Good Morning Long Beach!!!….It’s race day for the 25,000 plus runners that will be running the Long Beach Marathon through the streets of Long Beach this morning. The air is crisp and the streets are quiet in anticipation of the race today. My street is blocked off like most of Belmont shore and other areas along the coastline.
Where Does the Long Beach Marathon Begin
The starting line is at the intersection of Shoreline Drive and Shoreline Village Drive near Rainbow Park in the downtown area of the city of Long Beach. Here is a map of the course so you know where to cheer on the participants this morning as they pass your neighborhood. Look for the Aquarium of the Pacific and you will see the rest of the runners near bye getting ready.
Schedule of Race Times for Long Beach Marathon 2012
- 6 am is the Bike Tour
- 6:15 am the Walkers begin….this is the group of people that will be walking the entire 26.2 mile course…that will take some time (the longest I walked in a day was 14.6 miles).
- 6:55 am is the Wheelchair Division
- 7:00 am the Wave of Runners begins with the half marathon and full marathon participants
- 8:30 am is the “Run Forrest Run 5K”
What Long Beach Residents Can Expect
The Belmont Plaza Pool near Chuck’s Coffee Shop is mile 9 of the race. My guess, the elite runners should be at mile 9 about 7:45 am or so depending on their pace. There is a water station at this location to hydrate the runners until the next water station. Line the streets along the route to cheer everyone on.
Streets are closed along the race route today. If you are in Belmont Shore where I live, you should be able to get out using Bay Shore to 2nd Street and go over the bridge through Naples to Pacific Coast Highway.
After leaving Belmont Shore the races will be going up Livingston Drive through the many Long Beach neighborhoods along the route including Belmont Heights, Belmont Park along the Marine Stadium area behind Appian Way. Then, they run around the Colorado Lagoon and past the Big Recreation Golf Course and off to Cal State Long Beach for a mad dash around the campus and back to Shoreline Village.
I’m off to an open house today at 19586 Oakdale Lane in Huntington Beach in the prestigious, guard-gated community of SeaCliff on the Greens starting at 1 pm to 4 pm today.
Related Information about Past Races
- Past pictures and information about the race
- Pictures of Long Beach Marathon Mile 9
Submit your race pictures of the 2012 race to be posted here by emailing Jay [at] redwagonteam.com
