Beer City Half™ San Jose

Join us on Saturday, May 30, 2026 at Almaden Lake Park for Beer City Half™ San Jose! See the sights, run the trails, and drink the brews that make San Jose a home base for beer lovers. Beer City Festival is a full day of fun. Drink local and dig it!

revised May 27, 2023

Welcome to Beer City San Jose in Almaden Lake Park. Come back to this page for updates as we get things going! The event is June 1, 2024.

Here's the digital briefing from our 2023 race to give you a sense of what 2024 has in store. Here's the recording!

Where does the race start and finish?

All races start and finish at Almaden Lake Park. Beer City is located on the south west part of the park, off Winfield Blvd. 5949 Winfield Blvd, San Jose, CA 95120 (directions)

What kind of schwag is there?

Each finisher receives The Key Beer City 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 on the paved trails around and near Lake Almaden. These are the Guadalupe River Trail, Los Alamitos Creek Trail, Calero Creek Trail and, of course the path around Lake Almaden. You can find all of this under Courses.

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

There will be packet pickup on Friday, May 31 at Sports Basement, Campbell (1875 S Bascom Ave Suite 240, Campbell, CA 95008 Directions) from 4-6pm. You can pick up for friends. No problem.

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

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

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

Runners can purchase Buddy Pass tickets so friends can join them with a beer at the end of the run. Post-run beer tasting lasts until 11am, except for half-marathon finishers who complete their run after this time. 

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

What is the Beer City Festival? How is it different from the post-running beer?

The Beer City Festival is a celebration of local and regional brewers that starts at 11am and goes until 3pm. There are many brewers to choose from and beers to taste at the Festival. Your Festival ticket includes unlimited pours. Runners can purchase as many tickets as they like at a discount. 

Are there cutoffs?

Kinda. 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.

Where do I park?

There is on-street parking on Winfield Blvd. There is also paid parking on Winfield Blvd and at the lot off Almaden Expressway, which is a short walk away.

What's your refund policy?

We don't offer cash refunds. We do offer deferrals though up to 30-days from the event. That policy is spelled out here. 

We are proud to feature race photos from Let's Wander Photography. There are pictures from the course and the finish. They are available for viewing and for purchase in either high or low res formats at Smug Mug. They will be available in the days following the race. Click here to check them out!

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.

Want to volunteer? Please do! We can definitely use your help. There are volunteer roles to be filled as course marshalls and in the Festival area. We will give you a special shirt, beer (if you're over 21), and in some cases, credit to a future Scena event, like the Santa Rosa Turkey Trot.

Interested? Here's a form to let us know!

Friday, May 30
Location: TBD
4 pm- 8 pm Bib and shirt pickup; registration NEW longer hours! Yes, you can pick up on race day. Yes,  you can pickup for friends.

Special Sports Basement discount for registered runners!

Saturday, May 31 RACE DAY!

Almaden Lake Regional Park, 15780 Almaden Expressway, San Jose
Click here for directions

7:00 am: Registration and bib pickup opens 
8:30 am: Half Marathon Start
8:45 am: 10k Start
9:00 am: 5k Start
9:05 am: Beer Stroll Start
9:15 am: Questicorn start
9:45 am: Beer tasting opens for Tasting Only ticketholders
11:00 am: Race the Rex beer mile
12:00 pm: Post race tasting ends

Each runner receives a comfy Beer City San Jose t-shirt, a Key to Beer City San Jose 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.

All runners are entered into the Beer City Series results and our Slammers who are running all races will get special pins and awards.

Beer City offers our runners over 21 years of age a selection of beer, kombucha, and hard tea from Lagunitas. Also, there will be bubbly water and sodas, as well as snacks for everyone, including Bellwether Farms yogurt and fruit.  

Beer will be served in 7oz Beer City Festival tasting glasses for you to take home (without a beer in them still).

Runners can purchase a Buddy Pass for friends that want to drink a post race beer with them. Buddy Passes are good for samples from our post race pour of Lagunitas not for the full Beer City Festival.