L.A. Marathon: Kids were kids at Kids Run on Saturday at Dodger Stadium

Children who love to run got a chance to experience the thrill of starting their own fun run at the official L.A. Marathon start line Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

About 450 children were registered for the L.A. Kids Run, a ¼-mile run that is a point-to-point course that ended at the nearby L.A. 5K finish line (a short walk from the starting line).

Children were arranged with the oldest in front (ages 7-8), followed by waves of ages from 6 to 3. Parents were able, and encouraged, to run with their child ages 6 and younger. Children who ran solo were reunited with their parent(s) at the reunion corral near the finish line.

The 9:45 a.m. Kids Run followed the 8 a.m. kickoff to the race weekend, the L.A. 5K. The fun and family-friendly 5K is for runners and walkers of all abilities to take part in the marathon weekend experience (go to mccourtfoundation.org/event/la-5k/course/).

Children who were registered participants received an Asics technical T-shirt to wear on race day. All finishers received an exclusive finisher medal when they crossed the finish line.

The children can save the medal, along with their official runners bib, plus plenty of memories from the event. They can also dream about running the 26.2-mile L.A. Marathon someday.

However, they can also set their sights on participating in the next L.A. Kids Run Challenge Medal (mccourtfoundation.org/kids-run-challenge/). The 2026 L.A. Kids Run is the final race event that included the Santa Monica Classic Kids Run and the Rose Bowl Kids Run. mccourtfoundation.org/event/la-5k/la-kids-run/

Information on the 2026 L.A. Marathon is at mccourtfoundation.org/event/los-angeles-marathon/race-weekend-overview/.