Race Day Info
RACE DATE: September 26, 2026
START TIME: 8:00am
Race Details
REGISTRATION: Registration for the 8th Running of the Little Wharf 3-Miler opens in March.
LOCATION: The Little Wharf Race starts at the East Cliff Village Shopping Center (21511 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95062) and finishes inside Capitola Village in the Capitola Esplanade.
PACKET PICKUP:
– When: Friday, September 25th from 11am-6:30pm
– Where: Fleet Feet Aptos). 7960 Soquel Dr suite i, Aptos, CA 95003
We highly recommend you pick up your race bib on Friday if you did not pay for bib mailing. However, if for some reason you cannot make bib pickup, race day packet pickup will be available at the Start Line, but lines will be long, so plan accordingly.
RECEIVING YOUR EVENT HAT: If you purchased an event hat during or with registration, your hat will be mailed to you during race week. At latest, you should receive your hat by the end of September.
GETTING TO THE START LINE (Parking & Shuttles): Since the East Cliff Village Shopping Center (21511 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95062) will not be available for participants to park on race day due to the build and setup of the start line, there will be very little parking available in and around the Start Line. Therefore, we encourage participants to utilize the complimentary, pre-race shuttles available at the Capitola Mall. They will be running from 6:00am until 7:30am.
START CORRALS: The Little Wharf 3-Miler starting area is separated into self-assigned corrals in order to organize everyone by their run/walk pace, and to prevent congestion. When you arrive, please pick the appropriate pace area for your current ability.
*As stated on our registration page, on our website and in our Race Instructions, Joggers/Strollers and dogs are not permitted and will not be allowed to enter the Start Corral under any circumstance. This is a safety policy.
BIB NUMBERS: DON’T FORGET YOUR BIB NUMBER! Your bib number is your ticket to access all race venues, including your ticket onto the shuttle buses after the race (Before the race you can access the bus without the timing chip)! The timing chip strip on the back will record your official starting-line-to-finish-line race time enabling you to check your results online.
THE COURSE
COURE DETAILS: The net downhill, coastal three-mile race is a great opportunity to run fast and take in the beauty of the Santa Cruz & Capitola coastline. Early Fall presents some of the best weather in the county, so you are likely going to experience beautiful weather out on the course.
START: The race begins East Cliff Village Shopping Center
MILE 1: The first mile is net downhill, but has rolling hills along the ocean, passing by Blacks Beach, Sunny Cove Beach, and Moe’s Beach at the Corcoran Lagoon, before finishing at 26th Beach.
MILE 2: Mile 2 starts with a small hill, but is mostly flat, hugging the coastline on East Cliff Drive at Pleasure Point, home of the legendary surf spots, “The Hook“ and “Pleasure Point.”
MILE 3: The final mile drifts through local seaside streets… once the ocean reappears; it’s a big downhill past the Capitola Wharf and into the Esplanade.
FINISH: The Finish Line is on Capitola Esplanade in the Capitola Village.
For your safety, the course is closed to all vehicular traffic, including skateboards, bikes, wagons, wheelbarrows, roller skates/blades and baby jogger/strollers. Pets are prohibited. Mile posts are marked and splits will be called at each mile. All participants must maintain a 20-minute-per-mile pace.
FIRST AID: Help is always at hand. Emergency medical services are available on course and at the FINISH. Watch for running medics with fanny packs and specially marked tee shirt interspersed throughout the field.
WATER STATION: There will be 1 water station available on course around 1.5 miles into the race. Water will also be available at the finish line.
THE FINISH
FINISH & POST-RACE: The Finish Line is on Capitola Esplanade in the Capitola Village. Race finishers get food, water, finishers medal and Capitola Beach Bag after they finish. The top 30 overall male and female finishers will receive a coveted Top 30 Top provided by ASICS apparel.
WATER AT FINISH LINE: Everyone will get a refillable PATH water bottle at the finish line.
TRANSPORTATION POST-RACE: After the race, free shuttles will run from Wharf Road near Shadowbrook Restaurant back to the Capitola Mall from 9am until 10:45am.
RESULTS & PHOTOS: Complimentary race photos and results will be available online after the conclusion of the event.
TRANSFERRING FROM IN-PERSON TO VIRTUAL: The Little Wharf 3-Miler will be offered as a live event OR virtual.
- If you register for “In-Person Little Wharf,” but would like to transfer to “Virtual Little Wharf,” you had to do so by August 30th.
- However, if you register for “Virtual Little Wharf”, you cannot transfer to “In-Person Little Wharf.”
- If you do transfer to complete your race Little Wharf 3-Miler virtually, you will have to purchase Virtual Race shipping to get your swag.
Capitola Beach Festival
The 6th Running of the Little Wharf 3-Miler will once again be partnering with the Capitola Beach Festival. For 65 years, the Capitola Begonia Festival was a staple in the Santa Cruz County event world, but when the events bloom growing partners ceased operations, the Begonia Festival came to an end as well.
However, the committee reorganized and created the Capitola Beach Festival with many of the same fantastic events, and also decided to partner with Wharf to Wharf Race, Inc.
