Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego Marathon and half 2027 fueling guide: aid stations, AMACX gels, the 6:15 start, and a plan for every finish time

Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego 2027 runs on June 5 to 6, 2027. The marathon and half marathon start together at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 6, at Sixth Avenue and Quince Street in Balboa Park, and finish downtown at Ash Street and Union Street. The 2027 aid station list is not out yet. Based on the last edition’s official race-week guide, you get water at every station, Mortal Hydration at every other one, and AMACX gels at miles 7.9, 13.3 and 21.7 of the marathon. Half marathoners pass only the mile 7.9 gel table. Each gel has 30 g of carbohydrate. That is a useful top-up, but most runners still need to carry their own gels.

Most people at this race run the half, so this guide covers both distances. The two courses share the first 8 miles (13 km) through Hillcrest, North Park and Normal Heights. Then the half turns back through Balboa Park and down to the finish, while the marathon heads to Old Town, Mission Bay and the late climb on Highway 163. Below you will find the confirmed 2027 facts, the 2026 station list, when you will reach each station at your pace, plans for both distances, and what to eat before a 6:15 start. The organizer says the 2027 courses are coming soon and the 2027 Final Information guide will come out closer to race weekend, so recheck everything in race week.

Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego 2027: the confirmed race facts

The wave start matters for fueling. In 2026, corrals were released every 2 minutes 30 seconds. Corral 1 left at 6:15, marathon corral 15 (the last marathon corral) at about 6:50, and half marathon corral 26 at about 7:17. So a half marathoner in a back corral starts an hour after the gun. Plan breakfast, caffeine and your pre-start gel from your own corral time, which is printed on your bib, not from 6:15.

What is on the Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego course: aid stations by mile

The station list below is the 2026 Final Information guide’s list, the latest official one. That year the marathon got 18 aid stations, which the guide called new, including an extra gel station at mile 21.7. Station areas are approximate, read from the 2026 official course maps. The first five stations are shared by both distances. After mile 7.9 the half runs its own three stations at 9.0, 9.8 and 12.1.

The gel. The guide calls the gel stations The Feed Energy Station and names the product as AMACX Gel. The Feed sells a Rock ’n’ Roll on-course pack that it calls the series’ official on-course nutrition, and it lists the AMACX Drink Gel at 60 ml, 30 g of carbohydrate in a 2:1 glucose to fructose mix, and 200 mg of sodium, in a citrus flavor. The 2026 guide did not say which flavor would be served. It is a thin, drinkable gel, so it goes down easily, but if you have never tried it, buy a few and use them in long runs, or carry your own and treat the course gels as spares.

The sports drink. Mortal Hydration is an electrolyte drink, not a carbohydrate drink. The Feed lists it at 10 g of carbohydrate and 450 mg of sodium per serving, mixed in 22 oz (650 ml) of water. If the stations mix it at that strength, which is not published, a 5 oz (150 ml) cup gives only about 2 g of carbohydrate and about 100 mg of sodium. Count it as fluid and salt, and count your carbohydrate from gels.

When you will reach each station at your pace

These tables show elapsed time from your own start at an even pace. The course is not flat, so real splits will drift: you will run a little behind these times on the early climbs and on Highway 163, and ahead on the descents. Add your corral start time to get the clock time.

Look at the gaps between gel stations: 5.4 miles (8.7 km) from 7.9 to 13.3, then 8.4 miles (13.5 km) from 13.3 to 21.7. For a 5:00 runner, that second gap is about an hour and a half, with only the bananas at 16.3 in between. The cut-off row matters for the slowest runners. A 7:00 finish is an average of about 16:01 per mile and reaches mile 8.3 at about 2:13. From corral 15’s expected 6:50 start in 2026, that is about 9:03, two minutes inside the 9:05 cut-off.

For half marathoners, the one course gel arrives at 54 minutes for a 1:30 runner and at 1:12 for a 2:00 runner. Stations come about every 10 minutes at a 1:30 pace and every 20 to 25 minutes at a 3:30 pace, so it is easy to tie each gel to a station.

Pick your plan: marathon and half marathon runner profiles

World Athletics’ consensus statement gives 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour as the usual range for events of about one to two and a half hours and for the marathon, and its companion paper on distance runners suggests trained runners try up to 90 g per hour in events longer than about two and a half hours. Research on multiple transportable carbohydrates shows intakes above 60 g per hour only absorb well when the product mixes glucose and fructose and the gut has been trained for it. With 25 g gels, one every 30 minutes gives 50 g per hour, every 25 minutes gives 60 g, and every 20 minutes gives 75 g. Each AMACX course gel counts as 30 g.

