Race-day weather · Sunday, April 25, 2027

Big Sur Marathon weather.

25 Big Sur Marathon race mornings since 2000, measured hour by hour: temperature, dew point, wind, rain, and what the weather cost runners. The forecast for the 2027 race goes live here on Apr 19, six days out.

96 Typical score
at the start
The median race morning since 2000: 50°F air + 46°F dew point at 6:45am, across 25 race mornings at the Monterey Regional Airport weather station. No adjustment needed.
Start · 6:45am9650° air · 46° dew point
+2 hours · 8:45am10154° air · 47° dew point
+4 hours · 10:45am10557° air · 48° dew point

Your goal pace on a typical race morning

Built from the median race morning since 2000, averaged across the hours you’d be running. Where the weather costs time, each cell gives the adjusted finish time and the pace per mile to run instead. Six days out, the real forecast replaces it.

Goal on a cool dayAdjusted finish
2:456:18/miNo changescore 100
3:006:52/miNo changescore 100
3:157:26/mi3:15 to 3:167:26–7:28/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 101
3:308:01/mi3:30 to 3:318:01–8:03/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 101
3:458:35/mi3:45 to 3:468:35–8:37/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 101
4:009:09/mi4:00 to 4:019:09–9:12/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 101
4:3010:18/mi4:30 to 4:3110:18–10:21/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 102
5:0011:27/mi5:00 to 5:0111:27–11:30/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 102
How I’d race a typical year

Run your goal pace. The weather will cost you a few seconds in the last 10K, not the first, so bank nothing early and take water at every station after mile 10.

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Big Sur Marathon weather history: every race morning since 2000

Every row in the table below is a measurement from the Monterey Regional Airport weather station, taken nearest 6:45am (today’s first-wave start) and again three hours later. Start times have moved over the years, so treat 6:45am as a clock time, not always the gun. Across 25 race mornings:

  • A typical 6:45am reading is 50°F with a 46°F dew point, a combined score of 96.
  • The warmest was 2018: 54°F with a 48°F dew point at 6:45am, a score of 102.
  • The most humid was 2016, with a 50°F dew point.
  • The coldest was 2002, at 42°F.
  • On 4 of 25 race mornings the 6:45am score was above 100, enough to call for a pace adjustment. Three hours later, 17 of 24 were.
  • The weather changed the race itself in 2024 (out-and-back course after a Highway 1 slip-out) and 2011 (out-and-back course after a Highway 1 collapse).
  • The windiest start was 2002: E wind at 8 mph.
  • Rain fell in the first 5 hours on 1 of 25 race mornings (1 more saw only a trace). The most rain measured was 0.10 inches, in 2025.
Big Sur Marathon weather by year · air / dew point (°F), combined score, wind and rain
YearDateAir / dew at 6:45amScoreAir / dew at 9:45amScoreWind at 6:45amRain
2026Apr 2652° / 47°9955° / 48°103SSE 5 mphTrace
2025Apr 2753° / 49°10253° / 50°103WSW 6 mph0.10 in
2024Apr 28Out-and-back course after a Highway 1 slip-out53° / 49°10257° / 49°106W 6 mphDry
2023Apr 3049° / 48°9752° / 48°100WSW 7 mphDry
2022Apr 2451° / 48°9957° / 48°105CalmDry
2021–Cancelled (COVID-19)
2020–Virtual only (COVID-19), no race morning
2019Apr 2852° / 45°9754° / 45°996 mphDry
2018Apr 2954° / 48°10256° / 50°106W 7 mphDry
2017Apr 3050° / 49°9960° / 50°110SSE 3 mphDry
2016Apr 2454° / 50°10457° / 51°108WSW 3 mphDry
2015Apr 2650° / 46°9656° / 45°101S 6 mphDry
2014Apr 2753° / 41°9460° / 48°108E 7 mphDry
2013Apr 2847° / 44°9152° / 46°98E 7 mphDry
2012Apr 2951° / 48°9954° / 50°104SE 5 mphDry
2011May 1Out-and-back course after a Highway 1 collapse43° / 34°7761° / 40°101E 3 mphDry
2010Apr 2545° / 41°8659° / 47°106E 3 mphDry
2009Apr 2650° / 39°8952° / 39°91W 6 mphDry
2008Apr 2754° / 46°10060° / 49°109CalmDry
2007Apr 2949° / 48°9751° / 47°98CalmDry
2006Apr 3050° / 50°100––ESE 5 mphDry
2005Apr 2452° / 44°9658° / 48°106SE 6 mphDry
2004Apr 2554° / 46°10069° / 50°119CalmDry
2003Apr 2748° / 37°8555° / 39°94S 6 mphDry
2002Apr 2842° / 38°8053° / 43°96E 8 mphDry
2001Apr 2947° / 43°9056° / 45°101S 5 mphDry
2000Apr 3046° / 43°8957° / 48°105ESE 6 mphDry

