John Wayne Grit Series returns to Newport Coast for third annual run this weekend

The John Wayne Grit Series is returning to Newport Coast for the third year this Saturday with some 250 runners ready to participate in one of its three major categories.

The race will begin and end by the bridge at the lower parking lot of Crystal Cove State Park, with each of the individual start times for the races interspersed early Saturday morning. There are three routes that people will be able to participate in: a 5K, a 25K and a 50K — 3.1 miles to about 31 miles.

Saturday’s run in Newport Coast is the second of three destination races put on by the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.

Others will take place in August, October and November in Ridgeway, Colo.; Lone Pine, Calif., and Fort Worth, Texas.

The first of the series was held in Pioneertown in May.

“Each year, we’re growing in number,” said race director Molly Kassouf. “We’ve doubled our entrance this year for Newport Coast. So far, this is true for every race ... I wouldn’t be surprised next year if it doubles again.”

Kassouf said her friend Ethan Wayne asked her if she could design a race route in some of the areas where his father, the late actor John Wayne, filmed his movies. Lone Pine was the first locale, and she said the intent had only been to plan one race until its popularity skyrocketed. Planning for this year’s series began in November.

There were only two races in 2019, Kassouf said, and five races in 2021. The cancer fundraising-event was held online in 2020 because of the pandemic.

“We’ve added Colorado back and removed Flagstaff, Ariz. [as locales for the fundraiser]” said Kassouf. “We had such a big pull to come back to Colorado. We’re not done with Arizona. There’s so much beautiful scenery out there. It’s still on the horizon for possibly another location.”

While registration is closed for this Saturday’s races, it is still open for the remaining marathons in the 2022 John Wayne Grit Series, which helps fund cancer research and treatment.

“What motivates people to do it? I think the challenge,” said Kassouf. “I think believing in themselves to try and do something that either they love or challenge themselves to something that’s above and beyond their imagination. The cause drives a lot of people … everybody has been affected somehow, some way by cancer. I think that’s something people love to give back for.

“They might’ve lost somebody, endured it themselves or want to run in memory of or in honor of. We try to keep it fun and try to keep it where people can be involved. People can walk. We have great aid stations [staffed by those] who understand people’s challenges when they’re out there. We’re just making sure that people are enjoying themselves but also challenging themselves with a little extra grit.”

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