Racing it: at 75 g per hour, a 3:00 race needs about 225 g, which is nine 25 g gels, or six of yours plus the three AMACX gels (240 g). Take the first one around 20 minutes, near the mile 2.7 station, and the last one at about 2:30, around mile 21.7. Build your number over eight to ten weeks of long runs, starting at 60 g and adding 10 to 15 g every second week while your stomach stays quiet. Because 3:00 runners pass the gel tables at 54 minutes, 1:31 and 2:29, the course gels fit neatly into a 20 to 30 minute rhythm.

Steady marathon: think in grams. A 4:00 race at 60 g per hour is 240 g. The three course gels give 90 g, so carry six 25 g gels (150 g) to reach 240 g, plus one spare. The long gap is the problem: from 13.3 (about 2:02 at this pace) to 21.7 (about 3:19) you need two or three of your own gels. Write the grams next to each item and total each hour.

Long day: six hours on your feet at 50 g per hour is 300 g. The course gives you about 90 g from gels and about 13 g from half a banana, so carry about eight gels or an equal mix of gels and chews. Small, frequent doses work best: half a gel every 15 minutes is easier on the stomach than a full gel every 30. If you are close to the 7-hour limit, eat on schedule from the first hour; a bad patch on Friars Road or Highway 163 is what pushes runners past the limit.

A 2:00 half at 50 g per hour needs about 100 g: a gel before the start, then gels at about 30 minutes (mile 2.7 to 4.0), 1:12 (the AMACX gel at mile 7.9) and 1:30 (mile 9.8). That is three of your own plus the course gel, about 105 g. Take your last gel by mile 10 at most paces. After that, the course drops about 350 ft (about 105 m) down Pershing Drive, and a gel there has little time to help.

Caffeine, sodium, and the Mortal Hydration stations

• Caffeine: the ISSN position stand supports 3 to 6 mg per kg taken about 60 minutes before exercise. For a 70 kg runner, 3 mg per kg is 210 mg. Time it from your corral start, not from 6:15.
• Caffeinated gels late in the marathon are fine if you have tested them; count their caffeine toward your total. The AMACX gel in The Feed’s pack does not list caffeine.
• Sodium: ACSM’s fluid position stand suggests drinks with about 20 to 30 mmol of sodium per litre (about 460 to 690 mg) during long exercise. At 0.4 to 0.8 litres an hour, that is roughly 200 to 550 mg of sodium per hour.
• Each AMACX gel has 200 mg of sodium, so the three marathon course gels give 600 mg. Mortal Hydration adds about 100 mg per cup if mixed to the label. On a cool, overcast morning most runners will not need a salt product on top.
• Heavy or salty sweaters, and anyone still running at midday in sunshine, can add a tested electrolyte product in that range.
• At the finish, the 2026 guide lists Celsius, which it describes as a zero-sugar energy drink. It will not refuel you with carbohydrate, and it contains caffeine, so check the can if you want to sleep in the afternoon.

Hydration for a June morning in San Diego

NOAA’s 1991 to 2026 normals for San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, by the bay near the finish, give a low of about 62 °F (16 °C) and a high of about 70 °F (21 °C) on June 6. The organizer lists an average air temperature of 68 °F (20 °C) for race weekend. Late spring and early summer are the season of the marine layer, which locals call May Gray and June Gloom: low, flat stratus cloud that forms over the cool ocean, according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Sunrise on June 6 is at about 5:40 a.m., before the gun. Many race mornings start cool and grey, but the course runs several miles inland, and conditions there can differ from the airport. Fast runners finish in the cool part of the morning; 6:00 to 7:00 marathoners run until about 12:15 to 1:50 p.m.

ACSM’s fluid guidance says to drink enough to avoid losing more than 2 percent of body weight, and suggests 0.4 to 0.8 litres an hour as a starting point. World Athletics also warns against drinking more than you sweat; finishing heavier than you started is a sign of overdrinking. With 18 marathon stations, you do not need to drink at all of them.

• Test your sweat rate in one cool and one warm long run. Weigh yourself before and after, without clothes, and account for what you drank.
• Pick your priority stations now: the Mortal stations for sips, and the water stations where your gels fall.
• Ask for help at any station or medical tent for confusion, severe headache, repeated vomiting, or collapse. In 2026, medical tents were at miles 3.6, 5.9 and 8.1 for both races, 9.9 and 12.3 on the half, and 11.0, 13.5, 16.0, 19.3, 21.1, 23.5 and 25.4 on the marathon.

