TITLE:
title
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING STREET CLOSURES FOR THE 2026 ORANGE COUNTY MARATHON RUNNING FESTIVAL
end
DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT / TRANSPORTATION SERVICES DIVISION
PRESENTED BY: RAJA SETHURAMAN, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
CONTACT INFORMATION: PAUL MARTIN, TRANSPORTATION SERVICES MANAGER, (714) 754-5343
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council:
Adopt Resolution No. 2026-xx, designating event routes for the 2026 Orange County (OC) Marathon Running Festival and approving the temporary street closures for May 2, 2026, and May 3, 2026, as requested for the 2026 OC Marathon Running Festival.
end
BACKGROUND:
A Special Event Permit application was submitted to the City on December 27, 2025, requesting permission to close certain streets to conduct the 2026 OC Marathon Running Festival on May 2, 2026 and May 3, 2026. The application is currently under review by the City’s Special Events Committee, which consists of representatives from various City departments. Resolution No. 2026-xx (Attachment 1) includes designated routes and street closures.
This is the seventeenth year the City of Costa Mesa will participate in the OC Marathon, which has been an annual event in the Orange County area since 2004. Similar to the previous marathons, the proposed route for the 2026 OC Marathon Running Festival begins at Newport Center in the City of Newport Beach and finishes at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa. This year’s OC Marathon Running Festival consists of four (4) sub-events:
1. Full Marathon (26.2 miles) on Sunday, May 3, 2026;
2. Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on Sunday, May 3, 2026;
3. 5K Fun Run/Walk (3.1 miles) on Saturday, May 2, 2026; and
4. Kids Run the OC (1 mile) on Saturday, May 2, 2026.
The routes within Costa Mesa for the 2026 full and half-marathon events are shown on Attachments 2 and 3, respectively. A map depicting the route for the 2026 5K Fun Run/Walk is shown in Attachment 4. The route for the Kids Run is entirely within the OC Fair & Event Center and is shown in Attachment 5. There are no changes to the proposed routes on Costa Mesa’s public streets for the above events when compared to the 2025 OC Marathon Running Festival.
Within Costa Mesa, the streets affected by the Full Marathon include portions of Santa Ana Avenue, Bristol Street, Red Hill Avenue, Main Street, Sunflower Avenue, Anton Boulevard, Avenue of the Arts, Bear Street, Gisler Avenue, Country Club Drive, Mesa Verde Drive West, Adams Avenue, Placentia Avenue, Oriole Drive, Canary Drive, Tanager Drive, Golf Course Drive, Harbor Boulevard, Merrimac Way, and Fairview Road. The streets affected by the Half Marathon include portions of Santa Ana Avenue, Mesa Drive, and Newport Boulevard Southbound Frontage Road. The affected streets for the 5K Fun Run/Walk are Arlington Drive, Fairview Road, and Merrimac Way.
The Half Marathon event is proposed to start in the City of Newport Beach at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 3. For the Half Marathon event, street closures in Costa Mesa begin at 5:00 a.m. and the last affected road segments reopen no later than 10:00 a.m.
The 5K Fun Run/Walk event will begin and end at the OC Fair & Event Center. For the 5K Fun Run/Walk, street closures will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, and the last affected road segment will reopen no later than 6:30 p.m.
The 1-mile Kids Run is entirely within the OC Fair & Event Center, and no street closures are required for the Kids Run event on Saturday, May 2.
Since the proposed routes for the Full Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 5K Fun Run/Walk events are not among the pre-designated routes for street closures for Special Event areas as approved in City Council Resolution No. 04-38 (Attachment 6), City Council approval is required for these street closures.
ANALYSIS:
Prior years’ marathon events have enjoyed success due to the efforts of organizers, as well as City staff. The organizers will be required to conduct an extensive outreach to churches and businesses that are open during the time of the street closures and detours. In addition, residential areas affected by closures will be notified in advance, similar to prior marathon events.
On the weekend of the 2025 OC Marathon, police management personnel, sworn officers, civilian officers, and explorers (from Costa Mesa and other agencies) provided support for the events. The Fire Department had personnel stationed at the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) tent for the event. As a result of the close coordination between various City departments and event organizers, and the implementation of traffic control, impacts on many residential and commercial areas as well as arterial streets have been minimized in prior years and will be repeated for the 2026 events.
Street Closures:
A number of minor and major arterial streets will require full closure, while some other streets will require either half-closure (one direction) or partial closure (only the closure of one or two lanes in one direction). In order to minimize impacts to the public, the closure of streets will be phased to occur as the fastest runners approach, and will be reopened as the last of the runners and the official sweep vehicle passes by. The fastest marathon runners are expected to finish in approximately two (2) hours and 20 minutes. The overall length of time for the slowest runners in the marathon with traffic control will be limited to a maximum of seven (7) hours. The marathon begins on Sunday, May 3, at 5:30 a.m.; therefore, the last runner permitted on the course with traffic control would finish no later than 12:30 p.m. A sweep vehicle will circulate through the course in time with the slowest paced runner to ensure the course is clear and that streets can be reopened as soon as possible.
