The Newport Spirit Run leaves Fashion Island behind on Sunday, Oct. 18, heading to Upper Newport Bay for the first road race at the Bay in more than 20 years.
The 42nd edition of the community running event will start and finish at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, with courses winding through Back Bay Drive, Eastbluff Drive and the Bayview Trail, Stu News Newport reported. A Youth & Fitness Expo with live music, food vendors, and activities for kids will set up inside Newport Dunes near the beach.
New distances headline the changes. A half marathon joins the traditional 5K and mile races, taking runners down Back Bay Drive to Jamboree Road and onto the Bayview Trail before reversing near Santiago Drive. Runners loop back on dirt trails past the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center. A Beach Dash for ages 4 to 6 on the sand is also new, and the Toddler Trot returns inside a fenced area at the expo.
Organizers want the bigger lineup to push participation back toward the 3,000-runner mark the event once drew, according to Stu News Newport. That growth matters. It would let the nonprofit behind the race, Newport Mesa Spirit Run Inc., donate more to its beneficiaries: local schools, youth sports programs, Newport Beach Junior Lifeguards and the Fostering Interest in Nature program.
The Newport Bay Conservancy joins as a beneficiary for the first time in 2026, according to the event's website. The conservancy helps protect and restore areas along the race courses, including Big Canyon and the Back Bay environment.
The partnership also shapes race-day operations. Half marathon and 5K participants will receive reusable, collapsible cups instead of disposable ones at water stations. Volunteers will pour water from aluminum pitchers. According to the event's sustainability page, single-use plastic has been eliminated from water stations and the expo, and cyclists will lead runners along the course instead of a pace car.
Sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who sponsored the race years ago, signed on again. "Spirit Run has always meant something special to me because it brings together so many things I care about, family, sports, community and giving back …" Steinberg said in a statement reported by Stu News Newport.
Sgt. Pepperoni's is donating pizza prizes for winners in the mile, 5K and half marathon. The Nahin Group is providing aluminum cans of water at the finish line for participants, staff and volunteers.
Two-time Olympian and UC Irvine track star Steve Scott, who holds the record for the most sub-4-minute miles at 137, returns to the event each year. Registration and full event details are available at newportspiritrun.org.
