Campos, Woodward Win Big Sur International Marathon

More than 3,200 finishers over tougher out-and-back course at 26th edition; nearly 7,000 finish from six event races

By Julie Armstrong, BSIM

CARMEL, Calif. - (May 1, 2011) - The beautiful and daunting Big Sur International Marathon proved even tougher to 3,218 marathon finishers on Sunday due to a modified out-and-back course necessitated by the collapse of California's Highway One last month. At the 26th Presentation, veteran runners of the scenic course all commented on the difficulty of the run which increased the number of hills and overall climb from 1,700 feet to 2,400 feet.

A tight race between Italy's Hermann Achmueller, 40, and Mario Mendoza, 25, from Bend, OR, took place through 24 miles, with Monterey County's own Jesus Campos, 26, trailing in third position by over a minute at mile 17. Achmueller made a strong move at mile 24 and dropped Mendoza, commenting later "I thought that move had won the race."

As Mendoza faded to 4th, Campos, 26, caught and passed Achmueller just before Mile 25 with a strong move that carried him to an impressive win by 2-plus minutes over Achmueller. Campos finished first in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 54 seconds, capping an incredible six year run at Big Sur that saw him finish, 5th, 4th, 2nd, 4th, 6th and now race champion.

Big Sur International Marathon Finalizes New Course

Road closure prompted rerouting of iconic point-to-point course in final month for 2011 event

CARMEL, Calif. - (April 15, 2011) - The unanticipated collapse of California's scenic Highway One, midway along the Big Sur International Marathon course, prompted a new routing of the 26.2 mile footrace for the Sunday, May 1, 2011 event. After several weeks of meetings, surveying and discussions, the modified course has been finalized for the 26th presentation.

Typically a point-to-point run from Big Sur to Carmel, this year's race is an "out-and-back" course along Highway One beginning on the Carmel River Bridge near Rio Road, Carmel. The 4,500 registered marathoners, along with 300 marathon team relay participants will head off at 6:45am and eventually be narrowed into the inland lane of Highway One. Immediately following will be the 21 and 9 Miler events. The 10.6 Miler will have already begun at 6:30am with runners and walkers headed north on the ocean side lane of Highway One from their traditional start at Rocky Point Restaurant. The 5K event begins at 7:45am.

"There are many moving parts on race day," said Wally Kastner, race director. "We've had to adjust routes, times and transportation to make this event come together in a very short time frame." Kastner also cited the need for new positioning of aid stations, relay exchange points