SOCAL River Marathon - 26.2 - 13.1 - 10K - 5K

The SOCAL River Marathon has four distances. Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K. 

This is a fun course in Southern California. This course runs on the Santa Ana River Trail from Yorba Linda to Huntington Beach State Park. This route truly spans Southern California from the dryer desert land to areas near Disneyland to the Beach. The course is primarily flat and straight but has a gradual downhill slant following the river to the ocean. This route is two years ago was cleaned up from homeless tents and is not fenced in nightly. 

Agenda

Friday February 27, 2026           

2PM to 7PM - Packet Pickup @ Road Runner Sports - 1835 Newport Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA (Mandatory unless you want to pay a $10 same day packet pickup fee at the race site)

Saturday February 28, 2026 - Race Day       

6:00AM to 9:30AM - $10 Fee Same Day Packet Pickup @ Finish Line Area Huntington Beach State Park - 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach CA (We are sorry but in 2022 over 60% picked up race morning and it delayed the race start. For this reason we needed to implement similar fees as other races for same day pickup) 

6:00AM - Full Marathon Loads Bus @ Finish Line Area Huntington Beach State Park - 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach CA

8:00AM - Half Marathon Loads Bus @ Finish Line Area Huntington Beach State Park - 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach CA

8:00AM - Start Full Marathon @ Rinks Ice Sheet - 23641 La Palma Ave Yorba Linda California

9:30AM - Start Half Marathon @ Orange County Labor Federation - 309 N Rampart St Orange California

10:15AM - 10K/5K Meet at Finish Line @ Finish Line Area Huntington Beach State Park - 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach CA

11:00AM - Start 10K @ Finish Line Area Huntington Beach State Park - 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach CA

11:15AM - Start 5K @ Finish Line Area Huntington Beach State Park - 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach CA

11:00AM - Awards Ceremony @ Finish Line Area Huntington Beach State Park - 21601 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach CA

3:00PM - Sweep Course - Full in 7 Hours or Half 5.5 Hours you must complete it or be picked up. Finish line is the last thing we load at finish area. If you will not be able to complete it shortly after the 7 Hour Marathon you may be swept. We will pick you up if you are not complete

Mailing Address: 5859 Cottonwood Canyon Road, Morgan Utah 84050

Toll Free: 866-789-RACE(7223) Sorry no texting this number. (Only Available during office hours Tues to Thurs 10AM to 4PM)

Live Chat with Us: https://tawk.to/chat/5b8495e7afc2c34e96e7f5d8/default   Please limit these chats to simple questions. Try email after these hours: (Chat Available MON-SAT 8AM to 6PM - After these hours it will have a message to email us and we may not get back with it in a timely manner.)

Email: info@onhillevents.com  (We try to answer these questions during and after hours) In Subject Line List Race Name - Then Subject (Ex: Drop13 - What time does the race start?)

Our office hours are Tuesday to Thursday from 10AM to 4PM if you wish to reach us via phone. We work most Saturdays so we take Mondays off and Fridays are generally used to set up the course so you can try to reach us then if we are in range. 

Boston Qualifier for the Full Marathon. 

BQ# CA19002RG 

The SOCAL River Marathon is a a Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K on the Santa Ana River Trail. Though this course is primarily flat there is a gradual decline of 365 feet over 26.2 Miles which feels like nothing. The only real up and downs on this course are going under freeways or roads. This course is so much fun and highlights the Southern California area from the desert to Orange County passing closely to Disneyland next to Anaheim Stadium. This race finishes at Huntington Beach State Park.

Full and Half are bused out starts and 10K/5K are out and back. 

Aid stations are about every 2 miles starting at Mile 3. Please understand they are not exactly at the mile markers but within 1/4 mile for ease when dropping off bathrooms, tables and volunteers. 

Each aid station has the following: Water, Powerade, Cups, Volunteers, Bandaids, muscle rub, body lube. At select aid stations there are whole bananas, whole Cutie oranges and gels. Due to California health code we are not allowed to cut or peel bananas or oranges and you must thus the reason for Cuties for easy peel. 

The Full Marathon Starts at Yorba Linda. 

The Half Marathon starts in Anaheim. 

