Event Description

The Saddleback Marathon takes place in Cleveland National Forest's Saddleback Mountains between Orange and Riverside Counties, California. The 2023 Saddleback Marathon remains re-routed due to #HolyFire which burned the original route. This year runners will run through the campground to Long Canyon Road and then up The Main Divide where they will turn around and head back into the campground utilizing Falcon Trail for a fairy-tale-like woodlands jaunt. After a quick aid station stop in the campground, runners will take what locals refer to as the Candy Store Loop, technical single track along San Juan, Chiquito, and San Juan Loop trails then back, picking up the Viejo Tie for another scenic route on the way in. The Cut off is located at mile 15, in the San Juan Loop parking lot on Ortega Highway across the street from The Candy Store. Those who do not arrive to this distance by 12 pm will be driven back to lower Blue Jay (Start). Elevation gain is approximately 3,900'