LA Marathon 2015: Route, Course Map, Times, Road Closures and Event Details

Los Angeles is notorious for gridlock in traffic, and anytime a major road closure is announced, you can practically hear the whole city groan. Several routes will be closed off on Sunday, but it's all in the spirit of competition. March 15 will see the 30th edition of the ASICS L.A. Marathon, one of the premier distance events in the country.

According to Irene Moore of NBC Los Angeles, the race draws over 26,000 competitors every single year, making it one of the top five marathons in the United States in terms of participants. Thousands of competitors, and many of them apparently decked out in chartreuse/neon green, if past years are any indication:

This year should be no different, as the scenic route and L.A. allure will attract a sizable field on Sunday. Here's a rundown of the key event information.

Route

According to LAMarathon.com, the route is nicknamed the "Stadium to the Sea." First utilized in 2009, it may be one of the more beautiful marathon courses out there. It begins at the historic Dodgers Stadium, aka Chavez Ravine, aka Kershaw's Korner (okay, maybe nobody calls it that, but they should).

From there, competitors wind their way through the likes of glitzy Hollywood and the glamorous Beverly Hills, before ending up at the Santa Monica Pier and what one would assume is a welcome view of the Pacific Ocean. Those in Los Angeles should keep an eye out for the spotlights illuminating the route, per Los Angeles Magazine:

Course Map

A link to the course map can be found here. As one can see in this tweet from ASICS America, the current route is much different than previous iterations:

The move from running a closed loop to racing from a landmark L.A. structure to the Pacific Ocean lends a unique, almost poetic atmosphere to the event.

Times

According to Veronica Rocha of the Los Angeles Times, forecasters are expecting record heat on Sunday. Event organizers have responded in kind, moving up the start times of the race, with the final group (elite men and the full field) to start at 6:55 a.m. local time (PT). Here's a complete look at the start times:

Group	Start Time (PT)
Wheelchair	6:30 a.m.
Handcycle	6:32 a.m.
Legacy Runners	6:36 a.m.
Elite Women	6:45 a.m.
Elite Men and Full Field	6:55 a.m.

This is a smart move by event organizers. A marathon is daunting enough, but the potential for unbearable heat could sap some of the fun out of the competition—not to mention add an element of danger.

“The only cool spot you are going to have is if you’re in the ocean,” said meteorologist Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service in Oxnard, per Rocha.

Road Closures

Harry How/Getty Images

LAMarathon.com has an interactive map along with a list of the roads to be closed on Sunday for the event.

Competitors to Watch

ESPN.com's Christoper Chavez notes that Janet Bawcom may be the favorite in the elite women's field:

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Bawcom makes her return to the marathon distance since finishing fifth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2012, where she ran a personal best of 2:29:49. No longer on the track, Bawcom has found success on the roads with podium finishes in several of the U.S. Championship circuit races. 

Her most recent was a third place finish at the U.S. Half-Marathon Championship (70:46) on Jan. 18, which she followed up with a victory at the Rock N’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon the next weekend. Her return to the 26.2 mile distance could be successful after a strong training stint in Kenya. 

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Chavez also notes in a separate article the story of husband-and-wife duo Ryan and Sara Hall, with the former a great threat to pace the men's field:

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Hall has the fastest personal best of the field with his 2:04 from the windy 2011 Boston Marathon. 

On Valentines Day, Hall helped pace his wife, Sara, on a 16-mile tempo run as part of a two-and-a-half hour session of his own, and Ryan appears to be injury-free. A healthy Hall should be able to put together a better race than his 2:17 in Boston last year. It would be a big surprise to see him under 2:09, but getting under the 2:14 range seems feasible. 

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Last year saw Gebo Burka pace the men's field with a time of two hours, 10 minutes and 37 seconds. If Hall is truly capable of pushing 2:09, he just may come out on top on Sunday. In the women's division, 2014 saw then-31-year-old Amane Gobena come in with a winning time of 2:27:37, well ahead of Bawcom's personal best.

The ASICS L.A. Marathon has another opportunity to be an excellent, marquee event. With an earlier start time to accommodate participants, 2015 should be yet another sterling edition of this excellent long-distance running event.