Registration has begun for this year’s Santa to the Sea Half Marathon

OXNARD, Calif.—Santa to the Sea announces that registration is now open for its Dec. 8 half marathon and relay race. Now in its sixth year, the Santa to the Sea half marathon begins at the giant Santa located at 2801 Ventura Blvd., Oxnard and ends at Marine Emporium Landing in Channel Islands Harbor. The race starts at 8 a.m. Participants are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy (of at least a $10 value) to the starting line; all proceeds and gifts will be donated to the 10th annual toy giveaway at Santa Park on Dec. 14.

Race participants can take part in one of four races: the half marathon, the two-person relay or the 5K run and 1K kids run. The half-marathon’s fast and flat course goes through the strawberry fields in Oxnard and a new business park before heading to downtown Oxnard and the Historic District. The 5K starts and finishes at the Marine Emporium Landing. The course goes along Oxnard Beach Park to Rehab Point, where runners turn around and then head back to the finish line. The course has hydration stations with water and sports drinks approximately every two miles. And, for a second year in a row, the 1K kids fun run will be held at the Marine Emporium Landing.

Registration costs are staggered and fees increase as the race gets closer. The fees are currently the lowest they will be all year. From now until June 30, half marathon registration is $65, the two-person relay race is $130 per team and the 5K fun run is $45. All participants must register before the race; there is no race-day registration. Races will be capped at 2,300 people for the half marathon, 100 teams for the 2-person relay race, 850 people for the 5K race and 150 people for the 1K kids fun run.

All events are USA Track and Field certified and will be chip timed by Gemini. A computer chip is placed on the shoe of every runner. When the runner crosses the finish line, two electronic mats send a signal to the computer, which records the runner’s time to one-thousandth of a second (.000).

For more information, or to register visit www.santatothesea.com, or call race organizer Mike Barber at (805) 485-7233.

Santa to the Sea is a nonprofit event borne out of a desire to give back to the com­mu­nity. What started in 2003 as a toy drive to cel­e­brate the relo­ca­tion of the world’s largest Santa Claus from Car­pin­te­ria to Oxnard, has grown into a robust run­ning event, toy drive, and com­mu­nity fundraiser. Santa to the Sea includes a sanc­tioned half marathon and a 2-person half marathon relay, plus 5K and 1K kids fun runs. The Santa to the Sea Schol­ar­ship Fund part­ners with the Oxnard Col­lege Foun­da­tion to award $500 schol­ar­ships to local high school stu­dents and adults con­tin­u­ing their edu­ca­tion at Oxnard Col­lege.