For the fourth straight year, the Labor Day-weekend Pier-to-Peak half-marathon run has been cancelled.
This year’s cancellation is due to the damage sustained on Gibraltar Road from last winter’s heavy rains. The previous three P2P runs were called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Gibraltar Road is closed due to several road washouts,” said race director Jay Campbell. “As such, the county will not allow the run to happen. Very frustrating as COVID, two fires and mudslides this year have caused Pier to Peak to not be allowed for the last four years.”
Campbell expects the P2P race to be back in 2024.
Billed the toughest half-marathon, the P2P is traditionally held on the Sunday before Labor Day. The run starts at the famous Dolphin Fountain in front of Stearns Wharf and finishes at La Cumbre Peak Park — an elevation gain of 3,996 feet. The arduous climb up Gibraltar Road to the peak affords majestic views of the Santa Barbara Channel.
While the running of the P2P will have to wait another year, Campbell said his Thanksgiving 4 Miler in November is set to celebrate its 30th year on a new course.
“It’s a fantastic course through the old farmland of Goleta,” he said.
Registration can be made at Active.com
Last Wednesday, Campbell’s Santa Barbara Nite Moves Series finished up in spectacular fashion at Leadbetter Beach as participants and supporters got to see the Super Blue Moon rise in the eastern sky.