By Lookout Staff

March 19, 2010 --The City of Santa Monica will play host to 25,000 runners and their supporters on Sunday as the LA Marathon comes to a finish on Ocean Avenue just north of Santa Monica Boulevard.

This is the first year the marathon will conclude in Santa Monica. The new “Stadium to the Sea” course will begin at Dodger Stadium. Runners will move through Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles before reaching the finish line.

Residents wanting to see the finish are encouraged to walk, bike or take public transportation to the area as parking will be a challenge. The City is offering free bike valet parking from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the 1550 Beach Lot and on Arizona Avenue just east of Ocean Avenue.

There will be various street closures from 6 a.m. until the early afternoon. Streets will begin to reopen on the east end of the city at 1 p.m., with the rest of the roads slowly opening as runners move westbound.

The following closures will be in effect during the race: both lanes of the California Incline, the eastbound portion of San Vicente Boulevard and both lanes of Ocean Avenue between San Vicente Boulevard and Colorado Avenue

Main Street will be closed between Pico Boulevard and Colorado Avenue during the morning pre-event loading period and until Santa Monica Police authorize a re-opening.

After that, the west side of Main Street between City Hall and the RAND building is a designated runner pick-up area. No parking or standing at any time will be allowed.

Those entering downtown parking lots and structures from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. must pay a $10 flat rate. The facilities return to normal Sunday rates after 12 p.m. There will be no free Main Street Farmers Market parking in the beach lots on Sunday.

Private parking operators have committed more than 2,000 spaces and the LA Marathon is working with other private parking facility owners to offer their spaces.
Additional Weekend Events

The fourth annual Santa Monica Airport ArtWalk will take place at the Santa Monica Airport on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will feature works from more than 60 local artists and performers, including paintings, sculptures, ceramics and mixed media.

Among those expected to participate are Santa Monica Art Studios, Santa Monica College Art Mentor Program and Ceramic Arts the Ruskin Group Theatre, ARENA 1 and the Sherry Frumkin Gallery.

Also on Saturday, Tree Hugging Day II will take place at Palisades Park. Several notable people from the community are expected to come to the event at Palisades Park hosted by local activist Jerry Rubin. It will begin at 12 p.m.