Runners gear up for race day

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Dea Kurtovich won’t be running to win the Pacific

Shoreline Marathon on Sunday. She’s in it for something else.

“I love putting myself through challenges,” the 19-year-old woman said.

People don’t have to be super competitive to participate. They don’t even

have to run a full 26 miles -- the event will offer shorter races ranging

from a quarter mile to 13 miles, which is the distance Kurtovich has set

for herself.

Although she has been running for three years, this will be the first

time Kurtovich will compete in a race, which is expected to draw about

8,000 runners from all over the world.

For Kurtovich, running has been a great way to exercise, relieve stress

and “tune out” life’s daily problems. But she worried about competing

because she thought men ruled the sport. But these days, women are

holding their own.

“I think the new marathoners are mainly women,” said Rich Scott, director

of marathon training and fitness at A Snail’s Pace Running Shoe, a store

in Fountain Valley. “They’re having a ball.”

Scott is helping Kurtovich and a handful of others prepare to run in an

upcoming full marathon in San Diego, he said. The 13-mile half-marathon

at Pacific Shoreline will help them get ready for the big one, he said.

The Huntington Beach event will kick off at the pier at 7 a.m. and last

until about 2 p.m.

Although rain put a damper on the event last year, the forecast for

Sunday is good. Some light showers are expected Saturday, but National

Weather Service forecasters said it should be mostly sunny Sunday with

temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.

After the races, there will be sports exhibits, food and live

entertainment at Pier Plaza, featuring the instrumental surf band The

Breakaways and flamenco guitarist Robbie Longley.

Because the races will take runners through the city, some residential

streets will be closed to traffic and parking.

The entry fees for the runs are $70 for the marathon, $45 for 13 miles,

$25 for five or three miles, and $15 for a quarter-mile to a full mile.

For an entry form, call 536-3525 or log on to the Web site at

marathonrun.com.

FYI

WHAT: Fourth annual Pacific Shoreline Marathon

WHERE: Huntington Beach Pier

WHEN: Sunday. Entry forms available now.

WEB SITE: marathonrun.com

CALL: 536-3525