The annual race is scheduled for March 8.
As the countdown to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics begins, one Olympic medalist is getting ready for another world-famous endurance event taking place right here in LA.
The ASICS LA Marathon, now less than two weeks away, will take place for the 41st time since it began in 1986.
Deena Kastor, a bronze medalist in the marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, said she was inspired to start running after witnessing American Joan Benoit Samuelson win the marathon gold medal at the 1984 LA Games.
Those Olympics were the first time women were able to compete in the event, and led to the inception of LA’s annual 26.2-mile endurance race.
“The LA Marathon was born out of the 1984 Olympics,” Kastor said.
Kastor will be a part of the media team covering the marathon, as NBC4 and Telemundo 52 were named the race’s broadcasting partners this year.
She said it’s a “perfect year to be at NBC,” given it’s an Olympic year and people are hovering around their televisions to cheer on Team USA.
From the Hollywood sign to Sunset Boulevard, the course fills “every mile with everything that represents Los Angeles and the melting pot of such a rich culture,” Kastor said.
She encourages everyone, even people who aren’t running, to “do their homework” and become familiar with the course and what they will see along it.
“It’s our chance to be great hosts,” Kastor said. “Not just for Los Angeles, but for our nation to welcome the world and showcase all that Los Angeles has to offer.”
The marathon will begin at 7 a.m. on March 8 at Dodger Stadium, and more than 25,000 participants are expected to run.
The course will take runners through some of the area’s most recognizable landmarks, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Little Tokyo and Rodeo Drive. It will finish at Santa Monica Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars in Century City.