50th Anniversary Wharf to Wharf Race

Sunday, July 24 2022 • 50th Anniversary

Each year, on the fourth Sunday in July, thousands of runners from across America and around the globe return to Santa Cruz, California for the annual six-mile race to Capitola-by-theSea. First run in 1973 by a handful of locals, the Wharf to Wharf Race today enjoys a gourmet reputation in running circles worldwide. Its scenic, seaside setting, perfect weather, and festive beach party atmosphere make it a favorite of casual joggers and elite athletes alike. Limited to 16,000 runners, the race sells out each of its registration windows in a mere few hours. Runners are thrilled just to get in!

While many come for sun, fun and fitness reasons, serious athletes run to test their mettle against the best. The race draws an elite, international field. Runners know that a good showing at Wharf to Wharf is a guaranteed boost to their running career. The roll of past champions includes a number of former Olympians.

Widely acclaimed “The best little road race in California”, Wharf to Wharf is the biggest summer event of its kind on the West Coast and a boon to local business, annually infusing more than 8 million dollars into the Santa Cruz County economy. It receives broad media attention, and is highlighted in all running industry polls and publications as one of the top races in America each year.

RACE HISTORY

The first Wharf to Wharf Race was run Saturday morning July 28, 1973. It was not the main event of the day, just one of a number of festivities scheduled by the City of Capitola’s Heritage Days Committee organized by Jim Reding and Wayne Fontes to celebrate the dedication of Camp Capitola’s Superintendent’s Office, as a California State Historical Landmark. Wayne Fontes chaired the Race Committee and Soquel High School track coach, Ken Thomas, served as Race Director. The $200 race budget was underwritten by the City of Capitola.

The race was a pretty casual affair starting at the Santa Cruz Wharf and winding its way through coastal neighborhoods to Capitola Village, some six miles to the south. It did not run without incident. As the race leaders approached the Village, they were inadvertently misdirected out onto Capitola Wharf, rather than to the Capitola Esplanade where the finish line was actually located. After some discussion, race officials declared Stanford’s Jack Bellah the winner and duly awarded him a classic plaque proclaiming him Champion of the “WARF TO WARF” Race! These misadventures notwithstanding, the race was considered a grand success by the 273 participants that ran. When they clamored for a rerun the following year, the organizing committee obliged and the race began a life of its own. Through the seventies the race grew dramatically, riding the wave of the running boom that swept the nation. Its numbers doubled each year into the eighties before peaking at around 3,700 runners in 1983. It was at that point that its leadership elected to take a more proactive role in its promotion and administration. In the fall of that year race representatives were dispatched to the First Annual Roadrace Management Convention in Washington DC to see what they could learn about the business of running. The knowledge they brought back led to many changes in the face and future of the race, not the least of which was the introduction of a commercial sponsorship program, which facilitated the addition of attractive new features and expanded the financial horizons of the event. More than 6,000 runners answered the starter’s call in 1984.

THE RACE WAS ROLLING AGAIN!

The Race is produced and administered by Wharf to Wharf Race Inc., a California nonprofit corporation chartered to promote running as a means to health and fitness. In service of this mission, the Race has, since its inception, contributed more than $6 million dollars to Santa Cruz County youth sports programs in general and the running community in particular.

About the Artist

The Official 50th Anniversary Wharf to Wharf poster, titled “Harbor Run”, comes to us from artist Heidi Alonzo who’s artwork is released for the first time since its inception in 2019. Heidi has wanted to create art for the Wharf to Wharf poster since she worked at York Gallery in 1986 when Jay Collins created the first one!

Heidi Alonzo is a pictorial artist who works with oil pastels, watercolors and mixed media. Her work is narrative and representational including figures and landscapes combined with geometry, featuring color and pattern. She is involved in the art community in Watsonville and is a frequent participant in the Open Studios Art Tour. Contact her at: heidialonzo.com.