stock running

A new start and finish area and new local ownership highlight the changes to the Bend Marathon and Half, set for Saturday.

Nearly 2,500 runners are expected to participate in the fifth annual event, which includes a marathon, a half marathon, 10-kilometer and 5K races, and a kids’ race.

The marathon course will start and finish behind the stage at the Les Schwab Amphitheater, instead of downtown Bend as in years past. The course is nearly the reverse of what it was last year. The route cuts through downtown and Northwest Crossing, then takes runners out and back on the new paved path along Century Drive before finishing at the amphitheater.

“We wanted to reverse the impact, because it takes a long time for all the runners to get though downtown and it created some traffic delays, so our goal was to get people in and out of the main arteries of town as fast as possible,” said Kari Strang, one of the organizers of the event.

Strang, a runner from Bend, took over operations of the race with another prominent Bend runner, Max King, who won the Bend Marathon last year and in 2016. The event had previously been organized and operated by a group from Portland.

“This is the first year that it’s been locally owned, and we would love to keep it local,” Strang said. “The community support so far this year has been incredible, from sponsors, volunteers and participants. We definitely feel the love from the community. We want it to be awesome, and if it’s not, we have to run into everybody at the grocery store.”

Strang said she expects more than 1,000 runners to compete in the half marathon, about 500 in the 10K, 500 in the 5K, and about 400 in the marathon.

King is not running the marathon this year, which leaves the race wide open for a new men’s winner. Strang mentioned Bend’s Ian Sharman as a possible favorite among the men, but she offered no predictions for the women’s winner.

“We definitely have some fast runners,” Strang said, “but who knows? It’s Bend, so it could be anyone. A lot of our friends are runners but they’re also really wanting to help us out, so some of them are choosing to volunteer and lend their support that way instead of racing.”

The event’s website — www.bend-marathon.com — offers a race schedule, a course guide and also detour information for drivers who do not want to be slowed by the races on Saturday.

“That’s something we’re really concerned about,” Strang said. “We want to give people a heads-up so they can plan accordingly.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com