Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair 10K Race Course Full Guide

The Route, The Run And Beers In The Beach Bar

 

The annual Manhattan Beach Old Hometown Fair starts at 7:30 on the first Saturday morning of October with the annual 1OK, which brings in about 5,000 area runners.

It is a great way to start this festive weekend, which for many means an afternoon in the beer garden, a tradition if ever there was one in this seaside city in L.A.

PubClub.com runs in it every year (well, when not at Buccaneer Days on Catalina) and provides this look at the course, the finish line and the unofficial post-race party at Shellback. Exercise and socialize!

The 2021 race is Saturday, Oct. 2.

The course has a few hills – gradual grades at 22nd Street on Valley/Ardmore, a somewhat challenging rise past Sand Dune Park and a big uphill on Rosecrans – but there are bands along the way to provide entertainment relief.

The course starts at Valley/Ardmore at 3rd Street, rolls through downtown, goes up Manhattan Beach Blvd., and south along Valley/Ardmore.

The course then turns north on Valley/Ardmore (with a few more rolling hills) and past Marine Ave. A couple of bands here help the psyche of getting up those hills.

From there, it goes through the tree section, past Sand Dune Park – the little rise past the Armory is tougher than it first appears, much more of an uphill grade than the upcoming hill at Rosecrans – and past El Taracso for a nice little whiff of what you’ll be having for dinner later that night after being in the beer garden all day.

It is then a “pump the breaks” downhill jog to 36th Street and finally onto The Strand for the final 1 1/2 miles to the finish at the Pier.

The finish line is predictably packed. This is where you pick up your t-shirt – and they have had some great ones over the years – with sponsors giving out free stuff in the Shellback parking lot.

Also highly popular is Shellback Tavern. In fact, it is far more packed after the race than it during the 6-man. Bloody Marys are lined up on the bar like the t-shirts in the bins out on the street and pitchers of beer are consumed by thirsty runners. Even a few race officials are in Shellback after the race, which shows this is really the official post-race gathering spot.

As always, the 10K proves to be an excellent warm-up to the two-day fair.