Get ready to clear a path for 25,000

This year's runners are hoping to avoid a repeat of 2011's rain-drenched marathon.

Whether you’re participating in it, watching it or trying to avoid it, if you live in Los Angeles it’s a good idea to know where the L.A. Marathon is headed. The annual race takes place Sunday, March 18. Here’s the lowdown:

The event will once again follow the “stadium to the sea” route, starting at Dodger Stadium and finishing by the Pacific Ocean. Check out the course map for the entire 26.2-mile route, or look at the “turn-by-turn” directions.  The course will take participants through downtown L.A., Silverlake, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood and Brentwood, before ending in Santa Monica.

Rolling street closures will take place along the route, and additional street closures will be enforced to accommodate the event and all its accompanying fanfare. An overview of what to expect is here. There also will be lots of detours on bus routes.

Now is the time to register—after Friday, March 9, online registration closes and the prices go up for last-minute registrants at the event’s Expo, held on March 16 and 17. More than 25,000 brave souls are expected this year. The first place men’s and women’s finishers will receive $25,000, plus a new Honda Insight sedan. A $100,000 bonus will be given to the first person, regardless of gender, to cross the finish line, with the elite women runners beginning several minutes before the men. Some 220 “legacy” runners who have run the race all 25 previous times will be looking to make it 26 this year. If you’re doing the math, that’s 681.2 miles each over the past quarter-century.

If you just want to take in the spectacle, there’ll be plenty of entertainment along the route, including live bands, charity information booths and a Guinness World Record attempt involving 400 cheerleaders. You can get to the course via Metro Rail. On your mark…

Posted 3/8/12