Cal State Fullerton Opens Campus for 8K Titan Classic

Sunday marks the fifth running of the Camp Titan Classic at Cal State Fullerton, although in the past it’s been kept a pretty tight secret.

According to Roger Kavigan, sponsorship coordinator for this year’s event, the Camp Titan Classic has until this year been advertised only at the university and drew little participation from the outside community.

“It was mostly campus-oriented,” Kavigan said. “This is the first year we’ve tried to make it a (professionally organized) event.” That means advertising it in all the local running magazines and arranging for event sponsorship.

The run’s profile isn’t the only thing that has changed; the distance continues to evolve, too. Two years ago it was a 5K and 3K event; last year it was 5K and 10K. This year there will be an 8K run with awards to the top finishers in all divisions, and a 3K non-competitive run/walk.

Eight kilometers has become a popular distance for a number of local races.

“It’s kind of a nice compromise between a longer distance and a shorter distance,” Kavigan said.

As with past runnings, this year’s Camp Titan Classic will be held entirely on campus, making it a flat course that should produce some fast times. The 8K event will also include a race/walk division.

The event benefits Camp Titan, a one-week summer camp for abused and underprivileged children in Orange County.

With the weather warming and the ground dry, this could be a good weekend to revisit Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve after a rough winter.

Amigos de Bolsa Chica, a volunteer support group, holds free walking tours of the wetlands preserve on the first Saturday of each month--which means this Saturday. Groups leave every 15 minutes from 9 to 10:30 a.m. from the parking lot on the inland side of Pacific Coast Highway between Warner Avenue and Golden West Street, across from the entrance to Bolsa Chica State Beach.

The walks take about 1 1/2 hours and include talks on the natural and human history of the salt marsh and estuary, which is a vital feeding and breeding area for birds and fish. Sturdy walking shoes and a jacket are recommended.

For information, call (714) 897-7003.