Big Sur Marathon 2027 fueling guide: Hurricane Point, aid stations, gels, and a plan for every finish time

Big Sur is a point-to-point marathon on Highway 1, from the redwoods at Big Sur Station to Carmel. It is hilly, often windy, and often cold at the start. It also asks more of your stomach than most road marathons. You eat breakfast in the middle of the night, ride a bus for an hour, wait one to two hours in the cold, and then climb Hurricane Point before halfway. A good plan covers all of that, not only the race.

This guide works for every runner in the field, from a 3:10 pace group to a runner aiming to beat the 6 hour limit. We start with what the organizer has published, show when you will reach each station at your pace, and give three plans to choose from. The 2027 details below come from the official race page and the 2026 participant guide. The 2027 participant guide is not out yet, so check the aid station list again in race week.

Big Sur Marathon 2027: the confirmed race facts

Highway 1 is closed to private cars on race morning, and there is no drop-off at the start. The bus is not optional, and that decides your breakfast time. The road reopens to traffic at 1 p.m., which is why the cutoffs are strict. If you expect to finish near 6 hours, a plan where you fuel on the move, without long stops at stations, is part of making the cutoffs.

What is on the Big Sur Marathon course

The official station list is mile 2.5, 4.8, 7.8, 10.4, 12.2, 14.7, 16.9, 19.0, 21.2, 23.0, and 24.5. That is a station about every 2 miles, a little wider than many big-city marathons. On a hilly course you also spend more time between them, so each gap lasts longer on the clock than the miles suggest.

The drink on course is PH 1000, which Precision Hydration describes as a low-calorie electrolyte drink with 1,000 mg of sodium per litre. That is a lot of sodium and almost no fuel. So at Big Sur, unlike races with a sugary sports drink, your cups give you salt and fluid, not carbohydrate. The two PF 30 gels give 30 g each. Everything else you eat, you carry from the bus.

The stations also have refill points for personal bottles. That opens a simple option: start with a soft flask of your own carbohydrate drink, finish it in the first hour or two, and refill it with water or PH 1000 later. The official pages do not list a rule on hydration packs or belts, so check the FAQ in race week if you plan to wear one.

When you will reach each station at your pace

The table shows elapsed time at each official station for an even pace. Big Sur is not run at an even pace, so treat these as a guide. You will lose time on the climb from mile 10 to 12 and gain some back on the long descent to Bixby Bridge. A 4:00 runner reaches the first course gel at about 1:52. A 6:00 runner reaches mile 21.2 at about 4:51 of running, and from corral C that leaves only a few minutes before the 11:50 cutoff.

Look at the gap from mile 12.2 to mile 19.0. For a 5:00 runner that is about 1 hour 17 minutes between the two course gels. Without your own gels in that window you will run the rolling miles after Bixby Bridge on nothing but salt water.

Pick your plan: three runner profiles

World Athletics’ consensus statement gives 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour as the common marathon range and suggests trained runners try up to 90 g per hour for events over two and a half hours. Research on multiple transportable carbohydrates shows that intakes above 60 g per hour are only absorbed well when the product mixes glucose and fructose and the gut has been trained for it. Most runners are slower at Big Sur than on a flat course, so they are out longer and the total grams matter even more here.

Racing it: your problem is volume, because the course drink gives you no carbohydrate. Eighty grams per hour for 3:30 is about 280 g. The two PF 30 gels give 60 g, which leaves seven or eight 30 g gels to carry. Build that number over eight to ten weeks of hilly long runs, starting at 60 g and adding 10 g every second week while your stomach stays quiet. Take the first gel about 20 minutes in and the last one around mile 23.

Steady marathon: aim for 60 to 75 g per hour and count in grams. A 4:30 race at 60 g per hour is 270 g. The two PF 30 gels give 60 g. That leaves about 210 g, which is eight or nine 25 g gels or seven 30 g gels. If that is too many packets, start with a 500 ml flask holding 40 to 50 g of a drink mix you trained with, and refill it with water at a station once it is empty.

Long day: five or six hours on Highway 1 changes the math. Fifty grams per hour over 5:30 is about 275 g, a 25 g gel every 30 minutes. Your limits are stomach comfort, cold hands, and the clock. Small, frequent doses work best. Never go more than 40 minutes without carbohydrate. A short walk through a station is fine, but long stops add up, and the mile 15.2 and 21.2 cutoffs do not move.

