ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Marathons across the nation canceled plans when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, blunting a formidable fundraising tool and canceling runner’s plans.

The Orange County Marathon has suffered alongside other races. But after more than 900 days on the sidelines, it will be back Sunday — not with the 26.2 mile run of legend, but with its abbreviated cousin, the half-marathon.

The five-kilometer afternoon race, which begins at 4 p.m., starts Saturday. It’s a triumph for organizers whose plans to reschedule any race have already been thwarted twice. After the initial cancellation in May 2020, a reboot that November failed. Planners rethought the race and aimed for the first weekend of May 2021, only for plans to again be scuttled by rising case rates of the delta variant. 

So they went to plan B.

“Every race across the country learned to embrace virtual runs to keep the lights on,” said OC Marathon race director Gary Kutscher. ”That’s been the highlight of all this downtime.”

When the pandemic shut down events across the country, race directors had largely spent the registration money on the costs of the race. Kutscher said the OC Marathon offered customers an opportunity to roll over the registration fee to the next race or compete virtually. Those virtual events allowed them to raise about $40,000 for the Salvation Army. Instead of attending an in-person race, people could register, usually for far less money and then submit their time to organizers, usually through a link.

The OC Marathon is now in its 17th year of events. It has always included a marathon, half-marathon, 5K race and kids' run. Registration numbers this year have dipped, and the stop-and-start nature of the last two years made organizers rethink the event. Kutscher and the company decided to cut the marathon, which has far fewer participants than the other races and costs more. Marathons require more road closures, police, volunteers and 20 aid stations. 

And the number of runners, on the rise in 2019, has lost momentum. The OC Marathon and its accompanying races once approached 25,000 total participants. Nearly 10,000 competed in the popular half marathon — the biggest moneymaker — while just 2,500 signed up for the full marathon. Kutscher said about 6,600 have registered for the upcoming half-marathon, but that number always dips about 10% on race day.  

Further complicating efforts, Kutscher explained, are sharp cost increases. While many races have had to make alterations and add some social distancing protocols, public safety is far more expensive. After the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013, costs for extra security have steadily risen. 

While Kutscher said it’s been a “no profit” business in recent years, he is optimistic. Registering numbers always rise and fall, he said, and people are ready to be back in person. Plus, its title event will soon return.

The OC Marathon is scheduled to be back in May 2022, followed by the kids' run in April.