First OC Marathon Has Local Emphasis

Lacking big names and the appearance money that goes with them, the Orange County Marathon embarks on its first run today with emphasis on local runners.

The race will begin at 8 a.m. at Newport Center and finish on the UC Irvine campus, 26.2 miles later.

“We wanted to create an event that is going to be regional in stature,” said Bill Toomey, co-race sponsor and Olympic decathlon gold medalist in the 1968 Games in Mexico City. “But we also want it to be international in interest.”

Nearly 85% of the more than 500 entrants are from Orange County, but it is most likely that the winner will not be a county runner.

Race organizers have solicited a shoe company and national sports groups around the world to campaign for top international runners.

Among the leading men competing for the $2,500 first prize is Vesa Kahkola, who is the national marathon champion of Finland with a best time of 2:16.

Lawrie Spence of Scotland has the best time of the entrants. The 32-year-old ran a 2:15 in the Glasgow Marathon last year.

Josef Machalec of Sweden will be running in his seventh marathon of 1985. His finished 34th in the New York Marathon in late October. The 37-year-old has a best time of 2:17.

Alan Thurlow of Australia will also be among the favorites, having run a 2:16 race in the Melbourne Marathon.

In the women’s division, Sinikka Keskitalo, who placed 15th in the 1984 Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles, is the favorite. The 37-year-old from Finland has the best time (2:33) of any female entered. That time was good enough for second place in the Rotterdam Marathon earlier this year.

Kathe Needham, winner of the Toronto Marathon in 1978 and 1982, is also among the favorites, though the Canadian’s best time is 2:40.

Michelle Aubuchon of Los Angeles has run a 2:41 and could challenge.

The course will start in Newport Center and wind its way south on Pacific Coast Highway through Corona del Mar toward Laguna Beach. As the runners hit the eight-mile mark, they will turn inland and head north on Laguna Canyon Road.

It is the incline of the canyon road, going from sea level at Main Beach to 404 feet at its highest elevation, that should comprise the most challenging stretch of the course.

“It will just be a matter of who copes the best,” Spence said. “From a car the incline of the canyon does not seem too severe, but running it will be another thing.”

The runners will leave the canyon after 17 miles and finish the race on a flat, almost downhill portion of Barranca that leads over the 405 Freeway to Jeffrey Drive. From there, they will head northeast on Jeffrey to Irvine Center Drive, northwest to Culver Drive, southwest to West Yale Loop and, finally, south along Harvard to UCI.

“I see the course as one in three sections,” Needham said. “The middle eight miles are uphill, the first and last parts of the race are flat or downhill.”

Also running is Harry Cordellos, the 48-year-old who holds the record for blind marathoners. His fastest time is 2:57.42, which was run in the Boston Marathon in 1975.