The Half Marathon starts 13.1 Miles into the Course. However it does a small out and back to give us a location to start the race from off the course. It is a bused out start as well. 

The 10K and 5K start at the finish line of all four courses and are out and back races. Meaning 10K goes out 3.1 Miles and turns around at second aid station and returns. The 5K goes out 1.55 Miles and turns around at first aid station. 

Interactive map link: https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2785200742 

Earn Your Red Jacket with the Following Challenges with On Hill Events

This jacket will have an On Hill Events Logo in the front left over the chest and every race you accomplish in your challenge will be listed on the back of the jacket.

This is a full zipper hoodie jacket with zipper pockets.

Waterproof and great for warming up or staying warm and dry on a run. 

Trifecta Marathon Challenge 

Complete 3 of On Hill Events 5 Marathons in a 12 Month Period

Half Dozen Half Marathon Challenge

Complete 6 of On Hill Events 15 Half Marathons in a 12 Month Period

Dirty Dozen 5K/10K Challenge

Complete 12 of On Hill Events 20+ 10Ks or 5Ks in a 12 Month Period -

(Example: You can do 12 5Ks or 12 10Ks or break them up with any number that results in 12 races [4 & 8], [5 & 7] and ratio that gives you 12)

Triple Tri Challenge

Complete 3 of On Hill Events 4 Multi-Sport Events in a 12 Month Period 

Rules: 

• Must be all On Hill Events races we do in person, meaning virtual races do not count towards it.
• You cannot do a mix challenges like Full and Half or Full and 5K outside the 10Ks and 5Ks which can be mixed.
  • (Example: A Half Marathon does not count towards the Dirty Dozen Challenge or a Full Marathon does not count towards a Half Dozen Half Marathon Challenge). 
• They must be done in a standard 12 month race period.  No repeating same race in the Challenge. 
• Can be started anytime after June 1, 2025.
  • Races prior to June 1, 2025 will not count towards the challenges. 
• Once you have accomplished one of these challenges, you can email us (at info@onhillevents.com) and we will send you a link to build your custom Challenge Jacket that can be worn at all races, letting others know how much better you are then them haha.
• You can overlap challenges meaning you can earn 3 jackets a year for each challenge, however, no more than one jacket per challenge per calendar year.
  • This means if you start June 14, 2025 and complete the challenge May 2, 2026 with May the Fourth, you can start the challenge again, but must start after the last race of that challenge. Meaning, you can start again with Drop13 2026 for the next year.
  • Doing multiple challenges during one year means you can run 3 marathons for the Trifecta Challenge, and 12 5K or 10Ks during the same year - however, they will have to be individual sign-ups and different races. 
• The Sun Marathon Full will not count towards the 5K challenge but will towards the Trifecta Marathon Challenge. 

If you purchased Race Insurance at the time of registration for the small fee you can claim Race Insurance 

Link on Filing Claim:  https://www.fanshield.com/file-a-refund-request  

Email RegShield with Questions: help@fanshield.com    

Video on Filing Claim with Regshield: https://youtu.be/D5O-IdHGfwE  

Items Covered:

Sponsoring a race is great. You can put up a booth at the packet pickup and/or finish. You can put up banners on the course or on the website. Facebook posts and email blasts reach all the participants. Sponsoring a race can be a low cost way to reach a good group of racers or give this group of a racer a commercial directed at you or your business. Each race On Hill Events produces has different participation size. For this reason On Hill Events varies costs on sponsorship based on the size of the race. The most effective way to sponsor a race is to sponsor On Hill Events. This way your sponsorship reaches around 10,000 racers annually in several areas as far as Idaho to Southern Utah and even Southern California. Ask us about our sponsorship via this email: info@onhillevents.com  or you can fill out our form to have someone call you back in a timely manner with details.

Form to inquire about sponsorship.

Options Below:

1 - Transfer Race Bib to another Racer (Free up to 96 hours prior to Race, $5 thereafter at Packet Pickup)

2 - Deferrals and Transfers cost $15 and must be done 15 days prior to Race (This can only be done once)

Deferral - This race registration moved to this race the following year.
Transfer - This race to another On Hill Events race in the next 12 months and credits what you paid minus fees & taxes.

3 - Race Insurance - Cash Refunds if you purchase Race Insurance at the time you registered (Minus taxes & fees).

