Big Sur International Marathon

There are only two days left to support the Big Sur Marathon Foundation’s JUST RUN Youth Running Program through Monterey County Gives! All tax-deductible contributions received by midnight Pacific time on Thursday, December 31, are eligible for the MC Gives! matching fund. This is our first opportunity in years to be a part of this unique community fund-raising effort along with 160 other area organizations. We hope with a good result, our youth running program will be invit...ed to join this fundraising effort again. We know it is unusual to ask for financial support from fans of our organization including past and perhaps future participants. But we all know there has been nothing usual about 2020. Our non-profit organization is doing everything we can to both cut expenses and raise funds to survive to again produce beautiful races and programs. All of our 2020 and planned 2021 races have been cancelled due to the pandemic. Thank you for your consideration. Please click the link below to donate. Best wishes for a safe and healthy 2021. https://www.montereycountygives.com//big-sur-marathon-fou/

Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable holiday season for you and your family on behalf of the Big Sur Marathon Foundation board, staff, and thousands of community volunteers. I know we are all ready to put such a challenging year in the rear-view mirror. We look forward to when it is safe to once welcome you and thousands of other runners from around the world to enjoy another safe and beautiful event.

We’re so excited that the Big Sur Marathon made The @BibRave 100 - the definitive list of The BEST races in America! Visit www.thebibrave100.com to view the full list! #BibRave100 #BibChat #bigsurmarathon #bigsur #marathon #marathontraining #intraining #training #carmel #monterey #california #pacificcoasthighway #bixbybridge #sweateveryday #bixby #run #bsim #bigsurintlmarathon #bigsurinternationalmarathon #visitmonterey #seemonterey #biglittlelies #highway1 #hwy1 #californiacoast #running Thank you also to those who wish to support our non-profit organization with a donation through Monterey County Gives! through December 31. Your donation will help us be ready to put on more beautiful events when safe to do so. https://www.montereycountygives.com//big-sur-marathon-fou/

@GUenergylabs wants to fuel your 2021 with a year's supply of GU Energy Gels! Upload a photo of your favorite flavor and YOU could be one of the 31 winners randomly selected in January (one winner per flavor). Visit https://guenergy.com/pages/gelebrate for details! Tag your favorite local GU retailer, because if you win, they win a year's supply too! #GUFORIT... #NEWYEARNEWGU #WINNERWINNER See more

In this most unusual of years, we wish you and yours a safe and enjoyable holiday season. We are thankful for the support of so many including the dozens who have contributed to our non-profit organization though the annual Monterey County Gives! fundraising campaign. We look forward to again producing beautiful events and programs when safe to do so. https://www.montereycountygives.com//big-sur-marathon-fou/

If you have run the Big Sur Marathon or the Monterey Bay Half Marathon in the last four years, you were cheered on at the finish by Fitz Koehler, part of "Team Noisy" along with fellow announcer and cheerleader Rudy Novotny. Fitz just published her new memoir "MY NOISY CANCER COMEBACK," which features her experience announcing at both of our races during her treatment. Her book is raw, real, inspiring and often hilarious. Order signed copies and receive a gift with purchase at Fitzness.com. Way to go Fitz!

We hope you are enjoying beautiful runs among beautiful colors this fall! Post your pics and let’s celebrate the season!

TODAY IS THE FINAL DAY TO SUBMIT RESULTS (or estimated results) for The Big Surreal! The official results submissions deadline was extended to October 31st. That means you have one extra month to complete the challenges of your choosing and submit official results. However, in order to avoid delays in swag production and shipment, we still need to know which distances you plan to complete. By September 30th, please enter a predicted finish time for the challenges you intend to complete by the end of October so that we can order and send out swag on time to those who have already submitted final results. Thank you for participating in the first ever virtual experience of the Big Sur Marathon Foundation! We hope you enjoyed it!

It's #NationalCoffeeDay! What's your favorite way to consume your morning caffeine?

COMPLETE ALL 5 CHALLENGES FOR A CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF 50 HOKA ONE ONE SHOE CERTIFICATES! Do you plan to complete ALL 5 CHALLENGES of The Big Surreal? Way to go! To celebrate your accomplishment, HOKA ONE ONE is giving out shoe certificates to 50 lucky winners! All you have to do is log results or estimated results for all 5 challenges and you'll be automatically entered to win. Watch for an email from Race Director Doug Thurston to notify you if you are a winner with a special congratulations for completing the 5K, 12K, 11-Miler, 21-Miler AND your virtual Marathon challenge! No action is necessary - we will automatically enter you into the drawing if you complete all 5 distances! Winners will be notified after October 1st.

