Ready for the run

Mike Sciacca

The only traffic you will see early Sunday morning along Pacific

Coast Highway in Downtown Huntington Beach is foot traffic.

That stretch of road will be shut down to accommodate the T-Mobile

Pacific Shoreline Marathon, which is expected to attract nearly 6,000

participants.

“We’ll have our biggest turnout yet,” said Herb Massinger,

president of the marathon, which celebrates its eighth year with

Sunday’s event. “We anticipate about 6,000 people for this event and

I think this marathon really captures the Surf City scene.

“Some people may view it as just a Huntington Beach event but,

really, it’s a big, national event. We have people coming in from all

over the country for this. It’s a great stretch of land to run, and

it’s just a phenomenal marathon.”

As the only oceanfront marathon in Southern California, it

attracted 5,400 participants from 40 states last year, Massinger

said.

“That’s not bad, considering this marathon has not had a real,

major sponsor,” he added.

The Pacific Shoreline Marathon started eight years ago with just

1,300 participants that ran a course up and back again on Pacific

Coast Highway, Massinger said.

T-Mobile signed on as the marathon’s title sponsor in December.

And this year’s host sponsor for the event is the Hyatt Regency

Huntington Beach Resort & Spa.

The marathon will start and finish at the pedestrian bridge that

spans Pacific Coast Highway from the hotel to the ocean.

The 26.2-mile course offers a flat and fast course with numerous

scenic views. Runners will travel down Pacific Coast Highway, north

to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Ecological Preserve, then wind their way

through local parks, residential streets and equestrian

neighborhoods.

It is an official qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and is held

five weeks before the L.A. Marathon.

Over the past seven years, the Pacific Shoreline Marathon has

donated nearly $100,000 to several local charities, including the

Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguard Program, Youth Shelter and Boy and

Girl Scouts.

Live bands will be set up at various points along the route and a

Surf City Beer Garden will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on race day.

A Super Bowl Tailgate Party will also be open to all competitors and

spectators at the finish line.

In addition to the marathon, a Half Marathon begins at 7 a.m., a

5K Run/Walk event at 8:30 a.m. and kids can take part in the Surf

Kids Mile Run at 10 a.m.

All race finishers receive a surf board medallion, with an ocean

scene made of dicast metal.

“It’s the nicest medal I’ve ever seen,” Massinger said.

In conjunction with the race is the Surf City Health & Fitness

Expo, which runs Friday afternoon and again all-day Saturday, in the

parking lot near the base of the foot bridge directly across the

street from the Hyatt.

“There’s seems to be a lot of excitement around the marathon this

year,” said Gilbert Salazar, 30, of Long Beach.

Salazar was the overall winner of the marathon in 1999, 2000 and

2002 and said he ran his best time ever in a marathon -- 2:27 -- to

win the 1999 event.

He has run the past five marathons but suffered an injury during

last year’s run and dropped out during the course.

“I feel good and recovered, ready to run this,” said Salazar, who

ran the Tucson Marathon in December. “I don’t feel I’ve had enough

adequate training time, but I’ll give it my best.”

Glen Weissman, who won last year’s overall title, is returning,

looking to make it back-to-back marathon victories.

He had a winning time of 2:41.30 last year.

His brother, Chuck, will also run the marathon Sunday.

“I think it’s a fast course in Huntington,” said Weissman, 34, of

Bellevue, Wash. “I think I was running a little bit conservative last

year, but I think I’ve made the mental adjustments and hope to run a

fast time. I’m looking forward to it.”

Robert Leonardo, 41, of Van Nuys, also will be looking to win

another Surf City event.

He won the marathon in 2001 and finished runner-up to Weissman

last year.

Sunday will mark the seventh time he’s run the Pacific Shoreline

Marathon.

“I love everything about it,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite

marathons.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.