Cancelled Event
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
About the Race
9/20/2024 UPDATE ***11/9/24 Race Cancelled ***
Unfortunately, the fire still burns in Cleveland National Forest. El Cariso Village took a lot of damage, thankfully no lives were lost. Though we have some containment, as I expected, the Forest Service is keeping the trails closed. What I did not expect was what we just learned: The Forest Service has issued a blanket closure across Trabuco District in its entirety. For now, this closure eliminates devising a new route any time in the near future. We regret to say that the Saddleback Marathon in November is cancelled. Our prayers are with the residents and everyone fighting the fires and also the Santiago hand crew involved in the rollover accident last night on the 241! ❤️💔❤️
9/19/24 UPDATE: The Saddleback Marathon has been postponed due to the "Airport Fire" out of Trabuco Canyon. Please standby while we gather our witts, search out closure announcements (because permit holders are not personally notified) and update everyone via email and website posts.
** The Airport Fire, which began in Trabuco Cyn on 9/9/24 is still burning. We have no report yet on the status of the course trails. We will update you as soon as we learn anything. If our trails are affected, our first choice always is to move the race, not cancel **
The Saddleback Marathon has been re-routed for the past few years due to #HolyFire & other issues. In 2024, we were hoping to return to our original route but it is looking very likely that one of the trails will not be ready. Therefore, we will be modifying it some, same Start/Finish with some paved campground road, dirt truck trail and single track trails as usual. We promise it will be just as daunting. Elevation gain is significant (roughly 5,600') for the marathon (less for shorter distances). Check out our website for profiles.
Come out and enjoy the wilderness!
Details
Check in: 6:30 am - 7:00 am
Race Announcements: 6:45 am
Race Start: 7:30 am (8:00, 8:30)
Cut off: Due to the difficult nature of the course, this race does have cut offs. The reason for cut offs is that we want to ensure that runners and volunteers are off the course before dark. Sunset is at 4:52 pm on race day.
Aid Station Cut off Times:
AS 5 Santiago Peak mile 13.5 12:00 pm (4.5 hrs)
AS 7 Indian/Main Divide mile 17.7 1:30 pm (6 hrs)
AS 9 Trabuco/Main Divide mile 23.55 3:30 pm (8 hrs)
Early Start Check-in: 5:30 am. Early Start runners must meet the following conditions:
1) Must be experienced trail runners, preferrably on these trails.
2) Available only to slower runners (we will check race times).
3) Early Start runners must contact race director 1 week prior to start. lauren@otrraces.com.
Parking requires a valid Adventure Pass. Day passes are available for $5 at Big 5 Stores, The Candy Store on Ortega Hwy and a number of other businesses. You can also purchase parking for $5 at the front camping kiosk.
Refunds
Refunds
No Refunds. This race does not allow refunds of any kind. Race entries will be applied to the following year's race should the Saddleback Marathon get cancelled due to circumstances beyond the race director's control (fire, government, shutdown, etc). Our first choice is not to cancel. We always have a Plan B. If the trail becomes unavailable, we will move to Plan B if possible.
Please see website for complete details.
Event's current local time: 4:47 AM PT
