The 38th annual Los Angeles Marathon kicks off at Dodgers Stadium on Sunday morning, with 22,000 participants heading to the finish line on the Avenue of the Stars in Century City.
The 26.2-mile course will take runners through some of the region’s most popular neighborhoods and communities, including Chinatown, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Century City.
Participants can expect cool temperatures during the race. The day will be mostly cloudy, with a high of 65 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
But the trek to the coast on Sunday will mean dozens of street closures along the way in Los Angeles, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Century City.
The race will be televised by KTLA, Channel 5, and streamed live on the LA Marathon Facebook page.
The marathon will start at 6:30 a.m., but the streets along the route will be closed by 4 a.m. The main route will include portions of Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard.
Much of Downtown and Century City will effectively be closed to vehicles for much of the race.
Streets will be reopened as runners move through the area towards the finish line. For example, streets in downtown should be reopened at 10 a.m. and in Hollywood at noon.
Near the finish line in Century City, some streets like Santa Monica Boulevard, Century Park East and Avenue of the Stars will remain closed until 8 p.m.
Race organizers note that while the marathon course will be closed, so will several adjacent streets and streets. Several freeway ramps on the northbound lanes of the southbound 110, 101 and 405 highways will also be closed.
Started in 1986, the Los Angeles Marathon was a race from downtown to the Santa Monica coast, but in 2021 organizers unveiled a new ‘Stadium to the Stars’ route, with runners turning around before reach Santa Monica and return to Santa Monica. Boulevard in Century City instead.
A cash prize of $6,000 is offered to the winner of both the men’s and women’s races. A $2,500 prize is also awarded to the wheelchair category winner.
Last year John Korir of Kenya won the men’s division in 2:09:07. Kenya’s Devline Meringor won the women’s division in 2:25:03.