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Jason Yang, Ryley Fick win back-to-back titles at 40th Long Beach Marathon; early start avoids heat

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For the second consecutive year Ryley Fick of Gardena is the first female to cross the finish line on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, at the 40th Long Beach Marathon in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

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LONG BEACH —  A lot of clarity can come from running the Long Beach Marathon. It is a 26.2-mile test of endurance, will and spirit.

However, for a long-distance runner Jason Yang and Ryley Fick, the ultimate joy came from winning back-to-back Long Beach Marathon titles.

“I was struggling pretty much the entire race and then I think the high mileage weeks paid off,” Yang said. “Starting Mile 21, I was able to pick up the pace.”

Yang won the men’s marathon in a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 26 seconds (5:37 per mile). The 33-year-old from Los Angeles won the 2023 marathon in 2:27:04.

“It was very rewarding,” said Yang, who wants to attempt a three-peat next year. “The first half was pretty tough but I feel really good that I’m done.”

Fick won the women’s marathon in a time of 2 hours, 54 minutes and 42 seconds (6:40 per mile). The 24-year-old from Gardena, who ran collegiately at Long Beach State, set a new personal best by nearly four minutes compared to her 2023 winning time of 2:58:30.

“It means a lot (to win back-to-back) because last year was my first time doing a marathon here but I had such a fun experience… so I knew I wanted to do it again,” Fick said, who controlled the race from Mile 10 onward. “I know a win wasn’t guaranteed but I still wanted to come out and give it my all and to be able to pr and win again means a lot. It’s the cherry on top of it all.”

Fick’s family was on hand to watch her win consecutive races.

“It means everything,” Fick continued. “They’ve supported me since I started running in high school and they never miss any races, so they’re my biggest support. It means everything.”

The Long Beach marathon course begins and ends on Shoreline Drive. However, in the more than two hours in between, it crossed the Queensway Bridge, ran along the oceanfront, and visited the Belmont Shore and Cal State Long Beach neighborhoods, before a final surge down Ocean Boulevard.

The 40th anniversary of the Long Beach Marathon was scheduled to begin 30 minutes earlier than usual because of the excessive heat warning blanketing Los Angeles County on Sunday.

The marathon was supposed to begin at 5:30 a.m. to give runners a cooler start to beat the midday heat. However, the marathon did not get underway until 5:47 a.m. as race organizers waited for police clearance to begin the race.

“It was favorable,” Yang continued. “I think the weather cooperated pretty well. In the beginning of the week, it was projected to be in the 90s so I think we got very lucky.”

Race organizers said more than 22,000 people participated in Sunday’s marathon, half marathon,  bike tour and Saturday’s Aquarium of the Pacific 5k.

The first Long Beach Marathon was held in 1982. Organizers said it was initially backed by local YMCA members who wanted to bring the 26.2-mile race to Long Beach.

Kenneth Williams, 62, is one of the handful of legacy runners left from the 1980s, who has run the full marathon in all 40 iterations of the Long Beach Marathon. In the beginning, Williams thought he was only to go to run one or two marathons.

“I’m running for all the people that don’t get out of bed,” Williams said, who kept training and broke the three-hour barrier in the 1990s. “My father couldn’t run so I’m running for all of them. I’m excited because I was born and raised here and I’m excited to represent Long Beach.”

“It’s a blessing,” Williams added. “It’s a blessing to be breathing.

“I always tell people if you can breathe, that’s all you need. You’ve got a chance and hopefully, I can do up to 50 (Long Beach Marathons) and then from there, we will figure it out. I’m saving my body for just running these and rollerskating.”

Williams said his former coach from Jordan High School is the person who initially convinced him that he could run the 26.2-mile race.

“He said that if you run this race, if you can’t finish, we’re running by your house, you can just run home, mind you, I was 26 miles away from home so I had to finish the race,” Williams recalled with a youthful smile.

Tom Frost, 71, is also a legacy runner. Frost won his age group race in 31 minutes and 43 seconds at Aquarium of the Pacific 5k, which kicked off the race weekend’s festivities on Saturday.

“I’m very proud of that,” Frost said. “It’s kept my string alive. It’s been difficult keeping the string alive. I lost my daughter Lisa on my hat on September 11, 2001. November 11, 2001, we did the 17th marathon and I was there doing it.”

From the beginning, Frost said it has always been his goal to run in as many consecutive Long Beach Marathon weekends as he is able to do so.

“I had hoped I would still be doing it 40 years later and every year I did it,” Frost continued. “I said I’ve got to keep this alive, keep the string going and I’m so proud that 40 years later, I’m a part of these men who are just incredible. They are amazing. They’re inspirations to all of us.”

Frost, who now lives in Laguna Woods Village, and Williams, who now lives in California City, have no plans on stopping anytime soon.

“I’m not worried about time,” Williams continued. “My main thing is just to finish and keep this going.”

“I’ll be back next year and then we see after that and after that,” Frost concluded.