Readings from the Monterey Regional Airport ASOS weather station (NOAA/FAA, via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet), the observation nearest each hour. Scores above 100 call for a pace adjustment. Rain is the total the station measured in the 5 hours after 6:45am. Download every hour as a CSV.

How the score works

Add the air temperature to the dew point, both in Fahrenheit. That combined score is closer to what your body feels than the temperature alone, because dew point decides whether your sweat can evaporate, and evaporating sweat is how you shed heat at race pace. The bands below are the same ones my heat pace calculator uses, and that page has the full chart and the physiology behind it.

Combined score → how much to slow down
  • 100 or lessNo pace adjustment
  • 101 – 1100% to 0.5% slower
  • 111 – 1200.5% to 1% slower
  • 121 – 1301% to 2% slower
  • 131 – 1402% to 3% slower
  • 141 – 1503% to 4.5% slower
  • 151 – 1604.5% to 6% slower
  • 161 – 1706% to 8% slower
  • 171 – 1808% to 10% slower
  • Above 180Hard running is not recommended

The bands are a coach's rule of thumb, not a lab measurement. Treat each range as a starting point and let effort make the final call.

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Other race-day weather pages

Twin Cities MarathonSunday, October 4, 202695Race day at the startNo adjustment needed Chicago MarathonSunday, October 11, 2026113Race day at the startSlight penalty: 0.5% to 1% slower Columbus MarathonSunday, October 18, 202664Forecast at the startNo adjustment needed Detroit MarathonSunday, October 18, 202672Forecast at the startNo adjustment needed Marine Corps MarathonSunday, October 25, 202694Typical startNo adjustment needed NYC MarathonSunday, November 1, 202683Typical startNo adjustment needed Philadelphia MarathonSunday, November 22, 202673Typical startNo adjustment needed California International MarathonSunday, December 6, 202683Typical startNo adjustment needed Honolulu MarathonSunday, December 13, 2026136Typical startReal penalty: 2% to 3% slower Houston MarathonSunday, January 17, 202784Typical startNo adjustment needed LA MarathonSunday, March 7, 202799Typical startNo adjustment needed Atlanta MarathonSunday, March 7, 202797Typical startNo adjustment needed Jersey City MarathonSunday, April 18, 202791Typical startNo adjustment needed Boston MarathonMonday, April 19, 202784Typical startNo adjustment needed Rock 'n' Roll Nashville MarathonSaturday, April 24, 2027111Typical startSlight penalty: 0.5% to 1% slower Eugene MarathonSunday, April 25, 202789Typical startNo adjustment needed Flying Pig MarathonSunday, May 2, 2027102Typical startBarely a penalty: 0% to 0.5% slower Pittsburgh MarathonSunday, May 2, 202799Typical startNo adjustment needed OC MarathonSunday, May 2, 2027110Typical startBarely a penalty: 0% to 0.5% slower Colfax MarathonSunday, May 16, 202781Typical startNo adjustment needed Rock 'n' Roll San Diego MarathonSunday, June 6, 2027119Typical startSlight penalty: 0.5% to 1% slower Grandma's MarathonSaturday, June 19, 2027112Typical startSlight penalty: 0.5% to 1% slower San Francisco MarathonSunday, July 25, 2027109Typical startBarely a penalty: 0% to 0.5% slower

Course guides, mile by mile: Twin Cities Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Columbus Marathon, Detroit Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, NYC Marathon, Philadelphia Marathon, California International Marathon, Honolulu Marathon, Houston Marathon, LA Marathon, Jersey City Marathon, Boston Marathon, Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon, Eugene Marathon, Flying Pig Marathon, Pittsburgh Marathon, OC Marathon, Colfax Marathon, Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon, Grandma's Marathon, San Francisco Marathon. All race-day weather pages.

RunFitCoach is not affiliated with the Big Sur International Marathon or its organizers. Observations from the Monterey Regional Airport ASOS station (NOAA/FAA) via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Data updated Saturday, October 17, 2026.

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