The full day of running culminates with the men's and women's Skechers Performance Elite Invitationals,[2] both of which feature professional fields competing for a substantial cash purse.

In addition to the 5k races, there is a dedicated event for kids-only, the Junior Carlsbad,[3] with distances ranging from a one mile fun run down to a diaper dash.

The weekend also includes a free health and wellness expo, elite athlete Q&A, and post-race Pizza Port beer garden.

In 2019, Kenyan Edward Cheserek won the men's elite invitational in a time of 13:29, which equalled the official IAAF record set earlier that same year.

[7] American Steve Scott not only helped design the course in 1986 but won the inaugural race en route to three straight victories.