Breakfast and timing for a 6:15 start

A familiar carbohydrate-rich meal one to four hours before racing is the standard framework, and ACSM gives 1 to 4 g of carbohydrate per kg in that window. A 6:15 start makes it early. In 2026, gear check in Balboa Park opened at 5:00 a.m. and closed at 6:30, the organizer advised arriving 45 to 60 minutes before the start, corrals opened 30 minutes before, and pacers from the San Diego Track Club met at 5:30. The guide suggested parking near the finish at Union St and Ash St and walking less than a mile up Sixth Ave to the start, or using Fifth Ave between Palm and Quince for a rideshare drop-off.

• Option A, about 3:15 to 4:00 a.m., 2.5 to 3 hours before: a practised breakfast such as white bread or a bagel with jam or honey, a banana and juice, about 1.5 to 2.5 g of carbohydrate per kg.
• Option B, about 4:15 a.m., 2 hours before, for more sleep: a smaller meal of about 1 g per kg, such as a white roll with honey and a sports drink. Make dinner the night before your bigger carbohydrate meal.
• Back corrals: if your corral starts at 7:00 or later, move everything about 45 minutes later, and keep a small snack for the wait.
• 5:00 to 5:45: sip a sports drink you know, in small amounts, so you are not in a toilet queue at the corral.
• About 60 minutes before your corral starts: caffeine, at the dose you have practised.
• 10 to 15 minutes before your corral starts: an optional gel, only if used in training.
• Collect your bib at the expo on Friday, June 4, or Saturday, June 5, by 5:00 p.m. If you run the Saturday 5K for the Remix Challenge, eat a normal carbohydrate-rich lunch and dinner afterward.

Course tactics: where San Diego tempts you

Based on the 2026 official course maps and elevation profiles. Positions are approximate, and the 2027 courses may change.

• Start to mile 2.5, both races: north on Sixth Ave and east through Hillcrest and North Park on Robinson and University. The profile climbs from 288 ft (88 m) to about 400 ft (122 m). It is cool and crowded; hold back, because this is the climb that costs most runners their pace later.
• Miles 2.5 to 8, both races: up 30th St to Normal Heights, the Mountain View Drive loop, Adams Ave, then south through City Heights to the first gel table at 7.9. The road rolls at about 400 ft. Have your first carried gel in by mile 4.
• Half, miles 8 to 13.1: back west through North Park, then down Pershing Drive along the east side of Balboa Park and along B St to the finish. The last 3 miles drop about 350 ft (about 105 m). Fuel should be finished by mile 10; on the descent, keep your stride short and let gravity help.
• Marathon, miles 8 to 14: west on University Ave past the 8.3 cut-off, through Hillcrest and Mission Hills, then a steep drop to Old Town and the second gel at 13.3. Do not race the downhill; your quads need to last to mile 23.
• Marathon, miles 14 to 21.5: the flat valley section along the San Diego River, out to Sea World Drive and back via Morena Blvd and Friars Rd. This is where runners who stopped eating start to slow. Keep a gel every 25 to 30 minutes and take half a banana at 16.3 if you have tested fruit.
• Marathon, miles 21.5 to 26.2: the third gel at 21.7, then the organizer’s own “Highway to Hill” on Highway 163, climbing back to about 300 ft (91 m) around miles 22 to 23. The guide’s tip from the San Diego Track Club is to shorten your stride and not try to hold your flat pace. After the top, the last miles drop through Balboa Park to the finish downtown.

The long-run rehearsal that makes the plan real

Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego asks you to eat at about 4:00 a.m. and run at 6:15 or later. Rehearse both. In April and May, schedule two or three long runs that start at the same clock time as your corral. Eat the same breakfast at the same time, carry the gels you plan to use, and take them at the times in your plan. Buy a few AMACX drink gels and use them in at least two of those runs. Marathoners should finish one long run on a long hill after 18 to 20 miles (29 to 32 km), so the 163 climb is not the first time you fuel and climb on tired legs.

Then simplify. If carrying seven gels is awkward, use the three course gels as planned doses, but only if you have tried them. If a gel every 25 minutes is hard to remember with a band playing next to you, tie each gel to a station instead. The best plan is the one you can still follow on Friars Road at mile 20, or on Pershing Drive at mile 11.

