By Official stopwatches went off at 5:55 a.m., commencing the 31st annual JetBlue Long Beach Marathon on Sunday.
The marathon brought 22,000 different participants together for the 26.2 or 13.1 mile-flat course by the beachside. Starting with wheelchair marathoners, regular marathoners and cyclists were ready in their stances five minutes later, in hopes of breaking personal records.
This year, with temperatures in the high 90s, organizers allowed half marathoners, who were originally to start at 7:30 a.m., to run with the marathoners to beat the heat. Jeff Broadston, the head of the medical aid station, said that dehydration was a serious worry for this marathon.
“We’ve seen a lot of heat related things today, but it’s not necessarily the heat that’s getting to people, it’s the humidity. Californians are not used to a humid climate,” Broadston said.
Coming in over three hours, half-marathoner Kim Vu from Santa Ana said that she was disappointed she did not make the early start and felt like the heat had affected her race pace.
“I was planning on running earlier so the sun wasn’t up as high and it wasn’t as hot, but the fact that it got to nearly 100 degrees was awful,” Vu said.
Long Beach native Jasmine Loveayala finished the marathon in a little over four hours.
“It was really crowded compared to usual because of the half marathon and the heat,” Loveayala said. “…I don’t feel intimidated. A lot of the marathoners here all encourage each other and they all uplift each other. If they see that you’re walking or hurting they say ‘Come on! There’s only 20 miles left!’”
A former California State University, Long Beach student and West Covina native, Lenore Moreno, was the first female marathoner to cross the finish line at 02:40:42. The 25-year-old elite marathon runner has often openly expressed that with these marathon times, she said plans to race in next February’s Los Angeles Olympic Trials.
Charity Coordinator for Run Racing Allison Wootton said that there were over 23,000 volunteers scattered around the racecourse with 30-50 people at the 18 water stations. Wootton said that she was also grateful for the many CSULB fraternities, sororities, track and field and cross-country volunteers.
All participants earned a medal but some received the Beach City medal. The Beach City Challenge medal signifies the completion of three races during the year, starting with the Surf City Marathon in February, the Orange County Marathon in May and finishing with the Long Beach Marathon.
There were pictures in the paper that came out with this article. Where can we find those online?