Erica Segel on Building the Only Race in Malibu
VoyageLA published a Life & Work interview with our founder and race director, Erica Segel, on August 25. It covers the ground we don't usually put on a race page: why Malibu Moves exists, what it takes to close part of Pacific Coast Highway every October, and what it means to produce a celebration in a town that has been through three fires.
Who is behind Malibu Moves?
Erica came to race directing from events, not from running. What kept her in it was the finish line, and specifically the faces of the people coming through it.
"There is a specific expression a person makes when they finish something they were not sure they could finish. Joy, pride, and a little disbelief, all at the same time."
That is the design brief for this whole event. It is why there is no pace minimum on any distance, why every finisher gets a medal, and why the 1K Kids Run gets the same ceremony as the Half Marathon.
Why is Malibu Moves the only race in Malibu?
In early 2024 the City of Malibu awarded Malibu Moves the exclusive race concession. Every distance starts and finishes at Zuma Beach and runs Pacific Coast Highway, with the Pacific on one side and the Santa Monica Mountains on the other.
The interview is honest about what that contract asks of us. Partially closing PCH means the City, the County, the Sheriff, the fire department, Caltrans, and every business and resident along the route have to be on board, every single year.
For runners comparing races, the details live on the USATF measured Half Marathon page. Out and back with the turnaround at Nicolas Canyon Beach, chip timed, pace groups from 1:30 through 4:00, five aid stations, published elevation. The course has rolling hills. We say so, because runners find out anyway.
How does the Charity Program work?
You can enter any distance for nothing upfront and commit to raising $500 for one of our partners instead. You receive the full VIP Experience for doing it. Our 2026 partners are the Malibu Moves Community Impact Fund, the Malibu Education Foundation, the Emily Shane Foundation, Girls on the Run of LA County and the Sarah Shulze Foundation.
In our first two years, participants helped us donate more than $110,000 back into this community. The Malibu Education Foundation is using part of that to fund academic recovery for more than 1,000 students across our local schools.
What happens across race weekend?
The two day weekend schedule splits it. Saturday is the Expo, the Kids Zone, the 1 Mile Zuma Dash and the 1K Kids Run, with wellness and arts programming alongside. Sunday is the Half Marathon, 10K and 5K, followed by a post race festival at Zuma with food, music, wellness and a lot of people who are in no hurry to go home.
Take on a distance on both days and you complete the Coastal Quest Challenge: three medals and beer garden access.
Read the full interview
Erica put it this way:
"Malibu Moves is not a race company trying to sound like a movement. It is a movement that expresses itself through races."
Read the full interview with VoyageLA.
Registration for October 24 and 25, 2026 is open, and the field is capped at 3,000.
