Manhattan Beach Pumpkin Race Brings Thrills for Winners, Agony for 'Cheaters'
Oct 20, 2025 08:43PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
(Winners of the 2025 Manhattan Beach Pumpkin Race. Photo via Manhattan Beach Parks & Rec.)
The Manhattan Beach Pumpkin Race drew thousands to the Manhattan Beach Pier on Sunday. As pumpkins flew down the hill on Manhattan Beach Blvd., the speediest racers earned glory, while "cheaters" got the "Mallet of Justice."
The free, family-friendly event invites competitors to decorate a pumpkin and equip it with a set of axles and wheels. Racers line up in heats where they compete to see whose pumpkin can roll downhill and get to the finish line the fastest.
This year's winners included Kevin and Nico Harris in first place (silver pumpkin), Anderson Hollier in second place (purple pumpkin), and Giovanni Bellow in third place (giant spider pumpkin). (See lead photo above.)
Other pumpkin themes included Marvel superheros, Disney princesses, Dodgers, Beetlejuice, Labubus, and more.
While some pumpkin perfectionists spend hours creating the "perfect" aerodynamic pumpkin racer, the winners are largely random. A super-fast pumpkin sometimes gets taken out by a rogue pumpkin running diagonally across the course. Collisions are common; often races end up with wheels and loose pumpkin decorations scattered across the course.
As per tradition, the refs are trained to spot "cheaters" - a.k.a. watermelons disguised as pumpkins. Those cheaters are subject to the "Mallet of Justice" and are publicly smashed on the course (keeping the cleanup crew busy).
(Race trophies are lined up in front of the Mallet of Justice)
(A watermelon "cheater" is discovered)
(The Mallet of Justice comes down on the cheater)How Did the Pumpkin Race Begin?
The pumpkin
race was created in Manhattan Beach on Halloween Eve in 1990 by Karl
Rogers,
Michael Aaker and John Holliday. They invented the Pumpkin Racer design
and developed the Pumpkin Race format for guests attending Karl's
birthday party in East Manhattan Beach. The race became an annual
tradition and was eventually made into an official city event at the
Manhattan Beach Pier. In 2007, the World Famous Pumpkin Race was awarded
the National
Recreation and Park Association's Special Event of the Year award
and the California Park and Recreation Society's Award of
Distinction. The race has been featured on numerous television and
travel features.
Manhattan Beach Pumpkin Race 2025 [12 Images]
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