The Runners All Agree, ‘Bach Bay’ Race a Classic

NEWPORT BEACH —  On your mark!

Set!

Bach!

For 869 long-distance runners here on Sunday, it was time to go for baroque. As a recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto thundered from loudspeakers at Newport Dunes, the runners took off on an eight-kilometer dash around the scenic Back Bay. For this day only, it was pronounced “Bach Bay,” as in the first Bach Bay 8-K.

A variety of the 18th-Century German composer’s complex compositions played from loudspeakers along the course--a distance of about five miles. In addition to the Bach recordings, a formally dressed ensemble played live classical music before and after the competition.

The race was a fund-raiser for Hope House, an adult drug-rehabilitation center in Anaheim. The nonprofit agency’s brainstorm of keying the event to classical music seemed to please the runners.

“This is so much better than having a race begin with rock music and some bimbo jumping around and leading people in warm-up exercises,” commented Judy Scharf, 52, of West Los Angeles as she waited for the starting signal.

Another runner, Orange County Superior Court Judge David O. Carter, said he thought the new race had class. “It’s great, and I encouraged a lot of my friends to enter,” said the judge, who also served as pre-race master of ceremonies.

Race officials said the inaugural event not only drew a larger-than-expected crowd but also netted $2,000 for Hope House.

The circular course began and ended at the parking lot of Newport Dunes, a private recreation area off Jamboree Road near Coast Highway. Weather was chamber-of-commerce perfect. Ditto the scenery.

A painter’s palette of wild flowers colored the marshy banks and hillsides of the Back Bay. A bright but benign early-morning sun played visual tricks with the estuary’s tranquil waters.

As Bach’s stately music reverberated from the cliffs lining the bay, hundreds of runners’ feet pounded rhythmically on the twisting paved road. Even the birds seemed enchanted. A covey of mallard ducks on shore about a mile from the finish line ceased quacking and appeared to listen to Bach’s skill with counterpoint and fugue.

At the finish line, the musical ensemble Tiento, dressed in formal black and white, performed a mixture of Mozart, Haydn and Bach.

“Our group is from Long Beach, and we’re all (college) music graduates,” said Jennifer Biggs Walton. “We have violin, flute, viola and cello. We’ve played for just about any occasion, but this is the first time we’ve ever played at a race. I think it really adds to the spirit of the morning.”

Runners said the music, indeed, made the morning.

“It’s really calming--really soothing,” said Lisa Falagan, 26, of Long Beach. Added Mike Cramer, 44, of Garden Grove: “I like classical music very much, and this is soothing and nice and certainly beats that rock and roll.”

Jim Lace, 44, of Fullerton said he was impressed by the flat, runner-friendly race course along the bay. “This is a great,” he said.

Marc Corradino, executive director of Hope House, said he expects the race, like Bach’s musical work, to become an enduring classic. “We’re putting the emphasis on quality,” he said. He also said he was pleased by the turnout and the $2,000 that the inaugural event netted for Hope House.

Runners, meanwhile, proudly donned the T-shirts given them as souvenirs of the race. The shirts featured a large portrait of a stern-faced, almost glowering Bach.

To some runners, Bach’s portrait looked like the face of an intense, exasperated track coach. And while history gives no indication that Bach (1685-1750) had any connection with running, the World Book Encyclopedia notes that he could be “short-tempered when faced with incompetence.”

Ergo, Bach the jock--the man whose face scorns layabouts and couch potatoes. For these Sunday runners, Bach’s portrait seemed to be excoriating the faint of heart and calling for a fast, final push to the finish line.

One could almost hear a loud Teutonic voice from the 18th Century saying, “Allegro, allegro! Feel the burn!”