Halving It Their Way

The months ahead constitute the heart of the local marathon season, with popular events coming up in Long Beach, San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The Orange County Half Marathon on Saturday gives local runners a chance to get ready for the big races ahead. Now in its fifth year, it’s becoming a big race in its own right, one of the few local runs to gain steadily in participation over the past few years. As many as 2,500 runners are expected this year.

“We’ve grown every year, and I think a lot of that is that we’re not a typical 5 or 10K,” says race organizer Kim Winslow.

When it started, the 13.1-mile race was held at the site of Lion Country Safari. Now, for the third year, it will follow the paved San Diego Creek bike trail for most of its length, starting at Woodbridge High School in Irvine and finishing at nearby Woodbridge Village Center, a shopping mall.

The course has changed slightly from last year, when runners went from the street to the bike trail after less than a mile. To accommodate the extra runners expected this year, Winslow says, the point where the course enters the bike trail is now about 2 1/2 miles from the start. That gives the pack more of a chance to spread out before entering the narrow path.

Although flat overall, the course does offer one challenge: Every time the bike trail comes to a surface street, it dips beneath it and climbs steeply back up on the other side. “That’s the hard part,” Winslow warns.

On last year’s course, the men’s winner was Mark Junkerman in 1:05:30. The women’s winner was Jane Wetzel, in 1:14:25. Runners expected Saturday include Danny Martinez, winner of the 1992 San Francisco Marathon, and Jaime Gutierrez, winner of the 1992 Long Beach Half Marathon.

In addition to the half marathon, Saturday’s event in Irvine includes a 5K run/walk. The race is organized by Winslow Promotions, with part of the proceeds going to benefit the Woodbridge High School athletic program.