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![It takes all kinds to run a marathon, such as this guy who registered as Forrest Gump in previousl Surf City Marathon. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)]()
It takes all kinds to run a marathon, such as this guy who registered as Forrest Gump in previousl Surf City Marathon. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
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![You never know who will show up at the races. It could be Matt Damon, who competed in half marathon distance in 2016. (Photo by JOANNA CLAY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)]()
You never know who will show up at the races. It could be Matt Damon, who competed in half marathon distance in 2016. (Photo by JOANNA CLAY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
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![It wouldn’t be Surf City without a couple of the namesakers cutting across Pacific Coast Highway in the middle of the race at the Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on Sunday. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)]()
It wouldn’t be Surf City without a couple of the namesakers cutting across Pacific Coast Highway in the middle of the race at the Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on Sunday. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
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![The Pacific City shopping area serves as the start and end point of the 22nd annual Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on Sunday. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)]()
The Pacific City shopping area serves as the start and end point of the 22nd annual Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on Sunday. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
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![Adley Respicio, 3, had this message for her mother to run faster during the 20th Annual Surf City Marathon. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)]()
Adley Respicio, 3, had this message for her mother to run faster during the 20th Annual Surf City Marathon. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
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![A field of 17,000 are expected to travere the streets of Huntington Beach in the 22nd annual Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on Sunday. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)]()
A field of 17,000 are expected to travere the streets of Huntington Beach in the 22nd annual Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on Sunday. (Photo by MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
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If it’s Super Bowl weekend in Huntington Beach, one thing is certain: There’s going to be a party and you can forget about parking.
On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3 and 4, 17,000-or-so runners will toe the line for the 22nd annual Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon.
And once again, there will be 17,000-or-so individual stories to go with the event: Stories of triumph and heartbreak; people overcoming odds and obstacles, and those falling short; stories of reaching goals and taking taking pride in reaching for them regardless of the outcome.
There also will be the usual cast of characters to add color to the event, like the guy running in 60 pounds of fire gear.
Runners will splay out across Huntington Beach, from Pacific City downtown to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands and State Beach to the north and inland around Seapoint, the Bluffs and Central Park.
This year, there will be some old favorites and new wrinkles will be introduced.
On Saturday, kids will have the chance to scamper over, around and through a half-mile obstacle course called the Cowabunga Beach Challenge. The course includes a cargo net crawl, trash can slalom, hay bale climb, sand pail carry, balance walk and an inflatable slide. Kids who complete the course get a medal and a cape. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. in waves by age group.
For the older set, on Sunday adults will be able to belly up to the Sand Bar, sponsored by Sam Adams, with libations and free music.
Returning this year after a five-year absence is the 5K Run and Walk on Sunday. It features ocean views throughout the course and wends past the pier and Main Street.
Some of the runners participating:
- Christine and Charles Mayfield, of Placentia, registered to run in the marathon as a husband-wife activity. It became something more on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2017, when Charles Mayfield was wounded in a hail of gunfire at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. He is recovering from two wounds. Christine Mayfield and the couple’s children emerged unscathed. The two told race organizers that completing the half-marathon will be another victory as they move forward and live each day with gratitude, hope and respect for those whose lives were lost.
- Laura Fitzgerald is running her 21st half-marathon in the past six years, since recovering from fusion surgery in her lower back.
- Jennifer Obenberger and Rishika Murthy are fighting back from ulcerative colitis and colon removals. Both are registered to run in the Team Challenge for Crohns and Colitis for the half-marathon and raising money to fight the disease.
- Mycle Brandy, of San Clemente, is a four-time stroke survivor in his third half-marathon in Surf City. He walks to raise awareness of the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and to support the Wounded Warrior Project and the Brain Injury Association of America. His next event will be his fourth Walk Across America.
Weekend schedule
What: Active Lifestyle Expo
When: 1-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3
Where: Huntington Beach Parking Lot, 21291 Pacific Coast Highway
What: The Cowabunga Beach Challenge
When: 10:30-11:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 3
Where: On the beach across from the Expo, 21291 Pacific Coast Highway
What: Race Day
When: 6:25 a.m. Wheelchair Half Marathon; 6:30 a.m. Marathon; 7 a.m., Surf City 5K; 7:45 a.m., Half Marathon; Sunday, Feb. 4
Information: motivrunning.com/run-surf-city