The course designed starting in 2024 is a one-loop/out-and-back route passing through iconic Oakland landmarks.
Miles 1–5: You’ll start near the historic and newly remodeled Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, head out through Oakland’s Little Saigon neighborhood and around the east side of Lake Merritt before enjoying Grand Avenue and its Grand Lake Theater as well as the Piedmont Avenue neighborhood.
Miles 6–10: As you approach the Half Way milestone, you’ll experience Downtown Oakland, Telegraph Avenue and its famous Fox Theater before looping around Lake Merritt’s north and west banks.
Miles 11–20: New starting in 2024 is the joy of running on the Bay Area’s Bay Bridge with epic views on an out-and-back to Yerba Buena Island.
21 to the Finish: Coming off the Bay Bridge and its downhill miles, you’ll pass near Jack London Square prior to celebrating your finish right back in front of the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts.
The Oakland Marathon was the 128th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 77th largest in 2022.
This year 8.5% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 10.2% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Oakland Marathon the 177th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 179th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.14 ranks it as the 310th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 23rd fastest course in California.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are slightly above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Oakland Marathon a PR Score of 97.99. This PR Score ranks it as the 268th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 19th fastest in California.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Oakland Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 200 feet (60m) Min Elevation: 3 feet (0m)
Start was delayed by about 26min. All the elevation gain is concentrated into the mile 3-5 and 16-18.. both at brutal segments making it a tough course. Ideally, the gains are weaved in as rolling hills.. Oakland is anything but rolling. Some sections of the course are boring industrial and rundown..
Weather was awesome.. Scenery of bay bridge is stunning...
Race Tips
Train for hills.. they will get you... 200ft gain per mile early on and ~100mile/day again at mile16 js not a joke. Prepare for it.
The course was changed in 2018 to be a very flat course around the more industrial and commercial areas of Oakland. Not as scenic as when it went up into the Oakland Hills but definitely made it a much faster course.
Big problem in 2018 was that they mismeasured the course by .5 miles making the total 26.7. I and many others knew right at the end there was an issue and told them about it and they offered no apology or guarantee to make sure it didn't happen in the future even though I assume they will be sure it's correct. Luckily I wasn't going for a BQ at the time but if I had and had lost out because of that I would have been plenty pissed.
Race Tips
Pacing strategy is the same as always. Start with a slower pace group than you think you should them move up after about 10 miles.
One very weird thing that this race does is start the half marathon TWO HOURS after the marathon. A friend of mine was doing the half and had no idea so he started with the marathoners and ended up completely messed up on the course, coming back to the finish line after about 15 miles. He was disqualified.
As usual, get there in plenty of time. It will be dark and the staging area is all grass. it was very muddy and hard to see in 2018. Hopefully they will have more lights in the future.
#mylifeinmiles's review of 2016 Oakland Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Great support at the end but lifeless in the first few miles. Killer hill but is mostly flat.
The climb the first 10.5 miles was not as bad as it looks on the elevation chart. Running up the Oakland hills was nice and it had a great view at the top. The start of the downhill was a little steep. The locals seemed to set-up their own water stations giving out bottles of water. Churches and restaurants also set-up their own aid stations. Friendly and encouraging, felt like a small-town marathon. I will do it again next year. Well organized at the start line and well-attended finish area. It begins and ends at a park next to Lake Merritt.
3.2 Stars from 5 Reviews
