers. You can defer or transfer at any time up until race day (but not after the race has taken place.) This includes gifting your registration to a friend.

Here are your options. You can:

• Defer until next year's race. We sign you up automatically after registration opens for next year's race.
• Transfer your race to a friend. They can come and enjoy a good time.
• Transfer to any other Beer City between now and a year from now. You join us in the future!

All of these options are available to you by selecting Manage Registration in your profile. Here is a little tutorial on how to manage your registration.  It's all free of charge. 

As to refunds, we don't offer cash refunds under any circumstance. Please consider purchasing race insurance. This is exactly what it's here for.

The Beer City races start and finish at Centennial Park in Santa Ana and run out-and-back along the Santa Ana River Trail. There are aid stations approximately 1.5 miles apart. 

Start Times
Half Marathon     8:30 am
10k                      9:00 am
5k                        9:15 am
Beer Stroll           9:20 am

Marking 
All courses are marked with signs.

Aid Stations
Aid stations are either water-only or water, sports, drink, and nutrition. Our sports drink is Skratch and our nutrition partner is Gu Energy. Sports drink is Lemon Lime. The gels are in a variety of flavors. Thank you, Skratch and GU! 

Generally, aid stations are about 1.5 miles apart. Scroll down to your specific race to see their positions and mileage.

The Courses 

Half Marathon

The Half Marathon is an out-and-back course that crosses the Santa Ana River on the wooden bridge in Huntington Beach. You can see the course and elevation chart on Strava by clicking here. 

Altitude Profile
There is 248ft of climb in the half marathon course.

Route
The course is on the bike path and packed trail. There are no road crossings.

The course crosses the wooden footbridge in Huntington Beach. 

Aid Stations
Our sports drink is Skratch and our nutrition partner is Gu Energy. The sports drink is Lemon Lime. The gels are in a variety of flavors. Thank you, Skratch and GU! 

Aid Station            mile      aid  
Slater                     1.55      Water only
Moon Park             2.85        Water, sports drink, gels, bathroom
Adams                   4.45      Water, sports drink, gels
Hamilton                6.15      Water, sports drink, gels
Turn Around           6.55      No Aid 
Hamilton                6.95      Water, sports drink, gels
Adams                   8.65      Water, sports drink, gels
Moon Park            10.25          Water, sports drink, gels, bathroom
Slater                     11.55    Water only 
Finish                     13.1      Beer! (and other non-alcoholic treats)

10k

The 10k is an out-and-back course with a turn around shortly after the Aid Station at Moon Park. Watch for signs and course monitors to guide you through the turn. You can view the course on Strava here and also in the picture on this page.

Route
The course is on a bike path and packed trail. There is a road crossing at Mazzone Drive

Altitude Profile
There is 160ft of climb in the 10k.

Aid Stations
Our sports drink is Skratch and our nutrition partner is Gu Energy. Sports drink is Lemon Lime. The gels are in a variety of flavors. Thank you, Skratch and GU! 

Aid Station              mile   aid
Slater                      1.55    Water only
Moon Park              2.85    Water, sports drink, gels, bathroom
Turn around            3.1      No aid
Moon Park              3.35    Water, sports drink, gels, bathroom
Slater                      4.65    Water only   
Finish                      6.2      Finish!

5k 

The 5k does runs out-and-back to the Slater water stop. You can view the course on Strava here. 

Route
The course is on paved bike path.

Altitude Profile
There is 81ft of climb in the 5k route.

Aid Stations
Slater 1.55 miles    Water only

Friday, October 25
6 pm Virtual Race Briefing on Zoom and Facebook. View the recording here!

Friday, October 31
Location: Sports Basement Orange County (10800 Kalama River Ave, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 Directions)
4 pm- 8 pm Bib and shirt pickup; registration (Yes, you can pick up on race day. Yes,  you can pickup for friends.)

Special Sports Basement discount for registered runners!

Saturday, November 1  RACE DAY!

Beer City Half 
Centennial Park, 3000 West Edinger Ave, Santa Ana 
Click here for directions

7:00 am: Registration and bib pickup opens 
8:30 am: Half Marathon Start
9:00 am: 10k Start
9:15 am: 5k Start
9:20 am: Beer Stroll Start
Post-run beer tasting immediately on finish, which includes our House pour and additional brewers as they become available.
12:00 pm: Post-run finisher beer closes 
12:00 pm - 2:00pm Second Shift beer tasting 

Beer City Festival
Centennial Park, 3000 West Edinger Ave, Santa Ana 
Click here for directions

11:00 am Festival Starts
3:00 pm Festival tasting closes

Each runner receives a comfy Beer City OC t-shirt, a Key to Beer City OC finishers medal, Beer City tasting glass, custom bib  and free race photos. 

Podium trophies are given to the top 3 in each race by gender. Age group awards are given 3-deep. Age group winners are requested to identify themselves at the timing table.

Beer City offers our runners over 21 years of age tastes of Lagunitas and other beers from Beer City Festival brewers as they setup during the morning. There will also be bubbly water and sodas and snacks for everyone. Beer will be served in 7oz Beer City Festival tasting glasses for you to take home (without a beer in them still).