There’s signs of an upcoming marathon everywhere you go in Huntington Beach this week. If the bright orange road signs warning of road closure weren’t enough, then watching all the runners might tip you off. As I drove to the beach for Surf City Nights this evening, I saw 6 runners of marathon quality running rapidly after dark. I see runners on Edwards Street and Edwards Hill all the time, but not running quite so fast. These men and women were really in shape and you could tell that each was preparing for something big.

Fast forward to Marathon Central, the City of Huntington Beach beach parking lot across from
The Hyatt Regency and Hilton hotels. Two huge Enterprise trucks sat ready to spring into action delivering water and supplies for the Super Bowl Sunday Marathon, called Surf City USA Marathon. As I took my evening stroll, runners zipped pass me–more than I’ve ever seen for a cool January evening. And as I walked past the parking attendant at Sunset Vista RV Camp parking lot, I saw his billboard notice to employees stated, “There are NO available spots for the marathon. Cancellations are already filled.”

I’ve received the warning about the street closure in the mail, and one family member has gotten his VIP pass for the day’s events. He hopes it won’t rain to high heaven like it did last year. Only sunshine and warm days are predicted. The event is SOLD OUT and 16,000 runners or so are expected to fill the beaches and streets as they participate in this Marathon Qualifier. Today the signs of a marathon are evident. Each day as it draws near, I’ll see more evidence. I suspect they’ll begin setting up their tents and expo areas tomorrow.