Long Beach Marathon returns this weekend celebrating ‘40 years running’

The 40th annual Long Beach Marathon returns this weekend, as thousands of runners take over city streets.

Long Beach will soon welcome more than 22,000 runners who are set to participate this year, organizers said, starting on Friday, Oct. 4, through Sunday, Oct. 6.

There are four different events, including the marathon, half marathon, 20-mile bike tour, and Saturday’s Aquarium of the Pacific 5K. There will also be a two-day health and fitness expo.

Participants will get views of Long Beach’s waterfront such as the Queen Mary and Shoreline Village.

The first Long Beach Marathon was held in 1982, the brainchild of local YMCA members who wanted to bring a marathon to their own city amidst the running boom in the late 1970s, according to a press release.

“Long Beach is a great city, and running is part of it,” former race director Joe Carlson said in a statement. “There’s a rich history here.”

Carlson has lived all 73 years of his life in Long Beach and was the Long Beach Marathon race director for nine years from 1984 through 1992. About 1,600 runners participated in the first race, Carlson said.

In the event’s history, there was about a three-year gap in the mid 1990s when the marathon was not held. According to Carlson, about a dozen men ran the 26.2-miles each year during the gap to keep their local marathon streak alive.

Now, thousands of people are preparing to take part in the 40th anniversary this weekend.

The race also is a significant fundraising platform for dozens of charities and nonprofit organizations, including Team Challenge in 2024, which has raised more than $150,000 for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, according to a press release.

Long Beach resident Rocio Castrillon, 47, has been battling Crohn’s disease for more than 20 years and will walk the event’s 5K. Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Castrillon completed a half marathon less than six months after she was diagnosed with Crohn’s.

“When I got the diagnosis I said, ‘Sure, I can go down this dark hole or do the opposite and find a positive.’ For me, (being active) is the only way to keep living through a chronic disease,” Castrillon said in a statement. “The biggest thing is having the visibility, to continue raising awareness about what these diseases are and that people can still go out there and run races despite the disease.”

Street closures

City officials released a list of streets and intersections closures starting on Saturday for the Long Beach Marathon and related events.

They are:

• Eastbound Shoreline Drive – Shoreline Village Drive to Ocean Boulevard (note: closure begins at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5)
• Westbound Shoreline Drive – Ocean Boulevard to Shoreline Village Drive (note: closure begins at 12:01 a.m. the night of Saturday, Oct. 5)

Most of the following street closures and intersections will begin Oct. 6 at 5 a.m.

• Shoreline Drive, from Shoreline Village to the 710 Freeway
• Pine Avenue, from Shoreline Drive to Seaside Way
• Queensway Bridge, from Shoreline Drive to the 710 Freeway
• Ocean Boulevard, from Livingston Drive to 54th Street
• Livingston Drive, from Termino Avenue to Broadway
• Nieto Avenue, from Appian Way to Broadway
• Appian Way, from Nieto Avenue to East 3rd Street
• East 3rd Street, from Appian Way to Paoli Way
• Marine Stadium from Nieto Avenue to Bayshore Avenue
• East Colorado Street from Orlena Avenue to Appian Way
• Orlena Avenue from East Colorado Street to 4th Street
• 4th Street from Monrovia Avenue to Orlena Avenue
• Monrovia Avenue from 6th Street to 4th Street
• 6th Street from Park Avenue to Monrovia Avenue
• Park Avenue from Anaheim Street to Appian Way
• Anaheim Street from Pacific Coast Highway to Park Avenue
• Clark Avenue, northbound, from Atherton Street to Anaheim Street
• Atherton Street, westbound, from Clark Avenue to Bellflower Boulevard
• Palo Verde Avenue, southbound, from Atherton Street to Anaheim Street
• Atherton Street, from Bellflower Boulevard to Palo Verde Avenue
• Ocean Boulevard, from Livingston Drive to Alamitos Avenue

Residents with cars near or along the mapped marathon route should avoid parking on streets with “No Parking” signs. Vehicles that violate the posted signs will be ticketed and towed to the yard located at 3111 Willow St. 

A map and details about entering and exiting the impacted neighborhoods of Belmont Shore, the Peninsula, Naples, Belmont Heights, Bluff Park, Bluff Heights, Alamitos Beach, Park Estates and Los Altos can be found at the Long Beach Marathon website.

Free parking Saturday evening through Sunday will be available for Belmont Shore, Peninsula and Naples residents in the beach lots along Ocean Boulevard. Exits may be possible at select areas on Sunday during the marathon by police escort.

Boat owners who park at Marina Green on Saturday will still have access to that lot via Shoreline Village Drive. On Sunday, boat owners can park at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center via Pine Avenue.

All roads are expected to be fully reopened Sunday, Oct. 6, at 2 p.m.