RunRace USA › California › LA Marathon › Spectators
Watch the actual route
Where to watch
A course-aware spectator plan for Los Angeles.
Read the geography first
This is a point-to-point course: the finish is about 9.9 miles from the start as the crow flies. Pick one mid-course anchor and the finish; trying to leapfrog repeatedly is usually the trap.
Gold is the selected modeled course; route provenance is stated beside the flyover.
Landmarks that make useful anchors
Los Angeles City Hall
Course mile 2.6
A fixed landmark in the 3D model and a practical orientation point. Confirm the accessible side of the course after closures are posted.
Angelus Temple
Course mile 6.0
A fixed landmark in the 3D model and a practical orientation point. Confirm the accessible side of the course after closures are posted.
Capitol Records Building
Course mile 10.5
A fixed landmark in the 3D model and a practical orientation point. Confirm the accessible side of the course after closures are posted.
Chateau Marmont
Course mile 13.2
A fixed landmark in the 3D model and a practical orientation point. Confirm the accessible side of the course after closures are posted.
Beverly Wilshire Hotel
Course mile 17.0
A fixed landmark in the 3D model and a practical orientation point. Confirm the accessible side of the course after closures are posted.
Moving around race morning
Plan the whole day around one fact: the race moves you from the finish to the start, and largely does not move you back. Free shuttles run from Avenue of the Stars south of Olympic Blvd continuously from 3:00 to 5:30 a.m. for a 7 a.m. gun, they are free but you should reserve a time slot during online registration, and there is no equivalent afterward except the downtown hotel run. Union Station has its own shuttle from Bay 9 at Patsaouras Transit Plaza at 5:00, 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., and the race states plainly there are NO shuttles back to Union Station after the race. Freeways are not closed but ramps on the 101, 405 and 110 come out of service. If you drive, the car ends up parked at the finish, which is the right place for it.
Course geometry provenance is stated beside the player; elevation profiles always use the same route loaded there. City geometry is OpenStreetMap, ODbL. Aerial imagery is from USGS and USDA; other images carry their own source credits. Weather figures use Open-Meteo reanalysis for March 3-11 across 2016-2025 at the start line. Schedule, prices and expo hours were checked in 2026-08-31 and are the fields most likely to move: confirm them on www.mccourtfoundation.org/event/los-angeles-marathon before you book anything. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it fast.