Every In Motion Events Race in 2027, and the Triple Crown That Links Three of Them

Overview

If you've run a race in San Diego County, you've probably run an In Motion Events race.

They've been producing events here since 1981 — forty-five years — and they're family-owned and women-run, with Christine Adams as CEO. Their calendar includes three of the biggest road races in the county: the Carlsbad Marathon in January, the GOVX San Diego Half in March, and America's Finest City Half in August, which is the oldest half marathon in the city of San Diego.

Here's the whole 2027 calendar with dates, start times and current prices — plus the series that ties three of them together, and a few things on their website you shouldn't trust.

Every date below has been checked against the calendar. All their published weekdays are correct, which is more than we can say for most event sites.

The 2027 Calendar

Kids Marathon Mile at LEGOLAND®

• Saturday, January 16, 2027 · 7:45 a.m.
• LEGOLAND California, Legoland Drive, Carlsbad
• 1 mile, fun run, not timed
• $50.85 — Kids (12 and under), Big Kids (13+), and virtual versions of both, all the same price

Staging closes at 7:35 a.m. and late starters aren't allowed, so this is one to arrive early for.

Time-critical: registration is published as closing November 9. If you're reading this in early November, that's days away.

Carlsbad Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K

The 36th annual, and the big one.

• Sunday, January 17, 2027
• Start and finish: The Shoppes at Carlsbad, 2525 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA 92008
• Marathon 6:15 a.m. · 5K 6:40 a.m. · Half 7:45 a.m. (in waves)

| Distance | Price |

|---|---|

| Marathon | $202.27 |

| Half Marathon | $179.67 |

| 5K | $73.45 |

| Double Down Challenge (5K then Half) | $230.52 |

All prices include processing fees, and virtual versions are priced identically.

The Double Down is the 5K at 6:40 followed by the half at 7:45 — same morning, both distances.

Read this before you give up on signing up. In Motion's own Carlsbad registration page currently says "Online registration is now closed," reports the 5K and Double Down as sold out, and tells you to register in person on race morning. Meanwhile the actual registration platform shows 2027 open, with every distance available at the prices above.

That closed-registration page is almost certainly leftover copy from the January 2026 race that never got reset. Go to the registration platform, not the website's registration page — and if in doubt, call 760-692-2900.

GOVX San Diego Half Marathon & 5K

The 16th annual, and the one that finishes in the Gaslamp.

• Sunday, March 21, 2027
• 100 North Harbor Drive, San Diego
• Half 6:50 a.m. · 5K 6:30 a.m.
• Half $152.55 · 5K $67.80

The 5K starts in front of the San Diego Convention Center and finishes in the Gaslamp Quarter. The half finishes there too. The exact half-marathon start point isn't published — it's given only as the Harbor Drive address.

One real deadline worth noting: the Half Marathon Legacy program requires registering by February 12, 2027 to get the event perks. That's a published date, unlike most of their price tiers.

Vista Strawberry Run

• Sunday, May 30, 2027

And that's genuinely all we can tell you. The date is on their homepage and the weekday checks out, but no 2027 registration page exists yet — only 2025 and 2026 versions. Start time, distances and price aren't published anywhere.

It's tied to the Vista Strawberry Festival, so expect it to firm up closer to spring. Worth a diary note rather than a plan.

America's Finest City Half Marathon & 5K

The 50th annual. If you only do one of these, this is the one with the story.

• Sunday, August 15, 2027
• Half 6:15 a.m. · 5K 6:10 a.m.
• Half $143.51 · 5K $61.02

The half is point-to-point: it starts at Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma and finishes in Balboa Park. The 5K runs through Balboa Park. Note that the 5K starts five minutes before the half — that's not a typo on their part, it's how it's scheduled.

It's the oldest half marathon in the city of San Diego, and 2027 is the fiftieth running. Point Loma to Balboa Park on an August morning, at the cheapest half-marathon price on their calendar.

The SoCal Triple Crown

Three races, one calendar year, four medals.