Attachment 7 presents a brief summary of the arterials affected by the proposed Full Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 5K Fun Run/Walk routes through Costa Mesa. The Mesa Verde Community, Inc. Board and the Mesa Verde Country Club will be notified of the event and the street closures. Additional information to assist the patrons of the Mesa Verde Country Club and navigate the proposed closures will be provided to the Mesa Verde Country Club as the event date approaches.
Impacts to traffic flow will occur at various intersections as marathon participants move along the route, beginning as early as 6:30 a.m. and ending at approximately 1:00 p.m. Attachment 8 identifies the major intersections where traffic detours are necessary to provide for the safety of runners while crossing intersections. As shown in Attachment 8, traffic control on Harbor Boulevard and Fairview Road will be conducted as “soft closures,” whereby vehicles will be allowed through as gaps in runners permit. Adams Avenue will be subject to full closure for approximately two (2) hours, followed by soft closures for up to four (4) hours. Advance warning signs will be positioned to advise drivers of possible delays during this time. Traffic control will be actively managed by Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) Officers, allowing traffic to pass through the closed area as much as possible. With the proposed closure of the Adams Avenue at Placentia Avenue/Mesa Verde Drive West intersection, there will be coordination with City of Huntington Beach staff for the placement of advance warning signs within their city limits to minimize congestion and delays.
Staff has also reviewed planned street improvement projects within the City for any conflicts with the 2026 OC Marathon Running Festival Events (Full Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K) and confirms that no street improvement projects are scheduled on streets that would impact the proposed route for this event. Close monitoring of project schedules will continue as the date of the marathon approaches.
Traffic Control:
The OC Marathon Running Festival representatives estimate up to 12,500 combined participants for the Half and Full marathons. Due to the large scale of the event and magnitude of street closures, lane closures, and detours, the Transportation Services Division will require that the applicant be responsible for the preparation and submittal of detailed traffic control plans prepared by a Registered Traffic Engineer. Additionally, the applicant will be responsible for furnishing all traffic control devices, such as cones, signs, and barricades, required for the event. The overall traffic control at intersections and driveways will be directed by CMPD Officers and Explorers.
The Police Department plans to staff this event similarly to prior years’ events, making any necessary adjustments based on actual field conditions. Since the OC Marathon is being held on a Sunday, it will not affect weekday peak rush-hour traffic conditions. Therefore, during the hours in which the event occurs in Costa Mesa, it is expected to have a lesser impact on traffic flow. With traffic control monitored and managed by CMPD, emergency access to nearby properties is maintained during the event. Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue staff are members of the Special Event Committee and are involved in reviewing the Special Event Permit application to identify any needed and appropriate measures to maintain emergency response.
Public Information:
The applicant will be conditioned to provide written notification prior to the event to all property owners and tenants affected by the street closures. Some samples of correspondence are included in the proposed 2026 OC Marathon Operations Plan (Attachment 9). The applicant is engaged in discussion with the OC Fair & Event Center, for approval to utilize the property for the event and anticipates approval.
Similar to prior years, staff will work with the applicant to identify and require properties directly affected by the event to receive adequate notice of the time and period of closure, as well as proper detour information. Additionally, as part of the traffic control requirements, the Public Works Department staff will require the placement of changeable message signs at key locations in advance of the event to give adequate notice of the planned street closures.
Areas of Improvement:
The following are some of the observations and areas for improvement identified for earlier OC Marathon events and continue to apply for the 2026 OC Marathon Running Festival:
• Event start times should be maintained as close to schedule as possible.
• Field-review all water stations and band locations, particularly near residential areas.
• No music or loud noises near residential areas before 8:00 a.m.
• Address traffic issues related to vehicles exiting the fairgrounds parking lot and on Fair Drive.
• Improve course signage for all events.
ALTERNATIVES:
The City Council may elect not to approve the requested route as submitted and direct the applicant to revise the route to use other streets. This alternative, however, would not be preferred by the organization as it will have significant impacts on the planned event.
Another alternative would be to not approve the resolution and the requested street closures. This may result in the cancellation of the 2026 OC Marathon Running Festival.
FISCAL REVIEW:
The applicant, OC Marathon LLC, will reimburse the City for the costs associated with Police and Fire & Rescue Department support during the event per the Special Event Permit application. The estimated reimbursement amount of $80,000 will offset City expenditures and will be recorded in the General Fund (Fund 101).
LEGAL REVIEW:
As part of the Special Event Permit application, the applicant will be required to provide the City with indemnity and insurance per the City’s requirements. The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed this report and the proposed Resolution (Attachment 1) and approves them both as to form.
CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND PRIORITIES:
This item supports the following City Council Goal:
• Strengthen the public’s safety and improve the quality of life.
CONCLUSION:
A Special Event Permit application was submitted to the City requesting closure of certain streets on May 2, 2026 and May 3, 2026, to conduct the 2026 OC Marathon Running Festival.
Staff recommends the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2026-xx, designating event routes for the 2026 Orange County (OC) Marathon Running Festival and approving the temporary street closures for May 2, 2026 and May 3, 2026, as requested for the 2026 OC Marathon Running Festival.