The Los Angeles Marathon begins at Dodger Stadium and finishes at Avenue of the Stars in Century City. Athletes will enjoy world-class entertainment and celebrate one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world as the course winds through Downtown Los Angeles, Little Tokyo, Hollywood, and more. The course will follow its traditional route until Brentwood, where runners double back on San Vicente, Sepulveda and Santa Monica Blvd before finishing at Avenue of the Stars.
The Los Angeles Marathon was the 4th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 5th largest in 2022.
This year 2.4% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 2.3% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Los Angeles Marathon the 419th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 344th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.22 ranks it as the 300th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 22nd fastest course in California.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Los Angeles Marathon a PR Score of 97.34. This PR Score ranks it as the 309th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 23rd fastest in California.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Los Angeles Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 566 feet (172m) Min Elevation: 203 feet (61m)
The LA Marathon was a tremendous experience. The expo was in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium, and was quite a bit smaller than other pre-race expo's I'd experienced before in Chicago and Boston, but it was still nice. The race merch was a little boring/basic. People lined much of the route, with the last 8 miles having great crowds, and run-clubs, cheering runners on. The post-race logistics were a little challenging as it was a VERY long walk to get out of the fenced in recovery area. It probably took about 20 minutes of walking to get back to the race route and was a bit confusing.
Race Tips
Don't push it too hard on the early hills as the approximately 950 ft of hills persist throughout the course. Though they do abate in steepness and duration in the late miles, they are still there.
Because of traffic it will probably hard for friends and family to see you multiple times throughout unless they see you in the first couple of miles and then head to post up somewhere miles 19-22, where you can see folks in both directions so it's easy to cross the street (no fencing/barriers along this stretch).
DI's review of 2020 Los Angeles Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Marathon was great even though it has now changed its route a bit.
Great course, well run and plenty of spectators. I've run it 5 times. However I would absolutely NOT profile this as a downhill course. It is a rolling hill course with a number of ups and downs. It's challenging but worth it.
Race Tips
Similar to another reviewer. The first few miles tempt you to go faster than you should. Be conscious of running only steady in the first 10k. Then slowly build from there and save some strength for miles 20 - 22
The course takes you past most of what I'd consider iconic LA, including the Dodger Stadium start, Chinatown, Downtown, Echo Park, The Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive, The Miracle Mile, and it ends right near the Santa Monica Pier on Ocean Avenue. The support along the race was outstanding. Plenty of water stations and supporters out there offering oranges, extra water, gatoraide...pretty much anything you needed. The expo was great too....with easy packet pickup.
Race Tips
Train HILLS. This is definitely a tactical race. While you might look at the general elevation and think, "WOOHOO! NET DOWNHILL!" Not so fast. There are a couple of huge hills at the beginning of the course that you really need to pace yourself through....and there's an uphill section between mile 19 and 24ish of the course, including a really steep section up Sepulveda starting at mile 20. If you haven't paced and prepared yourself to get through that, then your legs will be way too fried to take advantage of the downhill at the end of the course.
