How to Get Around During The LA Marathon

Thousands of runners will hit LA’s streets Sunday for the 34th Los Angeles Marathon, set to kick off at 6:30 a.m.

That means that for those not participating in the 26.2-mile race, getting around the city could be a challenge Sunday morning.

As in prior years, street closures for the event are extensive and affect some of LA’s busiest thoroughfares. They’ll begin as early as 2 a.m. Sunday and will primarily affect streets included in the race route.

This is the 10th year since marathon organizers adopted the current route, which starts at Dodger Stadium and concludes in Santa Monica. Along the way, the course winds its way through Downtown before cutting up past Echo Park Lake and over to Sunset Boulevard. Runners then follow the street to Hollywood Boulevard, passing by the Walk of Fame.

The westward route then dips south to the Sunset Strip and then south again to Santa Monica Boulevard. After a quick detour in Beverly Hills, it extends north toward the VA Hospital and cuts west on San Vicente. Finally, runners enter the final stretch on Ocean Avenue and finish the race close to the Santa Monica Pier.

Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon

Street closures will end as more runners approach the finish line. Most streets in the Downtown/Dodger Stadium portion of the course will reopen before 10:30, while the area around the Santa Monica finish line will be closed until 9 p.m.

Maps from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation further detail the street closuresand locations of traffic officers throughout the day. The city of Santa Monica has more information about the schedule of street closures on its website.

Because the route passes through so many busy areas, service on more than a dozen local bus lines will be impacted by the street closures. Temporary detours are detailed on Metro’s website.

Despite those service interruptions, public transit may be the best way to get to the race if you’re participating or cheering on the runners. Shuttles reserved for racers will make pickups at Santa Monica City Hall and Union Station early Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Metro will run Expo Line trains every nine minutes for most of the day, to allow spectators to efficiently get to and from the finish line.