Rigonomics:

The Orange County Marathon Expo weekend is off and running at the Orange County Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa. What started off as a way to improve the runners’ experience on the race course has turned into a three-day expo. The 26.2-mile race course needed a change. Runners complained about running uphill on the lonely backside of Portola Parkway and the early January date that required them to train though the holidays. The marathon has always started in Newport Beach at Fashion Island but most of the race course was in Irvine where it finished at the Spectrum.

I do not exactly remember the moment last July when Orange County Marathon Chairman Scott Baugh asked me if I thought Costa Mesa leaders might be interested in having the marathon run though their city. Baugh had just met with the newly minted President and Chief Executive of the Orange County Fair and Event Center Steve Beazley to see if they could have the finish line at the fairgrounds. According to Beazley, he and Baugh hit if off famously. Their common link was fair board member and big-time politico Dave Ellis. Ellis greased the skids to speed up negotiations by telling them they could trust one another. Their game faces came off, and they worked out all the major deal points in that first meeting.

Only one problem left then — Baugh had less than six months to get approvals from four cities, Orange County, the Department of Fish and Game, Cal Trans and the California Highway Patrol, not to mention the Performing Arts Center and South Coast Plaza. After one meeting Anton Segerstrom and Paul Freeman, representing South Coast Plaza, gave the green light to move forward. They loved the idea of pulling the community together for such an event that raised money for 16 local charities. South Coast Plaza became a platinum sponsor.

My first calls were to then-Mayor Eric Bever and the rest of the Costa Mesa City Council. They all liked the idea. My next call was to City Manager Allan Roeder, who said in so many words, “Jim, this type of event is going to have thousands of logistical problems. But a premier event like this is just what Costa Mesa wants. If we can solve the problems, we’re in.”