LA Marathon: Milestone 40th race is under way

Just before dawn on Sunday, March 16, thousands of athletes gathered at Dodger Stadium, the massive starting point of the Los Angeles Marathon. Some stretched, adjusting their bibs, while others sneak in a quick nap, before taking on the 26.2-mile journey ahead.

Related: ‘A balm to my spirit’: LA Marathon is post-fire therapy for LA-area’s wildfire survivors

This year marks the 40th edition of the LA Marathon, a milestone for one of the country’s four largest marathons and a fixture among the world’s top 10. With more than 26,000 runners from all 50 states and 70 countries, this year’s event comes close to its all-time participation record of 27,150 set in 2020.

The race kicks off at 7 a.m. and takes runners on a winding route through some of Los Angeles’ most iconic landmarks, from Los Angeles City Hall and Little Tokyo to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive, and Historic Route 66, before finishing at the Avenue of the Stars in Century City.

Runners span all ages and experience levels, from middle schoolers to 90-year-olds. While 40% are first-time marathoners chasing personal milestones, others are seasoned athletes striving for new records. Some run to support a cause, raise awareness or as a form of personal therapy.

Yet, they are all united by a single goal: crossing the finish line.

Marcus Kowal is taking the challenge a step further. The 47-year-old MMA fighter from Hawthorne will run the LA Marathon barefoot after completing a hip replacement recently, a symbolic effort to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving — a cause deeply personal to him since losing his 15-month-old son, Liam, to a drunk driver in 2016.

“If one example draws attention, and that’s all we need to do in order to make the legal BAC limit 0.05 in California, and then in the rest of the United States as well,” he said.

Related: 10 things to know about the 2025 Los Angeles Marathon

For a special group known as the Legacy Runners, who haven’t missed a single LA Marathon since its inception in 1986, participation is about tradition, resilience and a commitment they refuse to break.

At 6:30 a.m., with the air crisp and cool at 46 degrees — ideal for marathon running, the wheelchair division kicked off the race. Five minutes later, the hand crank division followed at 6:35 a.m.

At 6:43 a.m., the professional women and elite age-group female runners took their turn. American Savannah Berry, who grew up in Bakersfield and lives in Orem, Utah, led after the first mile as the women set a deliberate early pace with a 6:01 first mile. The course record in women’s race is held by Ethiopia’s Askale Merachi, who ran 2:24:11 in 2019.

The professional men and the thousands of general competitors set off at 7 a.m.

The Marathon Chase time differential this year is 16 minutes and 5 seconds, which will be the head start for the women’s race before the men’s race. The first runner to cross the finish line will win a $10,000 bonus.

The women are 10-4 all-time in the Marathon Chase, including six straight victories.

Later in the morning, the charity half marathon begins at 8:15 a.m., bringing even more participants onto the course.

Organizers said today’s race will be dedicated to the first responders who worked for weeks to put out January’s wildfires in Los Angeles County.

“It’s the healing of the city,” LA Marathon television broadcaster Toni Reavis said. “The marathon has always shown up on the calendar at just the right time to help bind the city when it’s had floods, public uprising after the Rodney King incident in 1992, the fires this year. This is a chance for LA to come together and dispose of all the differences that people have and be drawn together by our common humanity. The marathon does that like nothing else.”

Near the start line, student runners from Students Run LA squeezes in some last-minute warm-ups before taking off into the massive throng running the race.

Some, as young as seventh graders, arrived as early as 5:30 a.m., many traveling by school bus to get here.

Among them is Allison Guevara, 13, a student at LA Academy, who said she joined SRLA for a fresh start and to honor her mother.“My mom did the marathon, and she wanted me to do it for her,” Guevara said.

Her classmate, Cacrice Bragg, 14, also decided to take on the challenge.“I thought it would be a fun opportunity to try something new,” Bragg said.

The two plan to push through to the finish.

“When you sign up, there’s no going back,” Guevara said.

Several firefighters who fought January’s devastating L.A. County wildfires are among those participating in the 26-mile, 385-yard race.

U.S. Forest Service Capt. Jerry Garcia, who helped battle the Eaton Fire, is co-pacing the group of runners who hope to complete the marathon in two hours, 55 minutes.

“I guarantee that 90% of the runners in the marathon probably know somebody who lost their home or was personally impacted,” Garcia said in a statement. “When they asked me to pace, I knew it could be about helping runners and being part of an event that will be about the Los Angeles community. I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

The 47-year-old Palmdale resident was the top runner in the 45-49 age group in the 2024 Los Angeles Marathon with a personal best time of 2:40:13. He won the 2017 Angeles Crest 100 trail running race.

Another firefighter in the field is Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighter Greg Balandran, who is running on behalf of the Widows, Orphans and Disabled Firefighters Fund, the official charity of the Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association.

Shortly after the wildfires erupted, the fund began providing long-term support for the more than two dozen LAFD firefighters and their families who lost homes or were displaced

The Los Angeles Marathon, New York Road Runners, the nonprofit organization that produces the New York City Marathon, the Chicago Marathon, and the Boston Athletic Association, organizers of the Boston Marathon, have come together to support Together LA, an initiative spearheaded by The McCourt Foundation, which owns and operates the Los Angeles Marathon, to aid those affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires.

The four organizations have co-branded limited-edition Together LA merchandise, with all net proceeds benefiting Community Organized Relief Effort and the California Fire Foundation. These funds will provide emergency relief, assist displaced families and support long-term recovery efforts.

From Dodger Stadium, runners head through Chinatown, downtown Los Angeles, Echo Park, Thai Town, Little Armenia, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood and Brentwood then back through Westwood to Century City, with the finish line for the “Stadium to the Stars” course on Santa Monica Boulevard, just past Century Park East.

There was plenty of whimsy on display, too. Among the were two bananas, one Tigger, one Batman, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike and about a half-dozen Elvises.

City News Service contributed to this report