Long Beach Marathon

Location: Long Beach, California
Country: United States
Website: https://www.runlongbeach.com/
2025 Marathon Date: 05/10/2025
2026 Marathon Date: 11/10/2026
Winning Time 2025: 02:26:31
% Sub-3s: 2–5%
# Sub-3s: 50–99
Total Runners: 3k–10k

The Long Beach Marathon blends Southern California race culture with coastal scenery and a route that moves between oceanfront paths, city streets, and neighbourhood stretches. It has a distinct identity: a West Coast race with sunshine energy, broad horizons, and a rhythm that rewards confidence and patience rather than pure aggression.

The opening miles set the tone immediately along the shoreline. It’s easy to feel light and quick here — the Pacific beside you, early light on the water, crowds fresh and vocal. But the runners who succeed in Long Beach know the trick: don’t get greedy early. Let the morning cool work in your favour, stay relaxed, and settle into cadence rather than chasing instantaneous splits. The course is largely flat, though there are rolling moments and long straight stretches where discipline matters.

Weather defines Long Beach as much as terrain. Early October can bring ideal cool conditions, but equally it can warm with startling speed once the sun breaks. Shade is limited along the beachfront, so hydration and gel timing are crucial. You don’t manage the course here — you manage your effort in the environment, especially in the second half when exposure builds. Smart runners hydrate early, adjust effort as the temperature rises, and keep mechanics smooth to avoid tightening later.

Crowd support is lively near the start/finish and key beachfront points, then more spaced out inland, offering moments of solitude between cheers. The variety helps: encouragement when you need it, quiet space to lean into rhythm when you’re focused. Aid stations are plentiful and well-run, reflecting a city experienced in hosting mass-participation events.

The finish brings runners back towards the coast — a visual cue that energises tired legs. Time your move for the final kilometres: Long Beach rewards negative-split thinkers and punishes those who let enthusiasm outrun physiology early on.

For sub-3 runners, this is a race for tacticians. Long Beach gives you everything you need — space, scenery, structure — but demands maturity in return. Respect the weather, dial in your pacing, and treat patience as a weapon. Do that, and this Californian course becomes a surprisingly fair — and deeply satisfying — stage for a controlled, confident sub-3.