Food trucks fete Long Beach marathoners, half marathoners and cyclists

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Most marathons reward their runners with a medal, a banana and half a bagel or an orange slice. Hardly an incentive to run 26.2 miles.

But this Sunday, at the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon and Half Marathon, there will be food trucks to help runners reload and celebrate their accomplishment with healthful fare. The trucks: Seabirds, featuring organic vegetarian food; Baja Fresh, serving fire-grilled Mexican fare; Louks to Go, featuring Greek American food; and Calbi, serving Mexican-Korean fushion tacos, fresh vegetables and more. It’s also got a kimchi quesadilla on the menu.

From the press release: ‘On Sunday, Oct. 17, after running in the Marathon, the Half-Marathon or taking part in the 26.2-mile bike race, participants will have their choice of four food trucks serving high-quality, healthy food at the finish line. That’s just what marathoners want too -- there’s no cheeseburgers and fries for this group.’

I’m not sure I agree. I’m doing the half marathon, and when I first heard there would be food trucks, I thought: ‘Cheeseburgers at the finish line!’ But I’m sure I’ll be plenty happy with a kimchi quesadilla.

The food truck area is open to everyone -- not just runners and bikers. Based on my experience, this is always a well-organized event that starts and ends down around Shoreline Village. Just have patience with the parking situation, and check out this map to avoid getting stuck in traffic.

And runners, make sure you remember to pack some extra cash for the food trucks.

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter.com / renelynch

Photo and credit: Long Beach International Marathon