Complete any distance of all three — Carlsbad, GOVX San Diego, and America's Finest City — within the same calendar year and you get the three race medals plus a Triple Crown medal with a slider.

There's a streaker program on top of that: do the series in consecutive years and you get an additional slider each year. Miss a year and the streak breaks.

Three things to understand about it:

• There's nothing to sign up for. You register for each race separately and the series takes care of itself.
• There is no series pass and no bundled discount. This is worth being clear about, because "Triple Crown" sounds like a package deal. It isn't — you pay full price for all three races. The reward is medals, not savings.
• The eligibility list is published in summer, after the first two races are done, and the Triple Crown medal is awarded at AFC as the series finale.

Add it up at current prices and the cheapest route through the Triple Crown — 5K, 5K, 5K — is about $202. The three halves together run about $476.

A Correction: The Thrive Half Isn't Theirs

Worth clearing up because people assume it is.

The Kaiser Permanente Thrive San Diego Half Marathon is not an In Motion Events race. It's produced by Easy Day Sports, and it appears nowhere on In Motion's calendar.

It's also much sooner — Saturday, November 14, 2026, at Ski Beach on Mission Bay. If that's the race you were actually looking for, we've covered it separately.

Things on Their Site Not to Trust

We'd rather tell you this than have you plan around it.

Their homepage "Upcoming Events" block currently lists three events that have already happened:

• Kids Run Carlsbad, listed as "January & April 2026" — both windows long past, with no 2027 dates published anywhere
• Ovarian Cancer Alliance Teal Steps Walk, listed as Sunday, September 20, 2026 — correct weekday, event over
• Komen San Diego More Than Pink Walk, listed as Sunday, November 1, 2026 — also correct weekday, also over

The site-wide copyright still reads 2026 while the featured races are 2027, and the AFC page is still serving images named for 2021. None of that affects the race information itself, which checks out — but it does mean the site is edited in place rather than rolled over, which is exactly how a "registration is closed" notice survives into the following season.

Price tiers are the other gap. The registration platform shows countdown timers — "price changes in 25 days" — rather than actual dates or next-tier amounts. So you can't plan around a deadline; you can only see that one is coming. Register early if the price matters.

What Isn't Published

• Refund, deferral and transfer policy. Nothing on their own pages. The registration platform offers a transfer option and directs refund questions to the organizer. 760-692-2900 is the number.
• Packet pickup details. Carlsbad has an expo and packet pickup page in its navigation, but no specifics were published on the pages we could reach.
• Exact start lines for the GOVX half and the separate AFC start and finish addresses.
• Whether they manage or time races for outside organizations. Their own description is "a full-service, turnkey event marketing and management firm," but the specifics aren't spelled out, and some events in their menu link out to third-party sites without explaining the relationship.

How to Go

• In Motion Events · 760-692-2900 · info@inmotionevents.com · inmotionevents.com
• Kids Marathon Mile: Sat Jan 16, 2027, 7:45 a.m., LEGOLAND Carlsbad, $50.85
• Carlsbad Marathon/Half/5K: Sun Jan 17, 2027, The Shoppes at Carlsbad, $73.45–$230.52
• GOVX San Diego Half/5K: Sun Mar 21, 2027, Harbor Drive, $67.80–$152.55
• Vista Strawberry Run: Sun May 30, 2027, details pending
• AFC Half/5K: Sun Aug 15, 2027, Cabrillo to Balboa Park, $61.02–$143.51
• SoCal Triple Crown: Carlsbad + GOVX + AFC in one calendar year. No pass, no discount

Good to Know

• Register through the registration platform, not the website's registration page. The latter still says Carlsbad is closed. It isn't.
• Kids Marathon Mile registration closes November 9.
• The Kids Mile and Carlsbad are back-to-back — Saturday and Sunday, same area. Easy family weekend.
• AFC is the cheapest half on their calendar and the fiftieth running.
• The Triple Crown saves you nothing. It's medals, not a bundle.
• The 5K route through the Triple Crown is about $202 all in.
• Price tiers are countdown timers, not dates. Register early.
• Refund policy isn't published. Call 760-692-2900 before you commit if that matters.
• Three events on their homepage have already happened. Ignore that block; use the race pages.
• The Thrive Half is a different company's race — and it's in November, not 2027.