Race-week Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego checklist

• Recheck the 2027 Final Information guide when it comes out: the course, station miles, the gel and drink brands, the cut-off and your corral time.
• In the 36 to 48 hours before the race, eat a high-carbohydrate diet. ACSM’s joint position statement sets carbohydrate loading at 10 to 12 g per kg per day for events longer than 90 minutes, which covers the marathon and most half marathoners.
• Lay out every carried item, add one spare, and write grams and timing on one card, including the course gels you plan to use.
• Plan your morning backward from your corral time: breakfast, parking or drop-off, gear check before 6:30, and the walk to Sixth Ave.
• Do not buy an unfamiliar gel at the expo because it looks good. Test new products in training, not on race day.
• Check the forecast 48 hours out. If it shows sun and warmth inland rather than marine layer cloud, adjust fluid, sodium and sun protection, not the whole plan.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and update notes

1. 1Rock ’n’ Roll Running Series San DiegoRock ’n’ Roll Running Series (official site)Accessed November 2, 2026; June 5 to 6, 2027, marathon, half marathon and 5K, start in Balboa Park, finish downtown, average 68 °F
2. 2Event ScheduleRock ’n’ Roll Running Series (official site)Accessed November 2, 2026; 2027 start times and locations, expo dates and hours, Finish Line Festival
3. 3Course OverviewRock ’n’ Roll Running Series (official site)Accessed November 2, 2026; 2026 start and finish, 7-hour and 4-hour limits, links to course maps; 2027 courses coming soon
4. 42026 San Diego Final InformationRock ’n’ Roll Running Series (linked from the official Race Week page)Last edition; aid stations by mile with Mortal Hydration, AMACX gel and bananas, time limits, minimum paces, mile 8.3 cut-off, corral times, gear check, medical tents, carrying your own nutrition, finish refreshments
5. 52026 Marathon Course MapRock ’n’ Roll Running Series (official site)Last edition; route, station positions and elevation profile (start 288 ft, finish 54 ft, gain 1,198 ft)
6. 62026 Half Marathon Course MapRock ’n’ Roll Running Series (official site)Last edition; route, station positions and elevation profile (start 288 ft, finish 54 ft, gain 588 ft)
7. 7Race WeekRock ’n’ Roll Running Series (official site)Accessed November 2, 2026; time limits, mile 8.3 cut-off, gear check; 2027 Final Information to come closer to race weekend
8. 8FAQsRock ’n’ Roll Running Series (official site)Water, sports drink and sport gel along the course; bib pickup with photo ID at the expo
9. 9RnR On-Course PackThe FeedAccessed November 2, 2026; AMACX Drink Gel 60 ml, 30 g carbohydrate (2:1 glucose to fructose), 200 mg sodium; Mortal Hydration 10 g carbohydrate and 450 mg sodium per 22 oz serving
10. 10U.S. Climate Normals 1991 to 2020: San Diego Lindbergh Field (USW00023188)NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDaily normals for June 6: high 70.4 °F, low 61.6 °F; June monthly normals high 71.7 °F, low 62.6 °F
11. 11Voyager: Can May Gray be Predicted?Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San DiegoWhat the May Gray and June Gloom marine layer is and why it forms along the coast
12. 12Bananas, raw (FDC ID 173944)USDA FoodData Central22.8 g carbohydrate per 100 g; a medium banana is 118 g
13. 13International Association of Athletics Federations Consensus Statement 2019: Nutrition for AthleticsInternational Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (Burke et al., 2019), PMID 30952204Carbohydrate ranges, pre-race meal, and hydration guidance
14. 14Contemporary Nutrition Strategies to Optimize Performance in Distance Runners and Race WalkersInternational Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (Burke et al., 2019), PMID 30747558Marathon carbohydrate intake, including up to 90 g per hour for trained runners in longer events
15. 15Nutrition and Athletic Performance: Joint Position StatementAmerican College of Sports Medicine (Thomas et al., 2016), PMID 268911661 to 4 g per kg carbohydrate 1 to 4 hours before exercise; carbohydrate loading at 10 to 12 g per kg for 36 to 48 hours
16. 16Exercise and Fluid Replacement: Position StandAmerican College of Sports Medicine (Sawka et al., 2007), PMID 17277604Avoid more than 2 percent body weight loss; 0.4 to 0.8 litres per hour starting point; 20 to 30 mmol sodium per litre
17. 17A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During ExerciseSports Medicine (Jeukendrup, 2014), PMID 24791914Multiple transportable carbohydrates and intakes above 60 g per hour
18. 18International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Caffeine and Exercise PerformanceJISSN (Guest et al., 2021), PMID 333880793 to 6 mg per kg, about 60 minutes before exercise