More than 5,000 athletes expected for Santa Rosa Marathon

More than 5,000 athletes will be pounding the pavement Sunday during the Santa Rosa Marathon, which can mean traffic headaches for everyone else.

Since its founding in 2009, the marathon has grown in status each year. It consistently ranks in the top 15 Boston Marathon qualifier events, and in 2015, 341 runners - 24.5 percent - of Santa Rosa marathoners qualified for Boston.

The marathon starts at 6 a.m., the half marathon at 7 a.m., the 10K at 7:30 a.m. and the 5K at 7:45 a.m.

In addition to runners and walkers, race director Orhan Sarabi estimated more than 3,000 spectators would turn out to watch runners try to qualify for the April 17, 2017 Boston Marathon.

Each of the 2,000 marathoners and 1,700 half-marathoners leaves the race - which travels through the DeLoach Vineyards barrel room - with a bottle of wine. This year, more than $30,000 has been raised by the marathon to benefit cross country teams at Santa Rosa and Montgomery high schools; Matrix Parent Network & Resource Center, an organization that helps parents of children with special needs; Crossing the Jordan, a Santa Rosa nonprofit that helps people overcome abuse, homelessness and addiction; and the American Association for Cancer Research.

Street closures:

Saturday

South A Street will be closed between Sebastopol and Sonoma avenues at 9 a.m. and will reopen Sunday at 3 p.m.

Sunday

Downtown area streets closed 5-9:30 a.m.:

First Street between A and D streets (between A and B closed until 1 p.m.)

Second and Third streets between B and E streets

Fourth and Fifth streets between B Street and Brookwood Avenue

Sonoma Avenue between A and E streets

Mendocino Avenue/Santa Rosa Avenue between Sonoma Avenue and Fifth Street

D and E streets between 5th Street and Sonoma Avenue

Juilliard Park area streets, closed 5-8:30 a.m.

(Residents can exit and enter, but expect delays)

A Street/South A Street between First Street and Santa Rosa Avenue (from the southern edge of Juilliard Park to First Street, closed until 3 p.m.)

Santa Rosa Avenue between Maple and Sonoma avenues

Sebastopol Avenue

Juilliard Park Drive

Bosley Street

Palm Street

Santa Rosa area streets, closed 6-11 a.m.

(Residents and employees can exit and enter, but expect delays)

Guerneville Road between Frei Road and Country Manor Drive

Olivet Road

Woolsey Road

Wood Road

Piner Road (Between Fulton and Olivet roads)

Willowside Road (Between Guerneville and Piner roads)

Closed to all traffic: Willowside Road (Between Guerneville Road and Willowside Road bridge)