Running News Daily

2021 Los Angeles Marathon date moves to the fall

For the first time in its 35-year history the Los Angeles Marathon Presented by Asics will take place in the fall and will use an updated course, organizers announced yesterday.

Since its inception in 1986, the race was held in March every year but two (May in 2009 and February in 2016), and this year it will be held on Sunday, November 7. That's the same day as the TCS New York City Marathon, the world's largest, which is traditionally held on the first Sunday in November.

In addition, organizers modified their "Stadium to Sea" course, which begins at Dodger Stadium and finishes at the Santa Monica Pier, with a new "Stadium to the Stars" route which retains the previous start location but will finish instead on the Avenue of the Stars in Century City.

"We've been thinking about the next evolution of the marathon for a few years," said Murphy Reinschreiber, the chief operating officer of The McCourt Foundation which owns and operates the race. He continued through a statement: "Finishing on Avenue of the Stars allows for a more vibrant and exciting finish experience than previously possible. We expect the closing miles and finish line to be the highlight of the must-do, world-class experience that is the Los Angeles Marathon."

Organizers had originally selected Sunday, May 23, for the 2021 edition of the race, but with the trajectory of the pandemic still uncertain the decision was made to move to the fall. Other large marathons traditionally held in the spring are planned for the fall of 2021, too, including Boston (Oct. 11), Hamburg (Sept. 12), London (Oct. 3), Rotterdam (Oct. 24), Tokyo (Oct. 17), and Taipei City (Nov. 21).

Unlike most large road races in the United States, the Los Angeles Marathon was held in the normal format in 2020 on Sunday, March 8. The race recorded 20,989 finishers and was the last truly large road race held in the United States before the pandemic took hold.