The Big Sur International Marathon is one of the most beautiful races in the world, and one of the most humbling. Every year runners show up with plenty of miles in their legs and still get beaten up by the course. Usually it isn't their lungs that give out. It's their legs.
Here's why, and the strength work that fixes it.
Why the Big Sur course is so hard on your legs
The race runs point to point on Highway 1, from Big Sur north to Carmel, on the last Sunday in April. The next one is April 25, 2027.
According to the race's own numbers, the course has about 2,182 feet of climbing and 2,528 feet of descent. It starts around 356 feet and finishes at about 10 feet. The organizers describe it as moderately difficult with rolling hills and a sometimes fierce headwind. The best known piece is the long climb up Hurricane Point before you cross Bixby Bridge at about the halfway mark.
The climbing is hard, but it's the downhills that wreck people. Running downhill makes your quads, hips and knees work as brakes, absorbing your body weight on every step. Do that for a couple thousand feet, late in a marathon, and you get the classic Big Sur experience: legs that feel fine at mile 15 and shredded at mile 22.
More miles help, but they don't build the specific strength that handles that braking. That's what strength training does.
The strength work that matters most
Two sessions a week, on easy-run or rest days, is plenty. Focus on these:
1. Eccentric quad work (for the downhills)
Slow step-downs: Stand on a step, and take 3 to 4 seconds to lower one heel to the floor. Step back up and repeat.
Slow split squats: Lower for a count of 3, then drive up.
This "slow lowering" is exactly what your quads do on a descent.
2. Single-leg strength (for the climbs and the long haul)
Running is one leg at a time. Bulgarian split squats, step-ups and single-leg Romanian deadlifts build the strength and control to keep your hips and knees lined up for 26.2 miles.
3. Hip and glute strength (for Hurricane Point)
Strong hips push you uphill and take load off your knees. Hip thrusts or bridges, hip hinges and lateral band walks are simple and effective.
4. Calves and feet
Calves take a beating on long climbs and long races. Straight-leg and bent-knee calf raises, done slowly and through a full range, are cheap insurance.
5. A strong trunk (for the wind)
Holding your posture into a headwind for hours is work. Planks, side planks and carries keep you upright and efficient when you're tired.
How to fit it into your training
Start now. Strength gains take weeks. Starting in the fall gives you months before late April.
Go heavier early, lighter late. Build strength through the winter, then back off the load in the final few weeks so your legs are fresh on race day.
Don't do hard strength the day before a long run or a hard workout.
If the full marathon is too much this year, the race weekend also has shorter options, including a 21-Miler that still takes you up Hurricane Point and across Bixby Bridge, with more time to finish.
You don't have to be a lifelong runner
I've trained men in their 60s to run marathons after decades of not running. The common thread wasn't talent. It was consistent strength work, gradual progress, and showing up week after week.
My own outdoor life is more surfing, mountain biking and freediving than road running, but the principle is the same: the strength you build at home is what lets you do the hard, beautiful things out here.
I train clients in their homes in Carmel and Carmel Valley, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove and Salinas. If you're thinking about Big Sur and want your legs ready, send me a note through the site and we'll set up a free consultation. And if you want the bigger picture on why strength matters for everyone, read what is strength training and why you need it.