*These options must be done by using the Self Management Tool in the Upper Right Hand Icon of all our websites and prior to the 15-day deadline. We can assist via email or phone but the Deferral/Transfer must be done yourself 15 days before race day regardless if you emailed us or left a message before the 15-day Deadline. Check out the Contact Us page for Step-by-step instructions.

Referral Program is a great program we do. Refer 5 friends and get 100% back on your credit card. No longer is it 10% per referral but 100% for 5 which is more. 

We do not do any of these programs manually or else we would be like all other race companies and not offer them. They are too difficult to manage manually and open us up for errors in timing. If you wish to participate in one of these programs you must do so electronically before the deadlines. Emailing, Texting us or phone call or voicemail does not count as notifying us before the deadline. If you do not know how to do one of these programs we are happy to help explain how to do them yourself but they still must be done electronically yourself before the deadlines. If you need help please contact us well before the deadlines, so you do not miss the deadlines.  

Edit Registration, Defer Program, and Referral Program are accessed via signing into RunSignUp and selecting these options.

This is a great tutorial to help with all other items: https://help.runsignup.com/support/solutions/articles/17000062920-view-edit-a-registration

Edit Registration, Defer Program, and Referral Program are accessed via signing into RunSignUp and selecting these options.

This is a great tutorial to help with all other items: https://help.runsignup.com/support/solutions/articles/17000062920-view-edit-a-registration

Though this tutorial lists request a refund, no refunds are allowed for any event. 

Hotel Huntington Beach

To make reservations, please call:

714-891-0123

7667 Center Ave

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Special Offer for SOCAL River Marathon Participants and those with them:

Group Name: Socal River Marathon

Room Rate: $129.00 Premier Guest Rooms

Arrival/Departure Dates: Thurs., March 3, 2022 / Sun., March 6, 2022

Amount/Type of Rooms Blocked: (10) Premier Doubles - (10) Total Room Nights

Deadline to make reservations is Tues., March 1, 2022

No Refund Explanation and Options:

Many racers have questions about refunds. Around 3 days prior to a race we have racers bombard us with the question can I get a refund. They all have justified reasons in their minds ranging from a family event came up (wedding, funeral, vacation), or related to their body (illness, injury, poor training). Though our policy is firm "No Refunds" people still ask. Even though we have racers sign this policy at time of registration, they still ask. Not to diminish your situation but pretty much every race company has a similar policy to "No Refunds". The reason for such a policy is not to be heartless but to be able to stay in business. If you register we buy you things like t-shirts, medals, food, permits for race, bus seats, support, and more. If we offered refunds within 72 hours prior to the race we would lose the money we spent on your shirts, bus, medals and food. You may feel that permits we can get refunded on but even permits have scalable fees based on how many racers are signed up. Drop13 pays the US Forest Service 5% of our gross not net fees to them. 

Unlike other race companies, we strive to offer other options that can help you out. An example is we buy medals 60-90 days in advance. Tshirts 10 to 30 days in advance. Food 7 days in advance. Buses 60 to 90 days in advance. Volunteers 7 to 60 days depending on Paid Groups or individual volunteers. Permits are started 9 to 12 months in advance. Because some things have some flexibility and we can recover some we offer options other race companies do not like Deferrals and Transfers up to 15 days prior to the race for a fee (see Refund Policy)  We also offer Race Insurance at the time of registration for only $2.99 to 8.1% of your race fee depending on your race fee which covers most situations that may arise. We strongly recommend signing up for this insurance at registration time because race fees grow as race day approaches. Many racers will wait to register to confirm a weather will be good race day and do not account for race fees increasing around 30% between registration starting 9 to 12 months out and race day fees. Insurance covers Severe weather.

Other Options if within 15 days before race day:

Utah Race Saver (Not affiliated with On Hill Events) 

If you did not purchase Race Insurance at the time of registration or are within the 15-day option for deferrals or transfers your only option is to give or sell your bib to another racer. It is your responsibility to sell or give your bib to another racer. We do not handle the transactions or sell them for you. If you do not know who can purchase your bib you can post it on the Facebook group Utah Race Saver https://www.facebook.com/groups/utahracesaver  to sell it. Often you can sell it for less than what it is currently being sold at because the fees go up the closer the race gets. Reminder all exchanges via email to us at info@onhillevents.com  must be finalized 96 hours prior to race day or you will incur a $5 transfer fee and must be done the day prior at packet pickup. Just have the person you gave or sold it to come to packet pickup the day prior with $5 cash. At 96 hours prior to race day we stuff and label race packets. 

