Enter your goal time. Get hill-adjusted, mile-by-mile splits built from actual GPX course data — including the Signal Hill climb at mile 18, the flat shoreline miles, and the Ocean Boulevard finish that rewards runners who pace the first half right.
The 2XU Long Beach Marathon is one of Southern California's most popular fall marathons. The course loops through Long Beach at sea level — past the Queen Mary, along Alamitos Bay, through Belmont Shore, and back along Ocean Boulevard. It's almost entirely flat and fast, which makes it a magnet for PR attempts and Boston Qualifying runs. But "flat" doesn't mean "effortless." The Signal Hill climb at mile 18 gains 66 feet in a single mile right when fatigue is building. And the warm October weather — often 70°F or higher by mid-race — adds a layer of difficulty the terrain doesn't reveal.
This calculator solves that problem by giving you an exact, step-by-step plan built on research, experience, and data. Enter your goal time, set how aggressively you want to handle uphills, and you'll get a target pace for every mile that closes exactly to your goal — accounting for every foot of climb and drop from the Convention Center start to the Shoreline Drive finish.
Enter your goal time and effort level. Your personalized mile-by-mile splits appear instantly.
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| Mile | Elev | Effort | vs Goal Pace | Target Pace (min/mi) |
Pace Bank | Elapsed |
|---|
Elevation data from official Long Beach Marathon GPX course file, 15-point smoothed. Uphill penalty applied above +0.4% grade; downhill benefit applied below −0.75% grade. Math closes exactly to goal time.
Convention Center to Signal Hill and back — where the flat miles lull you, where the climb catches you, and why the Ocean Boulevard finish demands more than it looks.
The race starts outside the Long Beach Convention Center with 28,000+ runners filling Shoreline Drive. The first mile is flat — a clean, crowd-fueled opening through downtown Long Beach that makes it very easy to go out too fast. By mile 2, you're heading through Pine Avenue with a slight rise before dropping back toward the waterfront. Mile 3 takes you past Shoreline Village with the Queen Mary visible across the harbor — one of the most iconic backdrops on the Southern California marathon circuit.
Miles 4 through 8 run along the beach path and around Alamitos Bay. The terrain is almost perfectly flat, the ocean is on your left, palm trees line the course, and the October sunrise is behind you. These miles feel easy and the scenery is spectacular — which is exactly why they're dangerous. The gentle rhythm and sea-level air make every pace feel effortless. Your calculator splits already account for this terrain. Trust them.
Mile 9 drops into Belmont Shore and the 2nd Street neighborhood — a vibrant area with good crowd support and local energy. Mile 10 brings you around Naples Island with a gentle +6 ft rise as the course loops through the canal-side streets. By mile 11, the course turns inland and the character changes: the ocean breeze disappears, crowd support thins, and the terrain begins a subtle but cumulative climb. Mile 11 has a +14 ft rise that you'll barely notice in isolation — but combined with mile 15's +18 ft, the section is steadily lifting you away from sea level.
Miles 12 through 14 wind through Long Beach's inland neighborhoods — Traffic Circle, Bixby Knolls, and North Long Beach. The halfway mark falls around mile 13. Most runners feel surprisingly good here, which is exactly when bad decisions get made. The terrain doesn't feel hard, but you're no longer on the flat shoreline, and the sun exposure in these inland sections — with no ocean breeze and no shade — is meaningful in October. Mile 15 climbs +18 ft as you approach the Signal Hill area, and mile 16 drops -9 ft in a brief respite before the main event.
This is where the Long Beach Marathon reveals itself. Mile 16.5 descends to the base of Signal Hill, giving you a brief -7 ft drop before the climb begins. Mile 17 is a flat approach — a false calm before the storm. Then at mile 17.5 the course turns upward: +23 ft in half a mile. And at mile 18, the summit push: +43 ft in the next half mile. That's 66 feet of climbing in one mile, at the worst possible moment in the marathon — mile 18, when glycogen is depleting and your legs are three hours into the effort.
The descent is equally dramatic. Miles 18.5 and 19 drop 67 feet back to sea level — steep by Long Beach standards and demanding on quads that have been running flat for 17 miles. The temptation to fly down the backside of Signal Hill is strong. Resist it. Aggressive downhill running here creates eccentric muscle damage that shows up brutally in miles 24–25. Mile 20 is flat as the course loops through the CSULB campus, where student cheering sections provide a welcome energy boost. Mile 21 brings a gentle +17 ft rise as you exit campus and head back toward the coast.
Mile 22 descends from Recreation Park toward the coast — a welcome -5 ft drop as Long Beach's skyline comes back into view. Mile 23 continues the descent as you rejoin the half marathon course, and suddenly you're surrounded by faster-moving half marathoners who've only been running for 10 miles. Their energy and pace can be disorienting. Don't let them pull you out of your plan.
Miles 24 and 25 are the final trap. Two late-race rollers — +18 ft and +17 ft respectively — arrive along Ocean Boulevard when most runners are clinging to whatever form they have left. These aren't dramatic climbs on fresh legs, but at mile 24 they feel like walls. The calculator accounts for these rises with deliberately slower target paces. Mile 26 drops -16 ft as you descend toward the finish area, and the final 0.2 miles bring you down Shoreline Drive to the finish line at Linden Avenue, the beer garden, and the end of 26.2 miles of Long Beach running.
