Race for Cure Also a Race for Parking

With an estimated 30,000 people expected to converge Sunday morning on Newport Beach’s Fashion Island for the Race for the Cure, police offer several tips to avoid monumental traffic messes.

Southbound Jamboree Road and San Joaquin Hills Road are typically used by people trying to make it to Newport Center Drive, where the race begins and ends. Sgt. Fred Heinecke said those streets are congested well before the race begins.

With that in mind, runners and others traveling to the event are advised to take less traveled streets, Heinecke said.

One option is MacArthur Boulevard to San Miguel Road into Newport Center Drive, Heinecke said. Pacific Coast Highway is another.

Traffic gets worst about 30 minutes before the races begin, he said.

For the first time, shuttle service and parking will be available at nearby Corona del Mar High School, 2101 Eastbluff Drive. The annual 5K run and walk, which began in Orange County in 1992, traditionally are among the 10 largest of 98 held nationwide each year by the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which is helping to find a cure for breast cancer.

Registration opens at 6:30 a.m. The first race, the women’s 5K run/walk, begins at 7:35, and the one-mile family walk starts five minutes later. The coed 5K run and walk begin at 9:35 and 9:40, respectively.

For more information, call (714) 957-9165 or check the web site at https://www.occure.com.

* DESPITE THE PAIN

Race for the Cure runner’s ailment provides empathy for cancer patients. D15