PORT ANGELES — With at least 1,800 athletes, 500 children and 550 volunteers ready to go, the North Olympic Discovery Marathon is set for a weekend of fun and fitness.

The marathon weekend begins today (Saturday) with a children’s race and a dinner and continues Sunday with youth and adult races and a celebration that afternoon of the completion of the races on the Olympic Discovery Trail between Port Angeles and Sequim.

Check-in and last-minute registration will begin at noon today (Saturday) at the Red Lion Hotel, 221 N Lincoln St., Port Angeles.

Participants are invited to a pasta dinner from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. that day at the Elwha Heritage Training Center, 401 E. First St., Port Angeles.

About 500 children 12 and younger will run a 1.2-mile children’s race beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday beginning at City Pier at Railroad Avenue and Lincoln Street.

Sunday races

Sunday’s races include the 6 a.m. marathon walk, the 8 a.m. full marathon and marathon relay, the 8:30 a.m. half-marathon and the 9 a.m. 10K race.

Participants will gather at The Gateway transit center. They will be shuttled to the starting line at the Storm King Soccer Fields, 1240 N. Barr Road in Agnew.

This is a change in the route prompted by the closure of Railroad Bridge at the Dungeness River Audubon Center in Sequim.

In June 2014, the race crossed the bridge, but in February, high water damaged the trestle on the west side of the bridge. Until it is repaired, the bridge is closed.

The marathon now will leave from the soccer fields in Agnew, and runners will follow two out-and-back stretches in the first half of the race.

The first will veer from the Olympic Discovery Trail at North Barr Road before doubling back. The second will trace the Olympic Discovery Trail near Siebert Creek, go under Old Olympic Highway, then veer left onto Wild Currant Way before taking a left onto Gehrke Road, going past the Lazy J Tree Farm and then taking a right at Finn Hall Road.

Runners will follow Finn Hall Road and take the loop at Agnew Parkway, which returns them back toward Gehrke Road for the last 9 miles of the marathon.

5K race

Another race Sunday is a 5K race that begins at 9 a.m. at City Pier near the intersection of North Lincoln Street and Railroad Avenue.

The marathon relay is popular among people who want to take part in a marathon but aren’t ready to take on the marathon or half-marathon, said Victoria Jones, co-director, who is running this year’s race with Michelle Little. The two have taken over for founder Larry Little, Michelle’s husband.

Registrations are available up to Sunday morning for most races, but there was room for only three more relay teams as of Wednesday, Jones said.

All events finish at City Pier, where participants will be treated to music, food, awards, massage, a shirt exchange, photo opportunities and beach access.

Most of the racers are not local residents.

“We bring in a large number of out-of-towners,” Jones said.

100th marathon

One such visiting marathoner, David Stout of Bainbridge Island, has chosen the Discovery Marathon as his 100th marathon because it is his favorite race, Jones said.

Participants range from experienced marathon runners, many of whom are running the Discovery Marathon for the first time, to first-time marathon runners.

Some runners will be sprinting for charity, raising money for the Captain Joseph House, a respite for military families who have lost members in military service.

Jones said many marathoners have told organizers that one of the big reasons they love the race is the individual attention they get from volunteers.

Each runner gets a personal “buddy” at the end of the race. Buddies give runners their medals, make sure they are hydrated and stay with them until the runners are ready to go, she said.

Volunteers

Jones said many “buddies” have been volunteering for the race since it first began 13 years ago.

“They really enjoy the marathoners’ stories,” she said.

Five organizations have provided water station workers for all 13 years of the race.

They are State Farm Insurance, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Port Angeles Senior & Community Center, the Olympic Peninsula YMCA and Five Acre School northwest of Sequim, she said.

Incident management

While many of those associated with the race are there to volunteer, to run or for fun, Clallam County Fire District No. 3, which covers the Sequim area, will be using the marathon for incident management training.

The district’s incident management team will use the race as practice for dealing with emergencies such as hazardous spills, floods, fires, tornadoes or earthquakes.

In return, the race gets experienced event managers, said James Brown, spokesman for the team.

“Marathons or other events where a large amount of people gather presents a unique training opportunity and offers similar levels of complexity that the team faces when managing actual disasters,” he said.

For more information, see today’s story in the sports section of the Peninsula Daily News or visit www.NODM.com.

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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.