| Bgcolour: | orange |
| Date: | November |
| Location: | Santa Barbara, California |
| Type: | Road |
| Distance: | Marathon and half marathon |
| Sponsor: | Select Staffing |
| Est: | 1965 (but not held 1985-2008) |
| Record: | 2:24:02 |
| Homepage: | http://www.sbimarathon.com/ |
The Santa Barbara International Marathon and Half Marathon is a road race in Southern California. The race was first run in 1965[1] and was one of the first marathons in California.[2] Since Santa Barbara itself is a popular tourist destination, it is also becoming a popular destination marathon.[3] The point-to-point marathon course currently start at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta and finish at Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, California. The marathon race can be used to obtain a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.[4]
After a break of 24 years, the new series began on December 6, 2009.[5] For the last five years the Santa Barbara City College has been the official host for the finish line and general operations. Rusty and June Snow are the co-directors of the race with Dan Campbell as the technical director. The Snow's moved from the East Coast and wanted to bring a marathon to Santa Barbara. After a few years of getting the race approved and organized it was finally set to happen in 2009, Rusty Snow states, “I learned to be stubborn from running marathons.” The Santa Barbara International Marathon course serves as a Boston Marathon qualifier.[6]
The races begins in Goleta, California. The runners follow the roads through the Goleta area, travel toward the outskirts of Isla Vista, the college town of the University of California Santa Barbara and twist and turn through residential areas.[7] The runners make their way toward the heart of Santa Barbara and face a significant incline near the end of the race. Once the athletes conquer the hill there is downhill slope with the Pacific Ocean in full view as they head into the Santa Barbara City College stadium.
The original Santa Barbara marathon took place from 1965 to 1984. A group of distance runners created the event. During this time frame in the United States, only five annual marathons were up and running. In 1965, twenty seven individuals started the race, which began at the University of California Santa Barbara and ended at the Santa Barbara City College, where seventeen runners finished the race. The following year, the City College served as the start and finish line. During the race, there were no aid stations and runners did not have the roads blocked off to prevent vehicle traffic. In 1977, there were a total of 354 runners, but the number of participants began to decline, and the event eventually ended as runners were attracted to other more popular marathons.
In 2012, the New York City Marathon was cancelled due to the destruction of Hurricane Sandy.[14] The race directors offered a discount to participate in the Santa Barbara International Marathon and Half Marathon to those that were scheduled to run the New York City Marathon.
In 2009, co-directors Rusty and June Snow gathered leftover water bottles and bars and gave them to the local Santa Barbara Foodbank. Any clothing that was left on the course was donated to the Unity Shoppe.
In 2011, the race directors donated one dollar from each participants' registration fee to give to the Community Environmental Council which totaled a five thousand dollar donation.[15] Rusty Snow, one of the race directors made this statement about partnering with this organization, “We need to be thoughtful and protect that place we live and run. One reason people come to run the marathon is to experience the beauty of the region. We want to protect that for years to come, for our runners and for our community.”
Key:
| Date | Men | Country | Time | Women | Country | Time | Finishers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancelled 2015. No full-length marathon distance since then.[17] | |||||||||
| [18] | Sammy Mutai | 2:31:40 | Paige Burgin | 3:06:39 | 864 | ||||
| [19] | Peter Kemboi | 2:25:10 | Elisa Karhu | 2:42:44.4 | 1,092 | ||||
| [20] | Abraham Kogo | 2:23:09 | Paige Higgins | 2:48:34.6 | 1,379 | ||||
| Felix Marube Moninda | 2:22:28 | Kathryn O'Brien | 3:06:03 | 883[21] | |||||
| Felix Marube Moninda | 2:25:49 | Liz Gottlieb | 3:01:07 | 1,000[22] | |||||
| Carlos Handler | 2:24:48 | Andrea McLarty | 2:52:23.6 | 1,686[23] | |||||
| No races held 1985-2008 | |||||||||
| Robert Hollister | 2:25:21 | Elaine Triplett | 2:54:21 | ||||||
| ... | |||||||||
| Joe Carlson | 2:24:02 | Mary Jane Rense | 3:15:39 | ||||||
| ... | |||||||||
| Michael Kimball | 2:26:23.9 | 3:57:50.9 | |||||||
| James van Manen | 2:37:48.4 | No women allowed | ... | ... | |||||