Fuel before Hurricane Point, not on it

The two-mile climb to Hurricane Point starts at mile 10 and tops out at mile 12. On a climb you breathe hard, and swallowing a thick gel while breathing hard is how runners gag or skip a dose. So move your fuel around the hill. Take a gel on the descent to the Little Sur River Bridge near mile 9, wash it down at the mile 10.4 station at the base, then only sip on the climb. At the top, take the PF 30 gel at mile 12.2 or your own, and start the long descent to Bixby Bridge with fresh fuel.

• Mile 8 to 9: gel on the downhill, when breathing is easy.
• Mile 10.4: water at the base of the climb.
• Mile 10 to 12: no gels; short sips only if you carry a bottle.
• Mile 12.2: gel at the top, with water, then let your breathing settle on the descent.
• For run-walkers: walking the steepest parts of the climb is a good time for a half gel, because your breathing is lower when you walk.

Caffeine, sodium, and the things runners forget

• Caffeine: the ISSN position stand supports 3 to 6 mg per kg taken about 60 minutes before exercise. A 70 kg runner is at 210 mg with 3 mg per kg. Coffee is served at the start, but its caffeine dose is unknown. If caffeine is part of your plan, bring a measured caffeinated gel instead. The guide does not say the course gels contain caffeine.
• Sodium: PH 1000 has 1,000 mg of sodium per litre, so a 150 ml cup gives about 150 mg. Five or six cups over the race already cover a lot of sodium for most runners on a cool morning. Extra salt tablets are rarely needed here unless you are a heavy, salty sweater and have tested them.
• Cold hands: on a 40s morning with wind, numb fingers cannot tear a gel. Tear a small notch in each gel before you leave the bus, and wear cheap gloves you can drop.
• Trash: the organizer asks you to drop gel packets and cups only inside an aid station footprint, so hold empty packets until the next station.
• No cell service at the start or on the course, so do not plan to buy or message for anything after the bus leaves.

Hydration for a cold, windy morning on the coast

The organizer says the start averages in the 40s °F (4 to 9 °C) and the course averages 50 to 60 °F (10 to 16 °C), with 30 to 50 percent humidity. Weather Spark’s long-term averages for Carmel in late April give a daily high near 62 °F (17 °C), a low near 50 °F (10 °C), and about a 9 percent chance of a wet day. The course tour warns of fog or overcast skies near mile 6 and fierce headwinds on sunny days. Cool air and a slower pace mean most runners sweat less here than at a warm city marathon. World Athletics warns against drinking more than you sweat; finishing heavier than you started is a sign of overdrinking.

• Test your sweat rate in one cool and one mild long run before race week.
• Pick your priority stations now: mile 7.8, 10.4, 12.2, 16.9, 19.0, and 23.0 suit most plans.
• Train with PH 1000 if you plan to drink it; at 1,000 mg of sodium per litre it is saltier than most sports drinks.
• Seek help for confusion, severe headache, repeated vomiting, or collapse, whatever the clock says.

Breakfast for a 3:30 bus and a 6:45 start

A familiar carbohydrate-rich meal one to four hours before racing is the standard framework in the World Athletics consensus. At Big Sur the bus pushes your main meal to the far end of that window. If your bus leaves at 3:45, you eat at about 3:00, three and three-quarter hours before the gun. Then you sit on a bus and wait in the cold for one to two hours. That is why the second, smaller snack at the start village is not optional here.

• Night before: a normal carbohydrate-rich dinner, early, and go to bed early. Lay out breakfast so you can eat it half awake.
• Before the bus, about 3.5 to 4 hours before the start: a practised meal such as a bagel or white toast with honey or jam, a banana, and a drink, about 1 to 2 g of carbohydrate per kg.
• At the start village, 60 to 90 minutes before the gun: a small low-fibre top-up you carried, such as a sports bar, a few rice cakes, or 30 to 50 g of a carb drink. Water, Precision Hydration, coffee, and tea are there, but bring the food.
• Ten to fifteen minutes before the gun: an optional gel, only if used in training.
• Do not put fluids in your gear check bag; the guide does not allow them. Finish your start drink before the corral.
• Dress for one to two hours in the 40s °F. Shivering burns energy you want for the climb. Discarded clothes are donated.