Why It's Worth It

Because between them these races give you a genuine progression, and they're spread across the year rather than bunched.

January at Carlsbad, March downtown, August from Point Loma to Balboa Park. That's a training arc with three natural peaks, all within the county, all on well-run courses from an organization that's been doing this since 1981. For anyone trying to go from a 5K to a half over a year, the calendar practically writes itself — and the Triple Crown gives you a reason to finish what you start, even if it doesn't give you a discount.

AFC is the one we'd point a first-timer at. Cabrillo National Monument down to Balboa Park is a genuinely beautiful point-to-point, it's the cheapest half on the list, and 2027 is the fiftieth running of the oldest half marathon in the city. That's a decent first one to have on the shelf.

And the Kids Marathon Mile on the Saturday before Carlsbad is a smart piece of scheduling. One untimed mile at LEGOLAND for the kids, a half or full for the adults the next morning, same corner of North County. That's a weekend rather than a race.

The practical advice: book Carlsbad through the registration platform regardless of what their website says, get the Kids Mile in before November 9 if that's on your list, and put AFC in the diary now — fiftieth runnings sell out.

Also running: our guides to the America's Finest City Half Marathon and the Kids Marathon Mile at LEGOLAND go into each of those in detail.

For more on what's coming up, browse our San Diego events calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are In Motion Events? A family-owned, women-run event production company that has produced races in San Diego County since 1981. Christine Adams is CEO.

What races do they run? The Carlsbad Marathon, Half and 5K; the GOVX San Diego Half and 5K; America's Finest City Half and 5K; the Kids Marathon Mile at LEGOLAND; and the Vista Strawberry Run.

When is the Carlsbad Marathon 2027? Sunday, January 17, 2027, starting and finishing at The Shoppes at Carlsbad. Marathon 6:15 a.m., 5K 6:40 a.m., half 7:45 a.m.

Is Carlsbad registration closed? No. In Motion's own registration page says it is, but that appears to be leftover copy from the January 2026 race — the registration platform shows 2027 open at full availability. Call 760-692-2900 if you want it confirmed.

When is the GOVX San Diego Half? Sunday, March 21, 2027. Half at 6:50 a.m., 5K at 6:30 a.m., from Harbor Drive, finishing in the Gaslamp.

When is America's Finest City Half? Sunday, August 15, 2027 — the fiftieth annual. The half starts at Cabrillo National Monument and finishes in Balboa Park.

What is the SoCal Triple Crown? Complete any distance of Carlsbad, GOVX San Diego and AFC within the same calendar year and you receive all three race medals plus a Triple Crown medal. There's nothing to sign up for.

Does the Triple Crown save me money? No. There's no series pass and no bundled registration — you pay full price for each race. The reward is the extra medal and the streaker program.

What's the cheapest way to do the Triple Crown? Three 5Ks, which comes to roughly $202 at current prices.

How much are the races? Carlsbad: marathon $202.27, half $179.67, 5K $73.45, Double Down $230.52. GOVX: half $152.55, 5K $67.80. AFC: half $143.51, 5K $61.02. Kids Marathon Mile $50.85. All include processing fees.

When do prices go up? The registration platform shows countdown timers rather than dates, so there's no published deadline to plan around. Register early.

What's the refund policy? Not published. The registration platform offers transfers and directs refund questions to the organizer at 760-692-2900.

Is the Thrive Half one of their races? No. The Kaiser Permanente Thrive San Diego Half Marathon is produced by Easy Day Sports and takes place in November, not as part of this calendar.

Can kids race? Yes — the Kids Marathon Mile at LEGOLAND on Saturday, January 16, 2027 is a one-mile untimed fun run, with categories for 12 and under and 13 and over.