WORLD’S FASTEST 5K
April 6, 2025
WORLD’S FASTEST 5K
April 6, 2025
Est. 1986
The Carlsbad 5000 road race has been a spring tradition in Southern California since 1986 and features a full weekend of running festivities. The ‘World’s Fastest 5k’ welcomes runners of all ages and paces to a fast oceanfront course with unforgettable views and an energetic atmosphere. Even the youngest runners show up for the iconic Junior Carlsbad kids race. The full day of racing culminates when the fastest running professionals on the planet look to set new world and national records in the Elite Invitationals!
April 7, 2024
The Carlsbad 5000 is a full day of road racing on the seaside streets of Carlsbad, California. This iconic event features individual 5K races for all ages & abilities, including Men’s & Women’s Masters Divisions (40 & Older), Men’s & Women’s Open Divisions (39 & Under), the Non-Competitive People’s Race (Joggers & Walkers, All Ages), & the world’s fastest Elites. The post-race experience features the Carlsbad 5000 Health & Fitness Expo and the legendary Pizza Port Beer Garden.
(with a view)
This iconic road race features nearly two miles along the Pacific coastline overlooking the sand and surf of the Carlsbad beaches. This legendary flat and fast course kicks off on the downtown seaside streets, winds through palm trees along Carlsbad Blvd, and ends with an exciting, spectator-friendly finish in the heart of Carlsbad Village. The world-record-setting course is USATF sanctioned and certified.
April 7, 2024
The All Day 20K has been a long-standing tradition at the Carlsbad 5000. Runners collectively run a total of 20 kilometers by participating in the following four combined 5k races over the course of the day:
All Day 20k Race 1 – Masters Women (5k)
All Day 20k Race 2 – Masters Men (5k)
All Day 20k Race 3 – Open Women (5k)
All Day 20k Race 4 – Open Men (5k)
Saturday, April 6, 2024: Health & Fitness Expo
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Sunday, April 7, 2024: Race Day
April 7, 2024
Kids ages 4-12 race against the clock in a 1-mile or half-mile distance on the famed Carlsbad 5000 course. Family members line the barricades to cheer on these amazing young runners crossing the official Carlsbad 5000 finish line. After the kids finish, families stick around to witness the world’s fastest elites attempt to set national and world records on the same course later that day!
Plus, four-time Olympian and co-owner of Carlsbad 5000, Meb Keflezighi, will be sure to make race weekend extra special!
Ainsley’s Angels of America is a national nonprofit, with a presence right here in Southern California, focused on educating, advocating and celebrating inclusive communities while connecting everyone through empowerment and belonging. With values that encourage all members to be transparent and true to oneself, Ainsley’s Angels has a hope of creating a world of inclusion without limits.
We at Carlsbad 5000 have purchased a new chair for Ainsley’s Angels Southern California chapter. We invite you to help us raise the funds to see how many more chairs we can purchase by race day!
Please consider donating to this great cause and be sure to gather around the start of the People’s Race at 10:30 am on Sunday, April 7th. Twenty runners and riders from Ainsley’s Angels will be lining up at the Start Line to race alongside the rest of the field!
A question that we hear a lot at events is, “Who is Ainsley?”
People see our gear and want to know. They expect us to turn around and point out someone in our group. Instead, we get to explain how a little girl with a beautiful smile inspired her family to spark a movement that has changed the lives of thousands of people across the nation. Whether it be through rolling, running, volunteering, book readings, or witnessing our members at an event, people have been changed. Some of us never had the honor of meeting Ainsley in person, but the course of our lives has been forever altered nonetheless.
On February 23, 2016, she completed her earthly race, and we continue to honor her-through advocacy, education, and celebration. Ainsley lives on through all of us: every smile, hug, high five, the joy on the faces of caregivers, the rejuvenation of the athletes as they embrace a new reason for running, the tears coursing down cheeks as emotion swells, laughter, and every memory we make as a family-she is there-smiling down on all of us.
So please continue to ask, “Who is Ainsley?”