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15,000 Runners Scheduled for Long Beach Marathon, Half-Marathon

Another 11,800 runners from 44 states and six nations have entered the half-marathon.

A capacity field of 3,200 has entered Sunday's 35th annual Long Beach Marathon, including 15 runners who have completed all 34 previous editions of the race.

Registration is up 10% from last year, race publicist Dan Cruz told City News Service.

A 13.1-mile half-marathon and a 20-mile bicycle tour will be held in connection with the marathon. The bicycle tour will be held on the marathon course, conducted in the opposite direction.

Another 11,800 runners have entered the half-marathon. The combined marathon and half-marathon fields consist of runners from 44 states and six nations, with 20% running their first marathon or half-marathon. Nearly two- thirds of the entrants are female, Cruz said.

The 26-mile, 385-yard marathon course starts on Shoreline Drive at 6 a.m.

Runners will then pass through The Pike at Rainbow Harbour retail and entertainment center, run on an on-ramp to the Long Beach (710) Freeway, cross the Queensway Bridge to the bow of the Queen Mary. The field will loop around the Lighthouse at Rainbow Harbor, head to Pierpoint Landing, then back through the start/finish area.

The sixth through 10th miles are run a few feet from the Pacific Ocean. The course then goes through the Belmont Shore neighborhood, passes Marine Stadium, goes around Colorado Lagoon, passing the Long Beach Recreation Golf Course.

The 16th through 20th miles are a 5-kilometer loop through Cal State Long Beach, where students, faculty and the school mascot Prospector Pete traditionally come out to support the runners. The field then runs on Ocean Boulevard to the finish line on Shoreline Drive.

The Long Beach Marathon has become a qualifying event for the 2021 Marathon Majors Age Group World Championships, with runners receiving points according to their age, time and gender.

The Long Beach Marathon was first held in 1982. The race was disbanded in 1996 because of financial problems, then revived in 1999 under new management.

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