Sunday’s 28th Surf City USA Marathon in Huntington Beach will be spared from the major storm expected to hit later in the day.
When the race begins at 6:30 a.m. on Pacific Coast Highway between the ocean and the Waterfront Beach Resort, 16 minutes before sunrise, the temperature will be in the lower 50s, with some clouds and no rain expected until Sunday afternoon at the earliest, National Weather Service meteorologist Brandt Maxwell told City News Service.
The marathon, half-marathon and 5K have all drawn capacity fields, 2,000, 9,300 and 4,500, according to race publicist Dan Cruz.
Shortly after its start, the 26-mile, 385-yard marathon course will 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 Waterfront Beach Resort.
Dorothy Strand is seeking to maintain her streak of finishing a race in every edition, the only runner to have accomplished the feat. The 84-year-old retired nurse from Orange has entered the 5K after placing first among women 80 and older in last year’s 5K.
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.
Strand has also registered for the 2025 race, Cruz said.