Event organizers, participants want to make Bakersfield Marathon an event to be proud of
Apparently, if you build a marathon, they will come.
And they will run. Runners and spectators are streaming into town for the seventh annual Bakersfield Marathon, and they’re coming from more than 200 cities in 12 U.S. states — plus Canada, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom and Guatemala.
“We’ve sold out nearly the entire race — only our 6K has a few spots remaining,” said David Milazzo, co-founder of Sunday’s marathon and past president of the Active Bakersfield Alliance, the nonprofit that organizes the event.
“While there are always no-shows,” he said Friday, “we could have up to 2,400 runners in total.”
And when you factor in families and friends, plus volunteers, vendors and support staff, and of course plenty of area residents who just want to experience the competition and the culture, they’re expecting as many as 7,000 people celebrating all things Bakersfield at the Kern County Museum throughout the weekend, today and Sunday.
Runners hit the pavement at 7 a.m. Sunday at the Kern County Museum. In order to ensure their safety, the race route includes temporary road closures starting at the museum (where the race starts and ends).
You can find the exact roads and times of these closures by going to https://rb.gy/ts4q56 and clicking on the PDF.
Remember, public bus transportation may be affected as well. Those planning to use buses before 3 p.m. Sunday should refer to GETBus.org for bus schedule updates.
A clean-up team and police safety team will trail the final runner and reopen roads as the race passes through intersections. By using this process, street closures are cut to a minimum.
Streets nearest the starting line at the Kern County Museum
will be reopened as early as 8 a.m., organizers said. Rolling openings will continue throughout the day until all city roads are restored by 2:30 p.m.
The Kern River Multiuse Trail, commonly known as the Kern River Bike Path, will be closed between Manor Street and Truxtun Lake from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, as the trail will be used as part of the event.
According to an advisory from the Bakersfield Police Department, road closures may begin as early as 4 a.m. Sunday. Chester Avenue between the Garces Circle and Bearsley Avenue will be closed during the entire event. Temporary road closures affecting major roadways include 18th Street, 19th Street, 20th Street, 21st Street, 22nd Street, 23rd Street, 24th Street, C Street, Elm Street, F Street, H Street, California Avenue, Oleander Avenue, Truxtun Avenue, and Palm Street. Other closures will occur in northeast Bakersfield near Panorama Drive and the Bakersfield College campus.
Milazzo said he isn’t aware of any nationally known runners on Sunday’s roster. But there are some interesting participants.
Hugh Kuchta, for example, was a 1980 Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon. Kuchta ran 2:22:58 and defeated Frank Shorter, a former Olympic gold medalist in 1972 and silver medalist in Montreal in 1976.
Kuchta, who lived in Bakersfield from 1999 through 2001, will give a talk and take questions beginning at 2 p.m. at today’s Expo at the museum, where visitors can also enjoy vendors and other attractions.
Instagram influencer Florida Jesus, who Milazzo said has developed a newfound love of Bakersfield, will be running his first full marathon Sunday.
And then there’s Bakersfield’s own Javier Cruz, 61, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier who has run more than 100 marathons. Cruz is running Sunday as well, despite having finished months of chemotherapy last fall following his diagnosis last year.
“I have been through a very tough year,” Cruz said. “I lost a kidney to cancer. I was down mentally, physically and emotionally.”
But Cruz got off his sofa in November, and he’s been training hard.
“I’m so excited to run,” he said. “I know this marathon is here for me.
“I live here. I run here. This city is part of my future,” he said.
“I love to run on the streets of Bakersfield.”