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The 15th annual OC Marathon this weekend has a distinct California flavor.
While the event has attracted runners from all 50 states and more than 20 countries, 94.5 percent of the participants live in California and 45 percent are from Orange County.
But the most impressive statistic of the OC Marathon Running Festival, which extends Friday, May 3, through Sunday, May 5, might be the number of youth expected to lace up their running shoes.
More than 23,000 people will participate in the OC Marathon, Half Marathon and OC 5K, as well as nearly 9,500 youth in the Saturday Kids Run the OC “Final Mile.” There will be youth from 160 schools and 18 school districts. It will also feature children of the Newport Beach-based nonprofit Girls on the Run, which is focused on enhancing girls’ social, emotional and physical skills and behaviors to successfully navigate life.
Each year, the children participate in a 10-week, in-school fitness program, led by 250 volunteer coaches to help increase endurance, muscular strength and flexibility. By the end of the program, the students will have accumulated the equivalent of 25.2 miles of running activity, and then can complete their final marathon mile at the OC Marathon festival.
There will be inspirational stories in every corner at Sunday’s OC Marathon, which starts on Santa Barbara Drive in Newport Beach and continues through Corona del Mar, before the course heads inland. Runners are known to get off to a blazing start because of the downhill provided at Fashion Island. The marathon ends at the OC Fair & Event Center at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa, site of the Ultimate Finish Line Festival. The OC Lifestyle and Fitness Expo will be there Friday and Saturday.
The OC Marathon course is net downhill in elevation from start to finish, with the opening 6.5 miles considered extremely fast with only minor inclines. Mile 6.5 to 7 is the only significant hill on the course, taking the runners from 15 feet to 75 feet as the course heads north through West Newport and Costa Mesa on Red Hill Avenue, and through Irvine and Santa Ana. The course is mostly flat through mile 10.5 with a couple of rolling hills to 11.5. There’s a 45-degree incline at mile 14.5 over the 405 freeway overpass and a 40-degree incline slightly over a quarter-mile in length at mile 23.
After leaving the Newport area and passing the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and South Coast Plaza, the course goes through the campus of Segerstrom High School, and then one more mile in Santa Ana before picking up the Santa Ana River Trail for 1.5 miles and exiting in Costa Mesa for a stroll through the “Birds Streets,” a new twist for the OC Marathon.
The average age of an OC Marathon, Half Marathon or OC 5K runner is 39 years old, while the youngest ever was 3 and the oldest 96. There are more female participants (55 percent) than males (45 percent) and 74 percent have a college degree or higher.
The oldest runner registered for this weekend’s OC Marathon is Bowoo Lee, 86, of Cerritos, while 85-year-old Tom Stark of Fullerton is listed as the oldest in the Half Marathon.
Among the elite Orange County runners competing this year are Leilani Ross (Irvine) in the OC Marathon and Patrick Hearn (Irvine) and Ryan Cosens (Santa Ana) in the Half Marathon.
To find out more about the marathon and the schedule activities, as well as the course route, go online to ocmarathon.com.
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