El Toro Base Braces for Saturday Assault

El Toro Marine Corps Air Station is still a military base for another 10 days, but Saturday it will be invaded by several thousand adventurous athletes.

The Taste of Orange County 1999 Ride the Runways event will offer bicyclists, runners and in-line skaters the chance to travel the runways of the base a week before it is officially decommissioned.

This is the first year the Taste of Orange County, the annual restaurant and entertainment festival, has included such a tour.

The 10-mile bicycle ride stays mostly on the runways. The 25-mile ride adds more of the base. The 50-mile ride heads up to the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station and includes a ride through one of the enormous blimp hangars.

There are 5- and 10-mile courses for in-line skaters and 5K and 10K courses for runners.

Registration begins at 7 a.m. and the 50-mile ride starts at 10 a.m. with the other events to follow. The fee is $25 and includes a T-shirt and two weekend passes to the Taste of Orange County. Children 17 and under are $10, but the organizer said children accompanied by an adult do not have to pay unless they want a T-shirt. For more information: (949) 753-1551 or https://www.tasteofoc.com

SAFE FISH

Leonard Davenport, the organizer of Saturday’s Allison Marine Newport Bay Bass Tournament, is proud of the event’s safety record. “We haven’t lost a fish in four years,” Davenport said of the catch-and-release tournament.

About 50 two-person teams, going after spotted bay bass, sand bass and calico bass, are expected for the 6 a.m.-2 p.m. event Saturday. The entry deadline is tonight at a bay fishing seminar at Anglers Center in Newport Beach.

Cost is $110 per team, with proceeds going to United Anglers of Southern California conservation projects. First prize is a trip to Baja’s East Cape. Details: (562) 945-4096.