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HUNTINGTON BEACH (CNS) - The 27th Surf City USA Marathon will be held Sunday in Huntington Beach with 15,000 runners entered in its three races, including 83-year-old Dorothy Strand, who is seeking to maintain her streak of finishing a race in every edition, the only runner to have accomplished the feat.
Strand is a retired nurse from Orange who entered the 5K after completing the half-marathon in four hours, 31 minutes, 15 seconds last year.
Strand became a runner in her late 40s. Her sons were running cross- country at Orange Lutheran High School when her husband, John, decided to join them in road races.
"I thought, `Heck, I need to join in on this,"' she said.
The 5K field also includes Sylvia Mosqueda, the 1988 NCAA women's 10,000 meter champion when she ran for Cal State Los Angeles and 1987 Los Angeles Marathon second-place finisher.
"I've always put so much pressure on myself," the 56-year-old Mosqueda said. "I decided this year I'm just going to come out and enjoy myself, see what I can do. Let things happen gradually rather than being so forceful."
The 5K is set to begin at 7 a.m. at Pacific Coast Highway and Huntington Street. The course heads north on Pacific Coast Highway 1.6 miles to Goldenwest Street, past the Huntington Beach Pier. The field will make a U-turn at Goldenwest Street, then head south on Pacific Coast Highway towards the finish line at Main Street, one block north of the starting line.
The marathon is set to begin at 6:30 a.m., 15 minutes before sunrise, on Pacific Coast Highway between the ocean and the Hilton Waterfront Beach Hotel.
The 26-mile, 385-yard course will then quickly pass the Huntington Beach Pier. Miles two through nine go through Huntington Beach's Central Park and miles 9 through 15 through the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.
Miles 16 through 25 are on a beachfront running path paved over the sand. The final mile takes runners along Pacific Coast Highway to the finish line, also near the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort.
A half-marathon is set to begin at 7:30 a.m.
A finish line festival will follow the races.