The 41st Los Angeles Marathon will be run Sunday with a capacity field of more than 27,000 facing higher-than-usual temperatures, prompting organizers to announce runners need to only complete 18 miles of the 26-mile, 385-yard-course to receive a finisher’s medal.
The “Race Day Weather” portion marathon’s website informs runners, “If you’re having a tough day and want to end your race before 26.2, you can choose to take the turn at Mile 18 and head into the finish line early. You do not need to notify anyone of your decision and can opt to take this route at any time. This option is available for this year only.
“How to find it: Just past Mile 18 on Santa Monica Blvd., look for the Charity Half Finish signage on the left side of the road. Signs, cones, and barricades will be in place to help direct you to this exit and toward the finish line.
“You will still receive your finisher medal and any challenge medal you’ve earned, and your official race results will be updated at a later date to reflect your time and mileage. There is no shame in making a smart decision for your body.”
The temperature will be in the upper-50s at 7 a.m. when the bulk of field starts at Dodger Stadium, Rose Schoenfeld, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told City News Service.
When the first runner crosses the finish line in Century City shortly after 9 a.m., the temperature will be in the upper 60s, Schoenfeld said. The temperature will be in the mid-70s throughout the course by 10 a.m., Schoenfeld said.
The race will begin at 6:30 a.m. with the professional wheelchair racers and push rim para-athletes. The latter group uses specially designed, high-performance aluminum or carbon fiber rings attached to the wheels of a racing wheelchair to propel themselves.
The handcycle and hand crank racers will start at 6:32 a.m., with all other para-athletes starting at 6:33 a.m. The professional women and elite age group women will start at 6:44 a.m. The elite men and rest of the field at 7 a.m.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will be the starter.
From Dodger Stadium, runners will 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.
The elite field includes Matt Richtman, who last year became the first American man to win the Los Angeles Marathon since 1994 when he ran a course record-2:07:56. The marathon has been run on the course since 2021.
Athanas Kioko, second in 2025 in 2:10:55, is also in the field, as is fellow Kenyan Dominic Ngeno, the 2024 champion.
Tejinesh Gebisa Tulu of Ethiopia will be defending her women’s title. An African woman has won 13 of the last 16 Los Angeles Marathons.
Savannah Berry of Bakersfield, who finished third last year, is also returning to the race, seeking to be the first American woman winner since 1994.
The elite women will start 15:45 ahead of the elite men for the Marathon Chase, with the overall first finisher receiving a $10,000 bonus.
The chase was part of the marathon from 2004 to 2014, with women winning seven times and men four. It was discontinued in 2015 when the race served as the USA Marathon Championships. It was revived in 2022 with women winning each of the first three times since its revival, with Richtman winning last year.
The more than 125 charities benefiting from the race include the Live Like Braun Foundation, which describes itself as celebrating “the enduring spirit and legacy of Braun Levi,” an 18-year-old tennis star who was struck and killed by a vehicle in Manhattan Beach driven by a suspected drunken driver May 4, less than two months after he ran the Los Angeles Marathon.
The foundation seeks to raise awareness about impaired driving risks and makes grants for scholarships to graduating high school students who embody Levi’s drive, passion and enthusiasm and repairing and building public tennis centers.
A 65-member “Run Like Braun” team has entered the marathon, seeking to raise money and awareness for the foundation.
“To run like Braun means to push your body to its limits, just as Braun did,” according to the foundation. “It’s not about running for the result, but running for a purpose.”
Levi completed the 2025 marathon in 4:39:03, after what the foundation called “little to no training.”
Jenia Resha Belt pleaded not guilty on Jan. 13 to murder, gross vehicular murder while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license in connection with Levi’s death.
The race is being run a week earlier than originally planned to avoid a conflict with next Sunday’s Oscars.