2016 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Course Unveiled
The looped course is designed to be spectator-friendly.
On the freshly launched website latrials2016.com, the LA Marathon and United States Track & Field unveiled the 2016 Olympic Trials marathon course for the Feb. 13, 2016 races in Los Angeles.
As expected, top American runners will run on a looped course starting on the south side of downtown Los Angeles near the Staples Center and L.A. Live.
Specifically, the course will start with one 2-mile loop that will go north of the start line through downtown Los Angeles. Runners will then take on four 6-mile loops that will travel into South Los Angeles, going through the University of Southern California campus and passing by Exposition Park and the LA Coliseum—home of the 1984 Olympics.
The race will finish back where it started near Staples Center and L.A. Live.
The layout will undoubtedly make for a spectator-friendly course. A fan could stand on certain sections of Figueroa Street and see runners pass eight times as they go both to and from the L.A. Live area for the four loops.
Race organizers said that start times for the men’s and women’s races are still being finalized, though a graphic on their site lists a 10 a.m. PST start on Feb. 13, 2016.
According to MarathonGuide.com, there are currently 131 qualifiers for the men’s race and 163 for the women’s race.
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