LONG-DISTANCE RUN: Nearly 350 runners in the...

LONG-DISTANCE RUN: Nearly 350 runners in the Disneyland Marathon on Sunday (B3) are coming from Japan. And no coincidence: Disney executives chose this Sunday--just three weeks after the Los Angeles Marathon--because it coincides with “Golden Week” in Japan, the equivalent of spring break. . . . Disneyland campaigned for the marathon to boost sagging Japanese tourism here. Says marathon spokesman Joe Aguirre: “The timing is a matter of convenience for the Japanese tourist.”

LET ‘ER RIP: It’s no surprise, really, that Earl Rippee of Newport Beach, soon to be 75, is running in Sunday’s marathon. . . . He runs 50 miles a week, bicycles, scuba dives, and bungee jumps in his spare time. . . . Says Rippee, chief executive at Anvil Bancorp. in Irvine--and the oldest runner in the race: “I look at life as being a marathon event and not a sprint. We are participants in life and not spectators. I like to participate.”

MUD IN YOUR EYE: Who knows more about slinging mud than politicians? Which is why the Mission San Juan Capistrano has lined up many of them--including local Mayor Carolyn Nash--for today’s “Mud Slinging Festival.” It’s real mud this time--the politicians will join in on the task of plastering mud and straw over adobe walls to help preserve the historic old mission. . . . But no mud at the politicians, quips mission administrator Gerald Miller: “Some are pretty adept at ducking anyway.”

MEETING DISASTER: It’s not designed as one of the more fun fairs--the themes are too ominous. But a huge turnout is expected this weekend for a free, two-day disaster preparedness fair at the National Guard Armory in Los Alamitos. Police, fire, Red Cross, doctors and disaster support groups will talk about everything from earthquakes to fires and floods. . . . Says fair spokeswoman Cynthia McArthur: “Just about anybody who could answer a question on disaster preparedness will be there.”

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Going to Disneyland

Among the early runners signing up, the largest contingent coming from outside California in Sunday’s Disneyland Marathon is from Japan:

California: 4,957

Japan: 349

Arizona: 54

Washington: 53

Colorado: 35

Source: Disneyland