DEL MAR — The California 10/20 race through Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas is on the mark to get set and go Feb. 16, 2014, a year later than originally planned but on a date that gives organizers more time to promote the event.
Del Mar City Council agreed unanimously at the Sept. 10 meeting to issue a permit for the race that will begin and end at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
The course will take runners onto Jimmy Durante Boulevard going south. They’ll turn around at the fire station, then head west on Via de la Valle and go north on Coast Highway 101 until they reach Manchester Avenue in Encinitas.
They’ll turn around at the Cardiff Kook statue and return along the same path, entering the fairgrounds at the Solana Gate on Via de la Valle.
Peter Douglass, a former Encinitas resident and president of Turnkey Operations, has been working for several months to secure permits from the three cities for the 10-mile race that was originally slated for Feb. 17, 2013.
Last month Solana Beach officials said they support the event but asked Douglass if he could put it off for a year because an approximately 2-mile stretch of Highway 101 is currently undergoing major construction that won’t be complete until September or October of 2013.
“We obviously don’t want to highlight a city or an area that’s under construction,” said Douglass, who agreed to delay the event a few days after that meeting.
The route will include 20 stages, about a half mile apart, with “smaller club-type bands … primarily there for the entertainment of the runners,” Douglass said.
The music will start at about 7:30 a.m. Each band will play for about 45 minutes, starting as the first runner approaches and stopping when the last one goes by. The music will be amplified but only out about 200 feet, or the length of half a football field, he said.
The race will be similar to the Austin 10/20, which is managed by Turnkey and held annually in Texas in April. Most recently it drew nearly 8,000 runners, with 10 percent from out of town and one-third who came from at least two hours away. More than 800 local hotel rooms were booked.
Douglass said with the extra time to promote the California 10/20 he expects at least 10,000 participants, from Olympic-type runners to walkers.
The event calls for temporary shut-downs of all roadways on the course.
Del Mar council members had concerns about traffic impacts and the music, especially so early on a Sunday morning.
Douglass said he is flexible and agreed to acoustic music on Jimmy Durante Boulevard. He said he will stage a demonstration of the bands before the event so city officials can hear how loud the music will be.
“I think it’d be good for the community,” Councilman Mark Filanc said. “It kind of helps bring a little bit more life to town in the down time.”
“There’s a lot of detail left to be filled in here,” Councilman Don Mosier said. “As long as we mitigate the sound and traffic impacts to the largest possible extent I think that’ll be fine. “
Turnkey has budgeted $30,000 to be split evenly between the three host cities for nonprofit organizations. Douglass asked council members for recommendations but they were hesitant to offer any suggestions.
“That’s a tough one,” Filanc said. “I’m not touching that one.
“We’re just asking that he cough up 10 grand to one of our favorite charities,” he said. “Let him pick which one is appropriate.”
Douglass will re-present his plans with the new date to Solana Beach and Encinitas council meetings. Last month Encinitas authorized staff to continue working with Turnkey.
