Marathon returns this weekend with new course

By Sam Catanzaro

The Los Angeles Marathon is set for Sunday with a new route this year, bringing thousands of runners and multiple road closures to the area. 

Now its 36th year, the Los Angeles Marathon presented by ASICS begins at Dodger Stadium and concludes for the first time ever on the Avenue of the Stars in Century City, instead of Santa Monica. The course will follow its traditional route until Brentwood, where runners double back on San Vicente, Sepulveda and Santa Monica Boulevard before finishing at Avenue of the Stars. The Marathon route no longer runs the length of San Vicente and now stops near Bundy Drive

Several road and freeway closures will be in place for the Century City and Westwood area, starting early Sunday morning. 

Southbound I-405

• Left-turn lane of Santa Monica Boulevard off-ramp
• Wilshire Boulevard off-ramp

Road Closures

• Santa Monica Boulevard (WB and EB Lanes):  from Wilshire to Sepulveda boulevards (5 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• Sepulveda Boulevard: from Santa Monica Boulevard to Wilshire Avenue (5 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.)
• Wilshire Boulevard (WB and EB Lanes): Sepulveda Boulevard to Barrington Avenue (5 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.)
• San Vicente Boulevard: from Wilshire Boulevard to Saltair Avenue (5 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

For a full list of closures visit lamarathon.com/pages/lam-road-closures. 

The race–which has finished at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and California Avenue since 2010–has long been an economic booster for the City of Santa Monica with 2,000 guests booking hotel rooms each year by some estimates and thousands visiting local restaurants and businesses. It presented residents and officials, however, with hurdles including traffic, stretched security and neighborhood disruptions.

“We had a footprint challenge in Santa Monica, just from a space perspective,” said Reinschreiber  Murphy Reinschreiber, the chief operating officer of the McCourt Foundation, the race’s organizer. “We realized that there’s so much more we could do if we just had a bigger footprint at the finish line.”

Century Park is curating a lineup of live bands and DJ performances throughout the day. There will also be food specials, beer gardens, pop-up retail, foot and spa treatments– kicking off at 9:00 a.m.

“The curated events are a welcomed opportunity to enjoy a day full of activity for marathoners, friends, families, as well as neighborhood locals,” Century Park said in a press release.