COMPLETE THE 21-MILER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A GU Energy Labs GIFT BAG! Did you miss out on the GU Energy Headquarters curbside gel pick-up party? Don't fret - GU Energy has plenty of free gels to go around! Enter your result or estimated time for the 21-Miler by September 30th for a chance to win a prize pack of 50 GU Energy gels! 50 winners will be randomly selected from the 21-Miler participant pool! That's right - all you have to do is run the 21-Miler and you could be one of 50 lucky winners to receive a nice big stash of GU to fuel your fall training needs. #GUforit

WIN YETI COOLER PRIZES FROM Sufferfest Beer Company! Instagram contest alert for Big Surreal participants! Post a selfie on IG of your post-run glory and tag @bsimevents and @sufferfestbeer with the hashtags #willsweatforbeer and #staysurreal2020 for a chance to win one of three awesome Yeti prizes! No need to include a beer in your photo, but hey, why not (for those 21 years and older)? One grand prize winner will receive a Yeti Roadster Hard Sided Cooler, and two second-pri...ze winners will receive a set of Yeti Insulated Can Holders (set of 2). The contest starts NOW and ends on September 29th. Winners will be picked and notified on September 30th. Good luck!

COMPLETE THE 12K FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A BIG SURREAL TRUCKER HAT! Did you complete the 12K challenge? Do you plan to? Good news! You'll be automatically entered to win one of 12 exclusive Big Surreal truckers hats! Made by BOCO Gear in Boulder, Colorado, these one of a kind trucker hats are not for sale anywhere else! Be sure to log your results or estimated finish time by September 30th for a chance to win this exclusive design.

Show your Big Sur pride! Join us and vote now in the RaceRaves Best Racing Cities in the U.S. poll and share what makes our region so special! Voting is quick and easy - cast your vote for your top 3 picks! Voting ends October 18th.

Calling all Big Surreal participants! Today is your final chance to pick up your FREE GU! Come see us for curbside pick-up of 50 complimentary gels from GU Energy Labs HQ in Berkeley today, Monday afternoon, from 4-6pm! We’ll be wearing our PPE and social distancing. Please do the same for efficient pick up of your nutrition. GU Energy labs is located at 1609 Fourth St, Berkeley CA, 94710.... Can’t make it? Live out of the area? GU is providing some prizes to be drawn from the 21-Miler Challenge finishers - stay tuned for more information and good luck!

BIG SURREAL PARTICIPANTS: Official Results Deadline Extended to October 31st Due to Wildfires Thousands of results have already been submitted for The Big Surreal Virtual Challenge, but with wildfire smoke continuing to affect air quality across the Western United States, we have decided to extend the official results submissions deadline to October 31st. That means you will have one extra month to complete the challenges of your choosing and submit official results. Howeve...r, in order to avoid delays in swag production and shipment, we still need to know which distances you plan to complete. By September 30th, please enter a predicted finish time for the challenges you intend to complete by the end of October so that we can order and send out swag on time to those who have already submitted final results. Swag earnings will be determined based on September 30th results submissions and estimations. Registered participants will receive an email shortly with more detailed instructions on how to upload results, etc. To log in to your participant account and submit results, go to: https://manage.hakuapp.com/login/big-sur-marathon-foundation

Tomorrow's GU Energy Labs ABCs of Sports Nutrition is focused on how an active and ongoing guided mindfulness meditation practice can benefit your training - featuring athlete Bruckner Chase and his wife. Head over to the GU Energy Labs Facebook page at 4pm PDT on Thursday, 9/17 to tune in. Any athlete's ultimate potential depends on how their brain is trained to respond to the positive and negative moments that compose an endurance life - Bruckner Chase

Calling all Big Surreal participants! You need some GU to get you through your long training runs and virtual challenge distances, right? Come for curbside pick-up of 50 complimentary gels from GU Energy Labs HQ in Berkeley on this Friday morning 7:30-9:30am or Monday afternoon 4-6pm! We’ll be wearing our PPE and social distancing. Please do the same for efficient pick up of your nutrition. GU Energy labs is located at 1609 Fourth St, Berkeley CA, 94710. Can’t make it? Live o...ut of the area? GU is providing some prizes to be drawn from the 21-Miler Challenge finishers - stay tuned for more information and good luck! Thank you GU Energy Labs for continuing to sponsor Big Sur Marathon Foundation events, even when they are virtual!

REGISTRATION CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT (PDT) TONIGHT! Don't stop short of the finish line - today is the FINAL DAY to register for The Big Surreal Virtual Challenge! Participants have until September 30th* to complete any number of the five virtual challenges offered. The cost to register is $65 for the general public and $55 for April 2020 Big Sur Marathon entrants. One price gets you access to ALL FIVE CHALLENGES. Register here: bsim.info/BigSurreal... *We have had several requests for an extension on the Sept. 30th date due to the wildfires burning across the west. We are currently developing a plan to extend the deadline for submitting results. Stay tuned for more information!