Everything is falling into place as the City of Oak Harbor prepares for the Whidbey Island Marathon set for Sunday, April 22.

“It is going really well,” race director Jared Loranger of Fizz Events said in regard to organizing the event.

The 16th annual marathon and its companion races will wind through North Whidbey Island in two weeks, following the same routes as in 2017.

After some changes in 2016 (running on Saturday, different courses, a post-race party), the event reverted back to its traditional ways last spring after some negative feedback.

“People were really happy that we went back to Sunday,” Loranger said. “The majority liked it better than running on Saturday.”

The state closes Highway 20 for the start of the marathon, and the Department of Transportation requires an earlier starting time, 6 a.m., on Saturdays because of heavier traffic on that day.

“People did not like starting that early,” Loranger said. “It is too dark and too cold.”

Loranger was in charge of on-course activities for six years before taking over as race director in 2017.

“I was surprised by the amount of work and the amount of players involved; there were a lot of balls to juggle,” he said. “But it all came together.”

“Last year was a learning experience for the city and me working together for the first time,” he said. “This year is a breeze.”

The City of Oak Harbor, which owns Whidbey Island Marathon, and its representative Nicole Tesch are “fabulous to work with,” according to Loranger

“They hired me for my expertise, and they let me go with it.”

This year’s event will include some small changes.

Haggen will provide the post-race nourishment for runners. Along with the traditional fare, such as water, sports drinks and bananas, Haggen will offer, among other things, mixed nuts, gummy bears, string cheese and chocolate milk.

Flyers Restaurant and Brewery will serve some post-race hot food and operate the beer garden.

In addition to being race director, Loranger added the duties of organizing the volunteers this year and is pleased with those willing to help.

“There is a lot of pride in the community,” he said. “The Navy has come out in force.”

Loranger has an “overflow” of volunteers for he Expo, but he could always use more for the races.

“In the beginning, directing the volunteers was more difficult than I expected, but things have worked themselves out,” Loranger said.

He praised the efforts of Laura Meders, who helped secure volunteers from the Navy.

“The city owns the race, but people from all over the island are coming out,” he added.

Registration is on pace with last year’s event, which drew about 1,800 participants, Loranger said.

The Expo is noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at Oak Harbor High School.

All of the races take place on Sunday.

The marathon begins at 7 a.m. at Pass Lake and finishes at Bayshore Drive in downtown Oak Harbor.

All of the other races begin and end at Bayshore Drive.

The half marathon starts at 8:30 a.m., the 10K and 5K start at 9 a.m. and the kids 1K starts at 10 a.m.

• To volunteer or to get more information about the event, visit the Whidbey Island Marathon website, www.runwhidbey.com