The Santa Monica Classic has sold out every general and charity entry for its 10K and 5K races ahead of the September 13 event, with organizers saying registration filled up faster than in any previous year. General entries rose 20% over last year's numbers, and even the Team TMF charity slots for both distances are gone.
The race, produced by The McCourt Foundation, is billed as an end-of-summer staple along Santa Monica's oceanfront, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. Andy Reilly said the races reached capacity sooner than ever this year, and that the sellouts have translated into record fundraising for the nonprofit. Per the same report, those record numbers support the foundation's mission to find cures for neurological diseases and to build healthier communities.
A Fast-Filling Field on Ocean Avenue
This year's race runs September 13, with the 10K starting at 7:00 a.m. at Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard and the 5K starting at 8:30 a.m. at Ocean Avenue and Broadway, according to The McCourt Foundation. Both races finish on Ocean Avenue near the Santa Monica Pier, feeding into a finish festival on the 3rd Street Promenade. The 10K course includes roughly 171 feet of elevation gain, with a gradual three-mile incline along Ocean Avenue from mile 1 to mile 4 before a downhill run to the finish, per RaceMob.
Previous editions of the race in September 2022 and September 2023 drew approximately 6,000 runners, walkers, and spectators to the city's oceanfront route, according to LAist. That history offers a benchmark for just how quickly this year's field filled, given the earlier-than-usual sellout across both distances.
Charity Bibs and Multi-Race Incentives Fueled Demand
Team TMF, the foundation's fundraising team, lets participants secure a race bib by committing to raise or donate at least $150, which comes with access to VIP finish festival amenities and milestone gifts like Stanley tumblers at the $300 level. Those charity entries sold out for both race distances this year. The Santa Monica Classic also serves as an entry point for new runners, many of whom go on to take part in the foundation's Rose Bowl Half Marathon and the ASICS Los Angeles Marathon.
The 10K doubles as the opening leg of the three-race Conquer LA Challenge, which continues with the Rose Bowl Half Marathon in January 2027 and wraps with the ASICS Los Angeles Marathon that March. For 5K runners, the race kicks off the Triple 5K Tour of LA, followed by the Rose Bowl 5K in January and the LA 5K in March; finishers who complete all three legs collect four total finisher medals. Ahead of race day, the foundation's LA Road Runners program released free nine-week online training plans across four fitness levels in July, giving registered runners access to adaptive training tools on the RunDot platform.
Kids Run and a Foundation Built on Family Loss
Younger runners get their own event: the Kids Run is open to children ages 3 to 8 and is organized into five age-specific wave starts along a half-kilometer route on Ocean Avenue to keep things safe. The Kids Run is part of the broader Kids Run LA Challenge, which also includes the Rose Bowl Kids Run and the LA Kids Run — children who complete all three earn a Kids Run LA Challenge medal.
The Santa Monica Classic is one of four annual running events produced by The McCourt Foundation, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles and Boston that funds research and programs to advance neurological health and foster community wellness. The foundation traces its roots to 1992, when the McCourt brothers founded it after their father, Robert, died following a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis and their mother, Mary, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, according to Running USA. In 2018, Frank McCourt Jr., owner of the Los Angeles Marathon and cousin to the McCourt brothers, donated the LA Marathon and Rose Bowl Half Marathon to the foundation to operate as non-profit charitable events, a move that helped establish its Southern California footprint.
To date, the foundation has donated more than $7.2 million to neurology research and has generated more than $81 million for other nonprofits through its charity partnership program. Hoodline has previously covered a South LA run club that raised funds as an official charity partner in the foundation's LA Marathon, one of several community groups that have used the foundation's races as fundraising platforms.
