Rock to Pier Run

The Rock to Pier Run sends runners up the sand from the Rock to the Cayucos Pier

From Morro Rock to the Cayucos Pier. The Brian Waterbury Memorial Rock to Pier Run sends runners up the open beach on Saturday, July 18 at 8 AM, the 56th running of one of the oldest beach races on the Central Coast. The course is a straight shot along the sand with the Rock at your back and the pier ahead, tide and soft sand included, which is exactly what makes it a different kind of race than a road 5K. It is a Morro Bay summer tradition as much as it is a competition.

The companion Rock’n Around the Pier Half Marathon, now in its 12th year, runs the same morning on an out-and-back course with a detour through Cloisters Park near mile 10.5. Between the two distances the morning draws everyone from serious half-marathoners to families walking the beach leg, which gives the event its mix of race-day focus and community-morning ease. The finish at the Cayucos Pier puts you in a second beach town with the morning still ahead of you.

This is a point-to-point beach course, so plan logistics in advance: most runners arrange a shuttle or a ride back to the start, since you finish a full town up the coast from where you began. Register at runsignup.com, where the price steps up after July 1, so signing up early saves money. Wear shoes you do not mind getting sandy and wet, and dress for a cool coastal morning that warms as the fog lifts.

For more beach runs, community events, and outdoor mornings around the bay this summer, see what is on the event calendar.