Course tactics: where Big Sur tests your plan

• Miles 0 to 5: downhill through the redwoods, past Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and the River Inn. Easy to run too fast. Take your first gel at about 20 minutes, even if it feels too early.
• Miles 5 to 9: open ranch land past Andrew Molera State Park. Fog, or a headwind on sunny days. The first real hill starts just after mile 8, then you drop to the Little Sur River Bridge. Fuel here, before the climb.
• Miles 10 to 12: Hurricane Point. Taiko drummers halfway up at mile 11. The hill blocks the wind until the summit, where it can be strong. Sip only; gel at the top.
• Miles 12 to 15: the winding descent to Bixby Bridge at halfway, with the piano. Let your stomach settle, then climb again from mile 15. Mile 15.2 is the first cutoff.
• Miles 15 to 21: rolling hills over Garrapata and Granite Canyon bridges to Soberanes Point. The second course gel is at mile 19.0. Attention drops here; a watch alert every 25 to 30 minutes matters more than any single station.
• Miles 21 to 26.2: Malpaso Bridge and the Carmel Highlands, with short steep hills on a tilted road, then strawberries at mile 23.2 and a last hill of about 90 ft near mile 26. Your last carbohydrate should be in by about mile 23.

The long-run rehearsal that makes the plan real

Use at least two long runs as full simulations. For Big Sur that means two things most rehearsals skip. First, the early breakfast: eat at your real bus time, then wait two to three hours before you start running, so you learn whether you need a bigger start snack. Second, the hill: put a two-mile climb around mile 10 of your long run and practise the gel before it and the gel after it. Wear the same belt, carry the same products, and run in the cold if you can.

The second rehearsal is where you simplify. If carrying eight gels is awkward, use a carb drink flask for the first hour and the two course gels. If a gel every 25 minutes feels stressful, link your gels to the stations; they come about every 2 miles. The best plan is the one you can still follow in the Carmel Highlands.

Race-week Big Sur checklist

• Recheck the official course page and the 2027 participant guide for the aid station list and gel miles.
• Pick up your bus ticket with your bib, note the exact departure time, and work breakfast backward from it.
• Lay out every carried item, add one backup, and write grams and timing on one card.
• Pack a start-village snack and warm throwaway layers, including gloves.
• Tear notches in your gels the night before or on the bus.
• Check the forecast 48 hours out and adjust layers and fluid, not the whole plan.
• If you are running Boston 2 Big Sur, plan recovery eating right after Boston, because the two races are less than a week apart.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and update notes

1. 1Big Sur International Marathon: MarathonBig Sur Marathon FoundationAccessed October 9, 2026; 2027 date, start time, elevation, bus times, time limit and cutoffs, aid stations
2. 2Marathon Course InfoBig Sur Marathon FoundationAid station provisions, gels, fruit, Strawberry Station, average temperature and humidity
3. 32026 Marathon Participant GuideBig Sur Marathon FoundationLast published guide; bus rules, start village, corrals, gear check, aid station miles, cutoffs
4. 4Course TourBig Sur Marathon FoundationMile-by-mile landmarks, Hurricane Point miles 10 to 12, wind and fog notes
5. 5PF 30 GelPrecision Fuel and Hydration30 g of carbohydrate per gel
6. 6PH 1000 at IRONMANPrecision Fuel and Hydration1,000 mg of sodium per litre; described as a low-calorie electrolyte drink
7. 7Nutrition for Athletics: 2019 IAAF Consensus StatementWorld AthleticsCarbohydrate ranges, pre-race meal, and hydration guidance
8. 8Nutrition and Athletic Performance: Joint Position StatementACSM, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada (2016)Carbohydrate before and during endurance events
9. 9A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During ExerciseSports Medicine (Jeukendrup, 2014)Multiple transportable carbohydrates and intakes above 60 g per hour
10. 10International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Caffeine and Exercise PerformanceJISSN (2021)3 to 6 mg per kg dosing guidance
11. 11April Weather in Carmel-by-the-SeaWeather SparkLate-April temperature, wet-day, and wind averages at the finish