Results

2019 On Time Racing

2022 to Current Year Plus Live Results for this year

Photos

www.onhillevents.smugmug.com 

Photos are free for download for personal usage. 

Virtual Race Me is On Hill Events solution to virtual racing.

A Virtual Race is a race you run on your own time. You can do this alone or with a group of friends.

On Hill Events has two options for Virtual Racing.

Option #1 - Run Our Course - You can either run the course we have with a cool app to time it on your own or run your own course. An example of this would be to run the SOCAL Marathon race course by scanning a QR Marker Code at the start and finish. The starting line area will have a QR code to mark it as well as the finish. We recommend you finding QR Markers prior to starting, so you can easily scan them as you finish. Searching for these QR Markers would be a pain if are you tired as you finish.  If the course is out and back there will be a marker at the turnaround points. These courses will not be available until a week prior to the race and two weeks post race.

Option #2 - Run Your Course - This is for those who want to run their own course. You will have to just time it yourself. This is great for those who may live far away and want the medal and shirt and swag or for those who just feel they have a better course than the one we mark for you. 

Unlike other Virtual Races out there we include

- Free shipping

- Include a T-Shirt

- High End Cool Medal

- Often include swag from the race

- Comparison Timing Based on Our Course or Your Course

Our 5K/10Ks tend to cost our racers around $35 to participate in person. The cost of shipping and handling is around $10 and doing this on your own saves us from having to pay for staff, food, permits, volunteers and so many other things that cost us. If you want to Race Virtually, Virtual Race ME is the best value in the USA. If you are from out the USA we will charge you extra for shipping depending on the country costs. 

To Register for Virtual Race ME Click Here 

The On Hill Events volunteer program is great! Within a week following the race, volunteers will receive an email with a code on it good for the credit you earned towards a future On Hill Events race within 13 months of the time you volunteered. Volunteer duties are selected by the volunteer and include aid stations, turn aids and finish line help. They are always fun and never require heavy lifting. Credits are fully redeemable by anyone and can be given as a gift. 

Race Results - Timing Via Timing Chips on back of race bibs. Chip Start and Finish. Results are live via your smart phone or tablet as long as WIFI is working. We can print them or give you access to our tablets as you finish as well. 

Electronic Race Packets - We do race Electronic Race Packets. These are emailed 5 Days prior to the race. If you register after 5 Days prior there are links in your confirmation email or on the agenda page. We do Electronic Race Packets for two reasons. One printing them are a huge amount of waste and two it is a lot of work to stuff these in the packet for a less effect reach to participants. 

T-Shirt Multiblend with Custom Race Design (Upgrade from old Tech)

High End Custom 4"  Finisher Medal unique to this years race. 

Saggin Wagon

Custom Bib Number

Fully supported Course (Aid Stations every 2 miles (starting at mile 3 for the marathon) or less with Water, Powerade, Cups, Volunteers at stations, Potties at Mile 3 and every 2 miles)

Overall Plaques - Top 3 Male/Female in each distance. 

Food at Finish - Water, Powerade, Oranges, Bananas, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Candy.  If Temps above 60 degrees Fatboys Ice Cream, below 60 degrees Hot Chocolate. 

Race Photos - Free for personal use. Download them at https://onhillevents.smugmug.com/ We do not guarantee every person a photo. If you want a photo find out photographer with the Yellow Vest and have them take a pic of you. They are available within 5 days after the race. 

Age Group Awards - Age Groups are broken down in the following manner. If the distance has 50 or more racers we do it as every 5 years. (Example is 10 to 14, 15 to 19, up to 70+) Less than 50 racers in the distance we do it every 10 years (Example is 10 to 19, 20 to 29, up to 70+.) [If we did every 5 years for less than 50 participants in the distance it would have every racer get an age group award. Seeing we do finisher medals and awards would be First Place almost every person we do them based on every 10 years for distances with participants less than 50 people. ]