October in Southern California means cool mornings that warm quickly. Here's what runners have faced in recent years.
| Year | Start Temp | Finish Temp | Humidity | Wind | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 58°F / 14°C | 73°F / 23°C | 69% | 6 mph SW | Warm |
| 2024 | 57°F / 14°C | 68°F / 20°C | 89% | Calm | Humid |
| 2023 | 55°F / 13°C | 71°F / 22°C | 72% | 4 mph W | Warm |
| 2022 | 60°F / 16°C | 75°F / 24°C | 65% | 5 mph NW | Warm |
| 2021 | 54°F / 12°C | 66°F / 19°C | 58% | 8 mph W | Ideal |
Temperatures at start (5:30 AM) and finish (~9:00–10:30 AM). Long Beach's October mornings start cool but warm quickly — plan for a 10–15°F rise over your race.
Long Beach's flat, sea-level course and certified status make it a legitimate BQ option — but October heat and the Signal Hill climb at mile 18 demand respect.
The 2XU Long Beach Marathon has the profile of a great Boston Qualifier. The course is almost entirely flat and at sea level, it's Boston-certified, and the Course Score of 98.89 puts it among the faster marathon courses in North America. The field is large (28,000+ total runners across all distances), well-organized, and the loop course means no point-to-point logistics to manage. On paper, this is exactly what a BQ attempt should look like.
The reality is more complicated. The BQ rate was 3.8% in 2024 and 8.9% in 2023 — a wide swing that reflects how much conditions matter. October in Southern California routinely pushes 70°F or higher by mid-race, and Pacific humidity adds to the effective temperature. Heat is the primary performance limiter here, not terrain. Runners who train in cold weather and fly to Long Beach for a fall BQ attempt often underestimate what 70°F at 65% humidity does to marathon pace after mile 16.
Signal Hill at mile 18 is the only real terrain challenge, but it's a significant one: 66 feet of climbing in one mile at the point in the race where glycogen depletion is accelerating. Runners who go out too fast on the flat first half — banking time against the easy shoreline miles — often fall apart when they hit Signal Hill. The smart play is to use the calculator with your buffer-adjusted goal time, run even splits through the flat opening, arrive at Signal Hill in control, and close hard on Ocean Boulevard.
| Age Group | Men | Women | Non-binary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 3:00:00 | 3:30:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 35–39 | 3:05:00 | 3:35:00 | 3:35:00 |
| 40–44 | 3:10:00 | 3:40:00 | 3:40:00 |
| 45–49 | 3:20:00 | 3:50:00 | 3:50:00 |
| 50–54 | 3:25:00 | 3:55:00 | 3:55:00 |
| 55–59 | 3:35:00 | 4:05:00 | 4:05:00 |
| 60–64 | 3:50:00 | 4:20:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 65–69 | 4:05:00 | 4:35:00 | 4:35:00 |
| 70–74 | 4:20:00 | 4:50:00 | 4:50:00 |
| 75–79 | 4:35:00 | 5:05:00 | 5:05:00 |
| 80+ | 4:50:00 | 5:20:00 | 5:20:00 |
Boston Qualifying standards are minimum requirements, not guarantees of entry. Because more runners qualify than there are spots, the BAA cuts at a time buffer — historically between 30 seconds and 6 minutes below the standard. In recent years, the buffer has been around 2–3 minutes. If you're targeting 3:00:00 for men 18–34, you likely need to run 2:57–2:58 to actually get in. Use the calculator with your actual buffer-adjusted target time, not just the BQ standard.
Everything you need to know about race weekend in Long Beach — from the expo to the finish line.
The 2XU Long Beach Marathon weekend spans multiple days. The Health & Fitness Expo runs Friday and Saturday at Marina Green, where you pick up your bib and race kit. The marathon starts Sunday at 5:30 AM from Shoreline Drive near the Convention Center. The early start is designed to beat the October heat — take advantage of it by arriving at least 45 minutes before gun time for bag drop and wave staging.
The start line is on Shoreline Drive near Shoreline Village Drive in downtown Long Beach. Downtown parking garages are available but fill early. The Long Beach Metro Blue Line connects to downtown from Los Angeles. If driving, plan to arrive by 4:30 AM — road closures begin early and parking gets tight with 28,000+ participants across all distances.
Rideshare drop-off is available on designated streets near the Convention Center. Check the race website for the current year's traffic plan and road closure map.
Aid stations are positioned at approximately miles 2, 4.5, 6, 8, 10, 11.5, 13, 14.5, 16.5, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23.5, and 25. Water is available at all stations, electrolyte drinks at select stations, and energy gels at miles 10, 16.5, and 20. Medical stations and course marshals are positioned throughout, including at Signal Hill.
The finish line is at Shoreline Drive and Linden Avenue, steps from where you started. The finish festival includes food vendors, live music, a beer garden, massage tents, and a large reunion area. Bag check is near the finish. The post-race atmosphere at Long Beach is one of the best in Southern California — the beer garden alone makes the last mile worth it.
Finisher medals, mylar blankets, and post-race refreshments are distributed immediately after crossing the line.
October in Southern California means cool mornings (55–62°F) that warm to 68–75°F by mid-race. The 5:30 AM start helps — you'll get 2–3 hours of cooler running before the heat builds. Sunscreen is essential regardless of cloud cover. The ocean breeze helps on the shoreline miles (1–8 and parts of 22–26), but the inland sections (miles 14–21) have no wind protection and full sun exposure.
Downtown Long Beach hotels are ideal — the Hyatt Regency, Renaissance Long Beach, and Westin Long Beach are all within walking distance of both the start and finish. Book early as the race weekend fills downtown hotels quickly. Pine Avenue and 2nd Street in Belmont Shore offer good restaurant options for carb loading Friday and Saturday night.
Parking is available at downtown garages but roads around the course close early Sunday morning. If you drive, plan to arrive by 4:30 AM and park in the Convention Center garage or surrounding structures.
