‘Rain or shine, the race will go on’

With flash flood warnings in effect for Newport Beach through Saturday afternoon and a 50 to 70% chance of rain on Sunday, Orange County Marathon officials scrambled this week to buy raincoats and ponchos for volunteers and staff.

“They say this storm will be the biggest in two years, and of course it’s going to be one of those little-spit-on-you type of those things,” said Race Director Bill Sumner, who has worked with the marathon all through its four years of existence. “The weather is the only thing we don’t have control over.”

Rain or shine, the race will go on Sunday, Sumner said. Officials are expecting about 14,000 participants this year, he said. The full- and half-marathon events begin about 7:30 a.m. Sunday at Newport Center.

“I’m not worried about losing people because of the weather, because I have people calling me from Colorado and everywhere to make sure the race is still on and they can still get in,” Sumner said.

Forecasters expect a large storm to bring two to five inches of rain to Newport Beach and the rest of Orange County Saturday, said Noel Isla, a forecaster for the San Diego office of the National Weather Service.

“This is a strong storm system with heavy rains headed to Newport Beach,” Isla said.

The rain also will be accompanied by gusty winds of up to 25 miles per hour, Isla said.

Flash-flood warnings also are in effect for Newport Beach and other costal areas until Saturday afternoon, he said.

While the chances of rain drop for the day of the race, there’s still a good possibility runners could be all wet with forecaster predicting a 50 to 70% chance of rain through Monday.

Sumner said he remains optimistic this year’s race will be a success despite a few storm clouds. The event has already booked up two large hotels, one in Irvine and one in Newport Beach.

The event brings with it millions of tourism dollars to Orange County — about $4.5 million last year, he said, adding that about 2,000 local volunteers will help this year along the race route.

“There’s a lot of heads and beds,” Sumner said. “Marathoners eat a lot, and restaurants are going to be busy this weekend for the weekend, but it goes beyond filling hotel rooms — it gives community pride.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.