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HUNTINGTON BEACH (CNS) - The Surf City USA Marathon in Huntington Beach will be run today on its traditional first Sunday in February date for the first time since 2020, with a field of approximately 2,000 entered for the race's 26th edition.
The 2021 race was delayed to Sept. 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It usually draws a capacity field of 2,500. The smaller field is likely due to the pandemic and that this is the second running of the race in less than five months, race publicist Dan Cruz told City News Service.
The marathon is set to begin at 6:30 a.m., 14 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.
The marathon field is limited to 2,500 because the beachfront running path is not part of the race's closed course and runners may encounter walkers, bicyclists and others not participating in the race. The path is only 8 feet wide for a few stretches, Cruz said.
Surf bands will perform on four stages along the course.
The field includes Heather LeFriec, a physical education teacher from Spokane, Washington, who is running in the Surf City USA Marathon to fulfill her goal of completing 50 marathons by her 50th birthday in March.
LeFriec became a competitive runner as a senior at Oak Harbor High School about 65 miles north of Seattle after tennis was moved from fall to the spring. She wanted to stay active, compete in another sport, something that might help her lose weight. She wasn't skilled at soccer and volleyball, so they were out.
Because she always liked running, she chose cross-country and finished 12th in the Washington state cross-country championships. After running one year at an Idaho community college, she was offered a scholarship at Gonzaga where she set a school record in the 10,000 meters that stood for more than a decade.
More than 11,000 runners have entered the marathon's three races that will be held Sunday. A half-marathon and 5K will begin following the marathon's start.
The only runner to finish a race in all 25 previous editions of the Surf City USA Marathon is Dorothy Strand, an 82-year-old retired nurse from Orange who is entered in the half-marathon.
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.