New Route Approved for L.A. Marathon

Hoping to attract more elite runners, the City Council has approved a new route for the Los Angeles Marathon that will be flatter and faster.

The route, approved Friday, is the first such change since 1996 and the third dramatic rerouting in the run’s 17-year history.

The old course had “too much elevation” compared to similar events in New York, Boston and Chicago, Councilman Nate Holden argued.

“Maybe we can get some higher-class runners,” he said.

“We’ve had some good ones before from around the world, but this is an invitation.”

His South Los Angeles district includes portions of the new route, which will debut at next year’s marathon, scheduled for March 3.

The 26.2-mile course will start downtown, move past the soon-to-be-completed Disney Concert Hall, through the Pico-Union district, Koreatown, Hancock Park, Cheviot Hills, Crenshaw and other neighborhoods before finishing back downtown at a hotel.

The route was approved on a 9-2 vote over objections that it left out Hollywood.

This year’s marathon attracted 23,000 runners from all 50 states and about 100 nations.