Organizers Add Heat Precautions for Long Beach Marathon Runners

Organizers of Sunday’s 31st annual Long Beach Marathon announced they are increasing water and supplies at each of the 18 water stations on the marathon course because of the forecast of hot weather.

There will also be additional electrolyte supplies at the nine water stations are also available.

Runners who have entered the half-marathon have been given the option of starting with the marathon field at 6 a.m., instead of with the half-marathon field at 7:30 a.m. so they can run in cooler temperatures.

However, half-marathon runners competing for overall or age division awards must start at 7:30 a.m. to comply with rules of USA Track & Field, the sport’s national governing body.

A field of approximately 4,000 has entered the marathon, while about another 13,500 have entered the half-marathon and about 2,500 have registered for the 20-mile bicycle tour, organizers said.

The combined marathon and half-marathon fields consist of runners from 45 states and 52 nations, according to organizers.

The 26-mile, 385-yard marathon course starts on Shoreline Drive. Runners will then pass through The Pike at Rainbow Harbour retail and entertainment center, run on the Long Beach (710) Freeway, cross the Queensway Bridge to the bow of the Queen Mary.

The field will loop around the Lighthouse at Rainbow Harbor, head to Pierpoint Landing, then back through the start/finish area.

The sixth through 10th miles are run a few feet from the Pacific Ocean. The course then goes through the Belmont Shore neighborhood, passes Marine Stadium, goes around Colorado Lagoon, passing the Long Beach Recreation Golf Course.

The 16th through 20th miles are a 5-kilometer loop through Cal State Long Beach, with more than 5,000 students and supporters expected to greet the field. The runners then head back to the finish line on Shoreline Drive.

The race has a new title sponsor, the airline JetBlue, and its official title is the JetBlue Long Beach Marathon.

Run Racing, the race’s owner, and JetBlue will make a matching donation of 20 cents per run by the field to the Joan Van Bloom Foundation, part of Long Beach Unified School District Athletics. The estimated donation is $60,000, according to Scot Breithaupt, the director of marketing for Run Racing.

The Long Beach Marathon was first held in 1982. The race was disbanded in 1996 because of financial problems, then revived in 1999 under new management.

City News Service; Photo: Patch Archive